Salt Lake City, Utah: 2010 Summer Concerts Update (Twilight Concert Series, Red Butte Garden Concert Series)
In my humble opinion, a big, gaping hole will be left in the SLC summer concert scene this year with the Twilight Concert Series’ fate schedule still up in the air. Yesterday, the Tribune reported that the shows will go on—just not at the Gallivan Center, which is currently undergoing remodel. My fear is that a new temporary location, coupled with the issue of unfriendly crowds that were too large for fire codes at the Gallivan, may force the people behind Twilight to contract with smaller, lesser-known acts for 2010. Only time will tell. The lineup is set to be announced mid-April, and as of yet, I have not heard any rumors.
Another bummer on the Utah summer concert front: look for Snowbird to have far fewer concerts this summer, too. Last year, Snowbird booked some pretty incredible acts (Old 97s, Son Volt, the Cowboy Junkies, to name a few). Unfortunately, none were particularly well attended, and as a result, it looks like most of the summer concerts there will not be of the same scale.
What about Red Butte Gardens, you ask? Well, in my humble opinion, Red Butte has been going through a bit of an audience identity crisis for the last couple of seasons. Do we go after the old folks (read: known money), or take a chance on the youngsters (read: cheap hipsters who prefer free concerts downtown)? For the last couple of seasons, Red Butte hedged its bets and did a little of both, as evidenced last year by acts like Chicago, Smokey Robinson and Bonnie Raitt playing the same series as the Avett Brothers, Death Cab for Cutie and Andrew Bird. With everyone doubting that the Twilight Concert Series will be able to live up to its past potential in a new, smaller and temporary locale, the Red Butte series could have stolen some of its youthful audience. So far, that does not appear to be the case. Three Red Butte shows have been confirmed:
• Mary Chapin Carpenter, August 1
• The Doobie Brothers, August 29
• Willie Nelson, September 10
With the exception of Willie, those listings make me yawn. Red Butte tickets go on sale for members April 19.
March 25th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
ugh. the doobie brothers? will they be taken’ it to the streets. ick.
April 1st, 2010 at 1:08 pm
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April 7th, 2010 at 8:54 am
Don’t know you, but share your disappointment about Red Butte. What an absolute dud- I’ve seen the full lineup, and it includes such awesome additions as the Bare Naked Ladies and Sheryl Crowe. Here’s a bright spot for you: much internet sleuthery has revealed that the New Pornographers and the Dodos will be playing the Twilight Concert Series on July 29, 2010. Of course, nobody knows where the series will be hosted as of yet; keeping my fingers crossed for Library Square…