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New music fest wants to rock, dance and twang into Park City

Jay Hamburger THE PARK RECORD

MusicSlam plans to rock, dance and twang its way onto Park City’s busy events calendar next summer.

Billed as a music festival featuring a diverse lineup of genres, MusicSlam could bring upward of 100 acts to Park City over the course of nine days in June. They would perform at nightclubs along Main Street, a music shop and outdoor spaces, under the idea the organizer is promoting.

Jody Whitesides, a musician who grew up in Park City and now lives in Old Town, is organizing the event. The tentative dates of the festival run from June 6 until June 14, a time when Park City’s summer tourism season has not yet started in earnest.

"I wanted to bring music to Park City," Whitesides said in an interview.

He wants to offer acts in genres like rock ‘n’ roll, folk, pop, country and electronic dance music. Whitesides, a guitarist and singer who will start performing in Park City shortly with a new band, would like to book nationally known acts to open and close the festival.

MusicSlam intends to draw a crowd of artists, promoters, record company executives and the public. Each of the acts would perform at least three times at different venues. Whitesides is anticipating at least 2,000 submittals from acts wanting to perform during the festival. The application process has not started. Tickets will be sold to individual performances. Passes that allow entry to a slate of shows will also be available.

"There’s a lot of talent out there that is not worldwide known," Whitesides said, adding that his goal is to put the acts in front of booking agents and promoters.

The event, meanwhile, is also seen as a networking event for the industry. MusicSlam will organize classes for the performers teaching them about topics like licensing and building a team. There will be songwriting and live-performance workshops as well.

"It’s going to be more networking event than an all-out party," Whitesides said.

MusicSlam is organized as a for-profit event, a situation that is different than the not-for-profit status of organizers of many of Park City’s festivals.

City Hall received initial paperwork from MusicSlam, but the application was not complete by early in the week. Max Paap, who coordinates special events for the municipal government, said the paperwork indicated the organizers are interested in as many as four outdoor venues, including public property.

Paap said the festival could require approval by the Park City Council, depending on the details of the application. The elected officials would be required to approve the use of public property by MusicSlam. They would also be involved if the festival wants to use speakers outdoors on public or private property.

"This is not a small undertaking . . . the possible magnitude of impacts and the sheer duration," Paap said.

MusicSlam would join an already loaded lineup of concerts in Park City in the summer. Nationally known acts play at Deer Valley Resort, drawing large crowds. There are small concerts scheduled throughout the summer in public spaces along Main Street in addition to the acts playing in the street’s nightclubs.

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