This year marks my first summer in Park City. After the ski season, I thought that the town would slow down. Friends and family would ask, “What do you do when the ski season ends.” Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. Numerous people told me that summer in Park City is just as fun as winter. I was told stories of outdoor concerts, hiking, mountain biking, standup paddleboarding and all of the other activities the #DeerValleySummer had to offer. I was excited to see for myself what all of the talk was about.

To kick off the summer, we planned to attend the first concert of the season at Deer Valley’s Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater, The Bacon Brothers. My girlfriend and I are huge Kevin Bacon (the actor) fans and when we learned he would be performing at Deer Valley Resort, we had to be there. We didn’t know that Kevin Bacon played in a band; we later found out that Kevin and Michael Bacon had been playing music together since they were small boys and as The Bacon Brothers since 1995.

I was told that to truly get the full experience, you should order a Deer Valley Gourmet Picnic Basket. I made sure to order the basket 24 hours in advance as per the ordering instructions online. We had the choice of salmon or beef entrèes and of course, Kourtni and I had to go with both. The salmon was lightly smoked with marinated cucumber ribbons and dill caper aioli. The beef was a chilled petit fillet with caramelized onions and horseradish cream. The Gourmet Picnic Basket also came with steamed artichokes, aioli, imported olives, Deer Valley’s housemade Tuscan salami, slow roasted tomatoes, baby heirloom tomatoes and fresh arugula, Deer Valley Artisan Meadowlark double cream brie with freshly baked baguette, an apple, grapes and two salted caramel chocolate brownie pops. We also added on a bottle of Ceago Chardonnay.

You would think after all of that food, we would have had enough. A little girl walked by with a Deer Valley cookie that was bigger than her head. I realized Kourtni had never had one so we decided that one cookie couldn’t hurt. We made a quick stop by the concession stand and picked up a delicious chocolate chip cookie. Kourtni was very impressed and even sent a snapchat to all of her friends with it. I told her you could buy the mix online or from the Deer Valley Grocery~Café and make them at home. She bought the mix a few days later. The music was great, but for us the food stole the show.

The Bacon Brothers ended the night with Footloose and had the entire crowd standing up and singing with them. Our seats were fantastic, but honestly, knowing what I know now, there isn’t a bad seat in the house.

After the concert, to my surprise, the party didn’t stop. We made our way to the St. Regis Big Stars, Bright Nights VIP after-party inside the Snow Park Restaurant where drinks and appetizers were served. We met a few friends and talked for an hour and a half. Realizing we were one of the last groups still there, we decided to call it a night.

This was the perfect way to kick off our #DeerValleySummer. We enjoyed it so much in fact, that we attended the Martina McBride and Dierks Bentley concerts in the following weeks.

We sat in reserved seats again for Martina McBride. She was surprisingly short and looked as if she hadn’t aged a day. She made note of the elevation and how beautiful the Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater was. Afterwards, we attended the VIP after-party and were one of the last groups to leave again.

Dierks Bentley was by far Kourtni’s favorite concert. We had general admission seats on the lawn, brought our own cooler and got there early to make sure we had a good spot. My sister, Andrea, and her boyfriend, Tyson, met us there. They purchased hamburgers from the Deer Valley concession stand and beer from the Deer Valley Etc. store. We stood the entire concert and sang every word with 5,000 other Dierks fans. He put on a great show and really interacted with the crowd. The venue and great music made this one of the best concerts we have ever attended!

Have you been to a concert at Deer Valley Resort’s Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater? Let me know how your experience was in the comments below or on Twitter @RyanMayfield or @Deer_Valley.