The bratwursts and the band are cooking at once.
Smoke is bellowing out from the grill as a Creedence Clearwater Revival anthem is doing the same from the stage, both adding a little heft to the thin air up here at an elevation of over 8,600 feet.
It’s a bit past 2:30 p.m. on a recent Saturday, and Vegas rockers The Parametrics are putting the hammer down on “Fortunate Son,” a mom in a blue T-shirt and jean shorts dancing down in front with a toddler in her arms, a young girl in a sundress spinning herself in circles by her side.
The scene is familiar: The Parametrics have been getting crowds up on their feet for decades now.
The setting?
Not so much — though that’s changing by the show.
‘People love it’
“What a nice backdrop,” bassist David Genovese observes between songs, ringed by jagged, verdant, rocky peaks and dense thickets of pine trees, a crowd of 1,500-plus spread out on blankets or lounging beneath colorful canopies before him.
A few months from now, this will be a snow-covered ski slope.
But on this breezy August afternoon, it’s wood chips — not white fluffy stuff — that crunches beneath our feet as we take in the fourth show of the 2026 Music on the Mountain summer concert series in what’s fast become the Vegas area’s most scenic outdoor venue, located about a 45-minute drive north of the city in Lee Canyon.
“I can imagine what it would be like to be a famous band playing at Washington’s Gorge or Red Rocks Amphitheater or something like that,” Parametrics singer/guitarist Patrick Genovese says of the feeling he gets performing in this kind of environment. “It’s a special place. We’ve got this natural amphitheater vibe going — and man, has it taken off. People love it.”
Now in Year 2, the series has already become a big draw, with free shows averaging nearly 2,000 attendees each.
“We kind of got inspired to add something to our summer program beyond the normal activities, something for the general public to come and enjoy,” Lee Canyon marketing manager Johnny DeGeorge explains about the origins of Music on the Mountain. “We realized that there’s a gap with outdoor music in the summertime in Vegas — it’s pretty unpleasant in the city for outdoor activities. We have this space and this venue, and we decided, ‘Let’s run a regular concert series,’ and it’s been really well received.
“I think that people just kind of absorb into our environment and feel that laid-back sort of energy,” he continues, “just really taking a load off from that normal day-to-day hustle and bustle of the city life. The energy is very much concert-in-the-park style. Bring your lawn chair, your blanket, hang out for the day.”
In addition to performing with his band here, Genovese helps book the talent and oversees production as the co-founder and creative director of Las Vegas Music and Events.
“Most of the bands that we hire are all going to kind of fall under an umbrella,” he explains, noting that acts primarily play covers here. “But some are going to skew maybe rhythm-and-blues and country, some are going to skew maybe a little bit more R&B and classic rock, maybe some are going to go ’70s Zeppelin and Bad Company and Foreigner, that kind of stuff. We go out and find bands that we know aren’t going to be just cookie-cutter.”
‘Nice being out there’
Longtime Vegas country favorite Chris Heers performed at Music on the Mountain during its inaugural run and will return for the two-day Mountain Top Honky Tonk fest over Labor Day weekend, one of the series’ biggest events that drew a combined 6,000 fans last year.
“It’s just nice being out there,” Heers says. “You’re up there in the hills with the greenery and the mountains, can see the beautiful rocks and the skies.
“There’s a beer garden. There’s food. You don’t have to bring anything,” he continues. “You just show up, and you know there’s a lot of people that’ll be there.”
Speaking of which, DeGeorge notes that Music on the Mountain can serve as an entry point to the outdoors for many concertgoers.
They come for the tunes, and they leave with a newfound connection to one of the most beatific settings in the region.
“For many people, it might be their first time coming up to the mountains in general,” he says. “It’s kind of a cool way to expose that mountain sports and mountain culture are a reality in Las Vegas.
“We’re seeing a lot of visitors that just make this a part of their summer now, a lot of familiar faces that come to each event,” he adds. “It’s community building, beyond the music.”
Oh, but there are other benefits as well.
“Are there any beer drinkers out there?” Genovese asks from the stage early in his band’s four-hour set. “Beer tastes better on the mountain, doesn’t it?”
Contact Jason Bracelin at [email protected] or 702-383-0476. Follow @jasonbracelin76 on Instagram.