A dinner gala Wednesday night at Canyons Village served as an overture for the second annual Park City Song Summit.
The event was filled with cocktails, mocktails, food and live music performed by the Trombone Shorty Foundation and singer-songwriter Lukas Nelson.
Just before the music started, Song Summit Founders Ben and Paige Anderson took to the stage to thank all of their supporters, and talk about the three-day conference that runs through Sept. 9.
“We started this as a disruptor, a way we could see the music industry in a different light,” Ben said. “We are a one-of-a-kind music and wellness event.”
Paige summed it up with a simple equation.
“Music and wellness equals love,” she said.
The Park City Song Summit is based on four pillars — Park City, wellness, lab discussions and live music — that benefit fans as well as the music-making artists, according to Ben Anderson.
“Every day we love to hear music and song, but behind the music is a musician, and behind the song is a songwriter,” he said. “Behind them is a family. It’s a real life, and it’s all the unsung heroes behind them that are driving buses, making sure they can get to their next destination, and the people who are back home, taking care of the kids, the animals, the parents who need help and paying the bills. If we want to continue to have great live music, we gotta take better care of our musicians.”
Park City comes into the picture, because of its serene scenery, Anderson said.
“You’re not in the middle of the desert, trying to get out of a mud bath,” he said in reference to the Burning Man Festival that experienced flooding due to heavy rains last week. “How beautiful are these mountains on this gorgeous day.”
Anderson also expressed gratitude to Canyons Village and Vail Resorts for partnering with the Song Summit this year.
“We thank them dearly for all that they’ve done for us,” he said.
As for wellness, Anderson said the Park City Song Summit addresses wellness in terms of overall recovery.
“In some way we’re all in recovery from something,” he said. “We all have our stuff, and artists and their touring caps have a lot of stuff. They get up and entertain us. If we can think of them more as humans then maybe we can have them not only above ground, but (have them) living their best lives.”
To help with Park City Song Summit wellness initiatives, Anderson announced the establishment of the More than Music Foundation, a new 501 (c) (3) to raise money and awareness.
Throughout the weekend, John Bukaty, a New Orleans-based artist, will set up a kiosk where participating musicians will paint drum heads and sign an array of items, including five guitars donated by one of the event sponsors, Gibson Gives, Anderson said.
These items will then go on auction from 3-4 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, and the goal, according to the Park City Song Summit website, is to raise $250,000.
“We couldn’t do this without community, connection, creativity and a whole hell of a lot of love,” Anderson said.
Anderson also encouraged attendees to check out lab discussions, which will address topics such as world peace, the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the crossroads of Black and Latinx music and an array of wellness workshops.
“Go into these tents this week,” he said. “Listen and be interactive, and I guarantee you will leave changed.”
And what would the Song Summit be without live music?
The schedule includes performances by local artists Emily Hicks, Mel Soul, Talia Keys, Alicia Stockman, Wyatt Pike and Rich Wyman & Lisa Needham, as well as national and international artists such as Chuck D, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Celisse, Anders Osborne and Bobby Weir & the Wolf Brothers, to name a few.
“We couldn’t do this without a whole lot of people,” Anderson said. “I would like to thank our amazing team from all across the country, 50 or 60 folks, who give up a good chunk of their lives for the last few months and put it all into making this happen. I also want to thank those who believed in Paige and me, and who believed in this event enough to put their dollars, their time and resources to make this happen.”