City Park becomes center stage for Park City Song Summit

PARK CITY, Utah—The Park City Song Summit is expanding its footprint to City Park for the first time. Founder Ben Anderson described the move as a pivotal step to integrate the festival deeper into the local community while offering a robust lineup of music, wellness activities, and cultural conversations.

“It’s exciting to be incorporated into the heart of our community like this,” Anderson said.

The summit, running Aug. 14-16, will kick off each morning with yoga, meditation and wellness sessions at Library Park.

Midday attendees can join “labs” at Jim Santy Auditorium, covering topics such as mental health, the legacy of the Grateful Dead, and the evolving intersection of technology and music.

City Park will host afternoon and evening concerts, leading into late-night shows on Main Street.

This year’s lineup includes Goose, Greensky Bluegrass ft. Holly Bowling, Dawes & Friends ft. Duane Betts, Marcus King, The Terrapin Family Band with Eric Krasno, Adam MacDougall, Jennifer Hartswick, and Nicki Bluhm, Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel, Cimafunk & Friends Ft. Pedrito Martinez, Anders Osborne, LP Giobbi, River Eckert, and Matt Warren.

Anderson highlighted the benefits of this new layout for attendees and local businesses. “We’re excited for our small businesses; we’re excited for 4,000 to 5,000 people per day coming through Park City to be able to eat at the restaurants, go to retail, go into our galleries,” he said.

He noted that with roughly 40% of attendees traveling from out of state, the summit will activate hotel spaces and local services, boosting the city’s economy in the wake of Sundance’s upcoming departure.

One of the standout additions to this year’s lineup is a collaboration between celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern and musician Marcus King. The duo will host a culinary lab exploring the parallels between the food and music industries, followed by a private, curated dinner for about 175 guests.

“It’s gonna be next level,” Anderson said of the dinner, which will be held at Le Depot and crafted in partnership with celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern. The meal will connect King’s songs with Zimmern’s menu for what Anderson called a “once in a lifetime” experience.

The Song Summit Foundation will also play a larger role this year, introducing its new initiative, “Summit Rising. ” Summit Rising will bring 50 youth musicians from across the U.S., Cuba, and Salt Lake City to participate in workshops, mentorship sessions, and live performances on the foundation stage at City Park.

“Some of these kids have never been on an airplane, never been in the mountains,” Anderson said. “Being able to connect with each other, to play in front of audiences, and to have workshops on Friday and Saturday geared towards mentorship — it’s a lifetime memory.”

Anderson strongly emphasized the goal of creating a sustainable, community-first event. He noted that the summit has coordinated closely with city officials and neighborhood residents, especially those in what he called the “Summit Pulse Zone,” the area most affected by festival traffic.

“We’ve started community outreach with a lot of the people that live from Sullivan to Empire and from Eighth to 15th,” Anderson said. He explained the team will host open houses to answer questions, distribute resident passes and ensure neighbors feel included in the process.

The festival encourages attendees to use public transit, shuttles, or eco-friendly options like e-bikes. Parking is available at Richardson Flat, Deer Valley, and Park City High School.

Anderson advised attendees to review festival guidelines on parking, permitted items, and ticketing details as the event approaches at parkcitysongsummit.com.

“Since it is our first year in the park, we’re asking people to pay close attention,” he said. “If people just follow the rules and play nicely, this will be good for everyone.”

The Park City Song Summit runs Aug. 14-16, 2025. Summit Passes, individual tickets, and VIP Packages for the Park City Song Summit are available now at this link. For everything else, please visit parkcitysongsummit.com.