This month’s Park City Gallery Association‘s free Last Friday Gallery Stroll on Sept. 29 will feature an added level of creative expression in the form of live music, performed at six of the 15 participating galleries from 6-9 p.m.

The six galleries and coinciding live musicians who will be part of the Arts and Music Gallery Stroll are as follows: 

• Gallery MAR, 436 Main St. — Dave Bowen Orchestra
• Meyer Gallery, 305 Main St. — Mike Tam
• Mountain Trails Gallery, 301 Main St. — Mel Soul
• Summit Gallery, 675 Main St. — Aspen Anonda
• Susan Swartz Studios, 260 Main St. — Lumberjack Fabulous
• Trove Gallery, 804 Main St. — Beacon Street Jazz

“Live music is just an added element to the monthly gallery stroll,” said Jocelyn Scudder, Arts Council of Park City & Summit County executive director. “When we figured out our budget and date, we put out a call to the Gallery Association and asked who would like to participate, and these six wanted to do it.”

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The Arts Council piloted the Art and Music Gallery Stroll element back in 2021, according to Scudder.

Having music is a good way, I feel, to honor the artists who have worked so hard to put together the exhibits.” Susan Meyer, Meyer Gallery owner

“We had asked for support from the Restaurant Tax grant, to reinvigorate and add some energy to the gallery stroll,” she said. “We had been in conversation with the Park City Gallery Association about how we could support them, and this idea came up.”

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The Arts Council and Gallery Association partnered with Mountain Town Music, a local concert-producing nonprofit, to help program musicians that complement the galleries, Scudder said.

“Many of our galleries have different aesthetics and spaces available, so we rely on Mountain Town Music and their executive director Brian Richards to curate lineups of local and regional talents that work within these spaces,” she said. “We love that relationship we have with Mountain Town Music, because they are so well connected with the local music community.”

Meyer Gallery owner Susan Meyer loves presenting live music at her exhibit openings.

“Many people’s experience of visiting a gallery is often very silent, and while that can still be inspiring, it’s not necessarily fun for some people,” she said. “So adding live music seems to calm the savage beast within all of us, and we tend to relax and have a more joyful experience.”

Guitarist Mike Tam will be Meyer Gallery’s featured musician.

“He will be set up right by the door, so people will see him when they walk in,” Meyer said. “I tend to like to set the musicians there so when we open the door, the music spills out onto Main Street.”

The gallery will open two exhibits Friday night, Meyer said.

“The show upstairs will be my most popular of the year — the annual Small Art Treasures Show, and this is an opening that most of the artists who are showing will attend,” she said. “This year we will feature 45 artists, 14 of whom are guest artists. They were all invited to submit one work that measures 18-inches square or smaller.”

The parameters of this particular exhibit challenges the participating artists, Meyer said. 

“Many of them do not paint frequently in small formats, because they tend to enjoy getting their larger pieces out,” she said. “But there is a desire to create something that is interesting and of a high quality, especially when they know they are in a large show with artists that they admire or know peripherally. So, everyone wants to look good in front of their peers.”

The second Meyer Gallery exhibit that will open Friday will be a solo show of new works by Ellie Wilson that will open on the gallery’s main floor.

“Ellie is a young landscape painter from Utah who works almost exclusively as a plein air painter, meaning she paints out of doors with her easel,” Meyer said. “She has traveled to 18 different countries, and I thought we could include her in this fun evening.”

The first time Meyer Gallery showed works by Wilson was in 2016, Meyer said.

“It was during an emerging artists show that was a group invitational of artists I did not represent,” she said. “I kept an eye on Ellie, because she clearly had talent, took her craft seriously and wanted to get better. And she certainly has done that.”

Meyer is grateful to the Arts Council and Mountain Town Music for instigating the Arts and Music Gallery Stroll.

“I hope it continues, because I love the idea of people coming into my gallery or into others’ galleries and having a lively and fun experience exploring art,” she said. “Having music is a good way, I feel, to honor the artists who have worked so hard to put together the exhibits.”

Scudder is happy that the Arts and Music Gallery Stroll has continued since its debut two years ago.

“Having free events like this that are accessible connects people to not only these galleries, but it also provides opportunities for social cohesion and through a shared creative experience,” she said. “This is a free event that allows people to meet local gallerists who are passionate about the artists they represent, and people can also learn something new and gain different perspectives.”

Scudder also hopes those who attend the Arts and Music Gallery Stroll will take advantage of other offerings found on Main Street.

“Since it’s funded by the Restaurant Tax, we encourage people to experience some art and great live music, and then visit some of the other galleries who will be open,” she said. “Then we hope they head to a restaurant or a bar and enjoy a night in Park City.”