Park City Institute has found a new outdoor venue for its 2023 Big Stars, Bright Nights Summer Concert Series.
After losing its long-time, slope-side venue at Deer Valley’s Snow Park Amphitheater in 2018, which led to installing pop-up stages in City Park and the recreation complex at Quinn’s Junction, before moving indoors at the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, the nonprofit has slotted a schedule at a reimagined outdoor venue on the Ski Beach at Canyons Village at Park City Mountain, said Ari Ioannides, Park City Institute board chair.
“We are very happy to be back outside,” he said. “When people hear ‘The Park City Institute,’ they think of Big Stars, Bright Nights. It’s the event that most people come to, and it has the biggest artists.”
Although the lineup hasn’t been released, yet, Ioannides said one of the artists on the schedule is LoCash, the CMT Award-nominated country-music duo consisting of vocalists Chris Lucas and Preston Brust, on Aug. 4.
“We are planning a series that will appeal to a hipper and younger audience,” he said.
Betsy Wallace, who took on the Park City Institute executive director role on May 1, said in a press release that the Ski Beach amphitheater, located between the Orange Bubble Express Lift and Red Pine Gondola, is an ideal place to hold an immersive concert series.
“The charming atmosphere of Canyons Village will add an extra touch of magic to each show, creating an intimate connection between the artists and the audience,” she said. “As the sun sets and the stars emerge, you’ll be swept away by the enchanting ambiance and the sheer brilliance of the performances.”
The Park City Institute has been working with Canyons Village Management Association, which oversees developments related to the area’s aesthetics, design and events, for a little more than two years, Ioannides said.
“I think CVMA was interested in partnering with a local group, and not someone big like Live Nation, so they could keep some of that local feel,” he said.
The CVMA, in an email exchange, said it was excited to welcome live music back to Canyons Village, and is “inviting locals, previous guests and new visitors to the property.”
“The reimagined outdoor venue includes an open grass area that Park City Institute will utilize to create their seating,” it said. “We are excited to showcase the new Ski Beach space that opened this past winter.”
Since this summer marks the first time the Ski Beach will be utilized, the stage will be a mobile platform that will be brought in for each concert, according to the CVMA.
“For the 2023 summer, the outdoor venue will be open concept with an exterior fence around the venue and a hillside of grass,” it said. “This will allow Park City Institute to create their venue based on the needs of the performance.”
The audience set up, which will include reserved and general seating and VIP booths, will be similar to what Park City Institute established at Deer Valley, Ioannides said.
“We own the lowrider chairs that were set up at Deer Valley in the reserved-seating section, so you will see them down near the front of the stage at the Canyons,” he said. “The VIP Booths will be behind the reserved seats, and then there will be the grass area behind them.”
In addition to working with CVMA on the Big Stars, Bright Nights concerts, the Park City Institute will also partner with the organization for a new, two-dayProfessor of Rock LIVE Festival, a unique celebration of music scheduled for Labor Day weekend that will bring together legendary artists, fans and music enthusiasts, Ioannides said.
The idea spawned from the Park City Institute’s partnership with Adam Reader, who has produced more than 500 mini-documentaries and interviews with rock artists, including Kenny Loggins, Sammy Hagar and former Styx vocalist and keyboardist Dennis DeYoung, throughout the years.
The festival will also be an immersive experience, according to Ioannides.
“We’ll set up booths and show videos of artist interviews with the Professor of Rock,” he said. “We’ll also have some smaller stages and other kiosks where fans can (get) merchandise and … autographs.”
One of the artists slated to appear is Grammy Award-winning band leader Booker T. Jones, of Booker T. & the M.G.’s, on Sept. 3, Ioannides said.
“We all know the song ‘Green Onions,’ but many people may not know that Booker T. has played on tons of records on Stax Records,” he said. “So he put together this Stax Records Revue that he will bring to the Canyons.”
More artists for both the Big Stars, Bright Nights and Professor of Rock LIVE Festival will be announced in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, Ioannides is looking forward to bringing major concerts back to the Canyons.
“Remember, Canyons used to have a summer concert series back when it was called ParkWest,” he said. “So we’re not only bringing back outdoor concerts, but we’re reviving a summer series that many of us old Park City people remember.”