Jim Bone is one of the many local musicians who will perform in Mountain Town Music’s Celebration of Southern Rock on Oct. 24 at The Marquis. Credit: Photo by Michael Schoenfeld courtesy of Mountain Town Music Mountain Town Music will present a musical gumbo of boogie-blues, wailing guitars an d soulful vocals during the Celebration of Southern Rock. The local nonprofit’s concert is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, at The Marquis, and will feature a menu of local musicians and serve as a prelude to Live PC Give PC, Park City’s day of giving that is set for Nov. 6, said Ryan Walsh, Mountain Town Music’s director of community engagement. “This whole thing actually started when we would do our final Deer Valley concert of the season that we would call The Community Jam,” he said. “After a while, we turned it into a community jam that meets the kickoff to Live PC Give PC. Kicking off Live Give makes so much sense. It’s a good intersection of the community of attendees meeting a community of musicians at the foot of the stage.” Mountain Town Music, as well as local music lovers, felt the void once the Deer Valley concerts stopped, Walsh said. “There was also a lull in our efforts to grow the organization and engage the community,” he said. “So, we thought about bringing back a community concert, and this is what that has become.” Three years ago, Mountain Town Music brought the community concert back with a recreation of “The Last Waltz,” the title of The Band’s final concert that took place on Thanksgiving 1976 at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The concert, which featured guests Bob Dylan, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, Neil Young and more, was released as a documentary film in 1978 by iconic filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Parkite Mary Beth Maziarz, an award-winning singer and composer, will be in the lineup of Mountain Town Music’s Celebration Southern Rock. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mark Maziarz “We felt paying tribute to ‘The Last Waltz’ had a good tie-in with the season,” Walsh said. “And last year, we did a Celebration of Fleetwood Mac, which had universal appeal.” Nearly six months ago, Walsh and Brian Richards, Mountain Town Music’s community conductor of musical affairs, batted around ideas of how they could continue the momentum and concept of these concerts, and the idea came up to celebrate the Southern Rock genre, according to Walsh. “We knew we wanted to focus on the music, which will speak for itself,” he said. “And I think they are songs I think everybody knows.” Producer and musician Junior Richard, who is known for his work with The Cabin, set the track and vision of the celebration, and he was “instrumental in guiding the set list,” Walsh said.  “So, it won’t just be the usual suspects — Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers Band,” he said. “We will do a survey of the history of Southern Rock and the music it has influenced.” The setlist will include songs by Skynyrd and the Allmans, but also the Marshall Tucker Band, ZZ Top, the Tedeschi/Trucks Band and Little Feat, to name a few, Walsh said. “Someone may be delighted to hear Tedeschi/Trucks, because they are of the genre but influenced by and came after that Americana-meets-jam-rock style of the 1960s and 1970s,” he said. “Since the production value of the show and the musicianship is so high, we could have probably knocked any setlist out of the park.” Walsh will serve as a Southern Rock sommelier during the concert. “I will be a little bit of a narrator and a little bit of an emcee and plan to talk about each song’s connection with the genre while introducing the musicians with a little bit about their backgrounds,” he said. Bryon “Freedog” Friedman will perform in Mountain Town Music’s Celebration of Southern Rock, scheduled for Oct. 24 at The Marquis. The concert will feature the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, the Black Crowes and more. Credit: Photo courtesy of Bryon Friedman The house band will be keyboardist Nick Chamberlain, drummer Matt Wilson, bassist Ray Rosales, guitarist Rylee McDonald and singer Kate Chanson.Guest musicians are: Guitarist and vocalist Preston Creed. Guitarist Cole Hobbs. Singer Jim Bone. Guitarist and vocalist Tim Wray. Guitarist and vocalist Andy Bailey. Guitarist and vocalist Bryon “Freedog” Friedman. Vocalist Mary Beth Maziarz. Vocalist Malia Denali. Vocalist Shannon Runyon. “This is probably the only time that this specific cast of musicians will perform together on stage,” Walsh said.  Walsh is grateful to The Marquis for continuing its partnership with Mountain Town Music for these concerts. “It’s such an important venue in town for its size and production capability, and it has been a good and terrific partner in helping us produce the event with their willingness and support,” he said. Walsh also is thankful to Chanson for taking on the responsibility of recruiting, retaining and rehearsing all the musicians. (See accompanying story.) Ryan Walsh, Mountain Town Music’s director of community engagement, will host the musical nonprofit’s Celebration of Southern Rock on Oct. 24, at The Marquis. Walsh will introduce the performers, the songs and talk a bit about the history of the genre. Credit: Photo courtesy of Gabriella Santos “She approaches her job from the right perspective, where she is very clear about the common purpose,” he said. “So it’s not just show up on time and here are your chord sheets. She nurtures them so when they are on stage, they perform as a one and not just as a group of individual musicians. And when these people come together to move in the same direction, it’s what makes this community amazing.” Mountain Town Music’s A Celebration of Southern Rock — a Kickoff to Live PC Give PC When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 Where: The Marquis, 427 Main St. Tickets: tinyurl.com/yt9fzmwe  Web: mountaintownmusic.org The post Mountain Town Music fries up a Celebration of Southern Rock appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less