Park Street Riot
We took a moment with Nevada County-based Park Street Riot as they prepare for the upcoming Honey Hills Fest, taking place this weekend at various locations throughout GVNC. Formed in 2016, Park Street Riot continues to push their own sonic edge, and have established themselves as a dynamic, powerful, and energetic force in the greater-Sacramento area music scene.
Park Street Riot owes its success, in part, to the songwriting prowess of frontwoman Marielle Walker, one of the many reasons they are co-billed as headliners for the women-fronted Honey Hills Fest. The group’s varied influences and musicianship build upon the melody and lyrics that Walker brings to the band. Their live performances are laced through with the melancholic and emotional power of Walker’s dynamic voice, as well as the melodic and thunderous rhythmic foundations of Ryan Donnelly, Alex Scribner, and Ryan Sheridan.
“Our process is pretty straight forward, I (Marielle) write the backbone of the song . . . Sometimes that’s a melody that’s been hanging around that finally gets the lyrics it needs . . . sometimes it’s written in 20 minutes. If it gets stuck in my head, I’ll play it for the band. If they like it, they join in and it is fleshed out from there. We don’t rush it or put pressure on the process or each other. We play a song until it feels like we all fit in together.”
When asked about their relationship to the Cultural District, what they love about the creative community, and some of the artists they admire, Park Street Riot’s answers take a cue from their music writing approach, the same generous ethos that there’s time and room for everyone.
“We’re fortunate to live in an area that is home to a prolific number of artists and musicians. We’re luckier still to be able to share our music. [As artists] I think we can be proud of the fact that we’ve always been really supportive of each other. Our local creative community is so supportive and some of the nicest, most accepting people contribute amazing art . . . that doesn’t happen everywhere.
“It’s difficult to choose only two [artists we admire] when it takes our whole community to perpetuate the creative force that dominates this area. We love Cherry Rats, Aaron Ross, Casual Fog, Fire in the Sky Band, Witch Dick, Big For Nothing, Farrow and the Peach Leaves, Beautiful Dudes, Aequorea, Follow Me Dark, Two Runner . . . the list could go on and on and in every genre.”
It’s that same supportive community, overflowing with creativity, that has spurred the creation of this year’s first annual Honey Hills Festival.
“We kick off the night at The Fern in Nevada City and look forward to welcoming Roselit Bone and La Luz to town. We’re honored to have the opportunity to perform and strongly suggest giving a listen to all the artists who are playing this year.”
This story originally appeared in the May 15th, 2024 edition of the GVNC Culture Connection newsletter.
