It’s been five years since Park City Institute lost the lease it had with Deer Valley to host musical performances at the resort’s outdoor Snow Park Amphitheater.
A member of the institute’s board of directors, Ari Ioannides says this year the nonprofit performing arts foundation has struck a deal to host its Big Stars Bright Lights series at Canyons Village.
“What you will have is basically once you get into the venue itself, you'll get an experience very similar to Deer Valley,” Ioannides said. “Matter of fact, the chairs that were at Big Stars Bright Nights belong to Park City Institute. You'll have those same chairs there, so 500 reserved seats up front, two aisles, stage in the middle, a large grassy area behind it for general admission seating. Some of the shows will have VIP experiences; the same type you received over at Deer Valley, but once again, I think we're elevating it.”
In a statement, institute executive director Betsy Wallace said the summer season will begin Wednesday, July 26, with the band Dispatch, which features a blend of roots rock, reggae, folk and blues.
Then the weekend of the Kimball Arts Festival will include country music duo Locash on Friday, Aug. 4, and The National Parks, a folk/pop band from Provo, will perform Saturday, Aug. 5.
Lalah Hathaway, a five-time Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter, performs on Friday, Aug. 11.
Cory Wong, a jazz and funk guitarist, composer performs Friday, Aug. 18, and Third Eye Blind is set to take the stage on Saturday, Aug. 19. Several more acts are being negotiated and will be announced at a later date.
The concert series runs through Labor Day weekend.
“Sept. 2, those of us who are older will remember all the songs from Stax Records,” he said. "So, what we're doing is Labor Day weekend doing sort of a classic rock festival. Booker T. is going to launch that off. He's doing what's called a 'Stax Review.' So, if you like any of that old stuff from Stax, like, 'Knock on Wood,' or 'Down by the Boardwalk.'"
Two more great acts will follow that weekend, he said, highlighting the classic rock era of the 1970s and '80s.
Tickets for the first six acts are on sale now here.
