The instrumental rock band Explosions in the Sky is a product of the wide-open spaces and big sky of west Texas, says guitarist Munaf Rayani.

That's why the quartet is all about dynamics. Just as lightning storms puncture the barren Texan flatlands, fragile melodies suddenly metamorphose into cascading bursts of noise. It's no wonder how the band got its name.

Explosions in the Sky will puncture the wide-open spaces and the warm summer sky of the normally sleepy Pioneer Park on July 14. The band will kick off the 2011 Twilight Concert Series of seven free Thursday-night concerts running through Aug. 25.

It will be the second season the popular concert series will be held at west downtown's Pioneer Park. For years, the series was held at Gallivan Center (which holds a free concert tonight to celebrate its post-renovation grand opening) . "The Roots [performing] at Gallivan [in 2008] showed that the Gallivan Center was becoming too small," said Casey Jarman, founder and director of the series that began 24 years ago as a project of the Salt Lake City Arts Council.

Modest Mouse opened the series last summer, drawing a crush of some 40,000 people, a number that surprised organizers. More people monitoring park exits and entrances smoothed crowd control at the summer's later concerts.

To help avoid the crush for this season's opener, Jarman chose a less well-known act, Explosions in the Sky. More popular acts, such as The Decemberists, Bright Eyes and Lupe Fiasco, are slated to play later this summer. That doesn't mean Jarman is any less excited about the cerebral Texas band, which earned glowing reviews at a recent Sasquatch Festival in Washington state.

The band formed in Austin in 1999 when a trio of friends from the oil town of Midland met up with a recent transplant from Illinois, drummer Chris Hrasky. Their second and third albums — 2001's "Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever" and 2003's "The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place"— earned attention with songs that sounded like rock symphonies rather than radio-friendly pop.

Those songs routinely stretch to six or seven minutes, with some, such as 2001's "With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept," clocking in at more than 12 minutes. "We try to blend the songs together, as one long piece, rather than [playing them] as traditional tracks," Rayani said.

Not surprisingly, the quartet's songs are regularly featured in films and television, most notably throughout the film and NBC show "Friday Night Lights" (also, perhaps not coincidentally, set in west Texas), which has led the band to think seriously about "making an elegant transition to film music," Rayani said.

But for now, the band is focused on bringing the expansiveness of the Texas sky to Salt Lake City for some Thursday night lights.

dburger@sltrib.com —

At a glance: Twilight Concert Series

When • Thursday evenings, July 14 through Aug. 25

Time • Gates and Twilight Market open at 5 p.m.

Concert • Music begins at 7 p.m.

Where • Pioneer Park, 350 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City

Admission • Free; first come, first served; no fixed seating

Getting in/out • There are four entrance/exit gates: one at 300 S. 400 West, one at 400 W. 400 South, one at 300 W. 400 South and one midblock at 350 S. 300 West. One exit-only gate at 350 W. 300 South.

Also • No coolers, outside alcohol, glass containers or Camelback water packs allowed; water available at free stations and for purchase. No smoking in the park; only service animals are welcome.

Trax • The closest stop, Planetarium Station, is at 150 S. 400 West, Salt Lake City. Bicycle valet parking provided by Salt Lake Bicycle Collective.

Volunteers • For the first time, the Salt Lake City Arts Council is seeking volunteers to help with beverage sales, gate greeting, trash control and production. Shifts are available Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of each concert week. To volunteer, contact the Salt Lake City Arts Council at 801-596-5000 or email Chelsea Rowe, chelsea.rowe@slcgov.com.

Donations • Also for the first time, concertgoers are invited to make donations to keep the series free, in light of rising artist fees and production values. To donate $5 from a cell phone, text "TWILIGHT" to 20222. Messaging and data rates may apply. —

2011 Twilight Concert

Series schedule

July 14 • Explosions in the Sky / No Age

July 21 • The Decemberists / Typhoon

July 28 • Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros / The Entrance Band

Aug. 4 • Thurston Moore / Kurt Vile and the Violators

Aug. 11 • Bright Eyes / Wild Nothing

Aug. 18 • Ghostland Observatory / Phantogram

Aug. 25 • Lupe Fiasco / Big K.R.I.T.