Prospera Place’s best concerts
The Okanagan Valley is a great place for live music, with venues including the SOEC and Prospera Place, the small coffee halls, service clubs, and outdoor festivals.
Our staff put their collective heads together, and even went out on social media for reader suggestions, and came up with the 10 best concerts staged at Propsera Place in Kelowna, which opened in 1999 (originally as Skyreach Place.)
1. ELTON JOHN, 2010
There was no Davey Johnstone, no Nigel Olsson — just Elton and his piano. Nothing more was required. Elton is, arguably, the greatest solo artist of all-time, undeniably the world’s best rock pianist with a repertoire of 69 singles that reached the American top 40. Wherever you went in Kelowna that week, everybody was anticipating the show. Beginning with Funeral for a Friend and Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting (both from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road) and ending with his trademark Your Song, he even included a 12-minute rendition of Rocket Man which incorporated blues, funk and reggae. Every song resulted in a standing ovation.
2. DAVID BOWIE, 2004
The thin white duke was just so cool on stage, pulling off a great show without being pretentious. A Bowie concert was always an artistic experience. Like most classic rock artists, he did his hits (Fame, China Girl, Suffragette City) but also included the hits he wrote for others (Under Pressure, which he recorded with Queen; All the Young Dudes, a Mott the Hoople smash). His tour was in support of Reality, his 23rd studio album.
3. LUKE BRYAN, 2014
The reigning Academy of Country Music entertainer of the year that May, Bryan delivered the best concert of that genre the building has ever seen in his one and only performance in Kelowna to date. Opening acts Cole Swindell and Lee Brice set the bar high, but Bryan blew everybody away as he rocketed to stardom during his That’s My Kind Of Night tour. Hit after hit, Bryan had the country girls shaking it for him. Sadly, he’s not scheduled to play the Okanagan in 2018, but Bryan will be in Vancouver in October for a wicked show with Sam Hunt at B.C. Place Stadium. He’s worth every penny and will sell out in a milli-second if and when he returns to Prospera Place.
4. AEROSMITH, 2015
They had the biggest comeback in rock history (thanks to Run DMC). The show featured the early years with Dream On and Walk This Way to a string of radio-friendly staples such as I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing. The Bad Boys of Boston still had it, 45 years after they were founded. Lead singer Steven Tyler still sounded great. It was loud — incredibly loud.
5. JOHN FOGERTY, 2007
He went 25 years without being allowed to sing a CCR song (and he wrote them!), so John sounded rejuvenated. He also included tracks from his unlikely comeback album, Centrefield from 1985. “In 2007, I was at a very low point in life. I ended up going to John Fogerty and it was a best decision of my life. Spending time with fellow fans, singing along to his multiple hits. The energy of the room changed me at a time I needed it most,” Kelowna fan Darrin Fiddler recalled on The Courier’s Facebook page. (Fogerty also made last week’s list of great SOEC concerts.)
6. CHER, 2004
Cher’s concert in Kelowna on July 24, 2004 was part of her Farewell Tour that began with 59 dates in 2002 and eventually stretched to 325 shows ending in April 2005.
But Cher didn’t really say goodbye to touring or concerts as the Farewell title may have indicated.
She did a Dressed to Kill tour in 2014 and continues to do residency concerts at the MGM National Harbor in Washington, D.C. and Monte Carlo Hotel in Las Vegas.
Her one and only Kelowna show at Prospera Place in 2004 delivered.
It was as much a life story as it was a concert with her hits interspersed between video montages of her childhood, TV show with late ex-husband Sonny Bono and her own TV show and life.
I Got You Babe, the No. 1 hit from 1965 with Sonny was featured in the Sonny & Cher Show video interlude and her encore was her 1998 No. 1 dance smash Believe.
In between were all her other hits from Half-Breed, Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves, Dark Lady, Strong Enough and If I Could Turn Back Time. It’s too bad Sonny wasn’t the opening act.
7. STING, 2003
The former Police frontman caused a sensation in Kelowna before he even took to the stage at Prospera Place on May 30, 2013.
Sting, who is in sensational shape from yoga, dropped into a class at Moksha Yoga during the day before his show.
Fellow yogis in the class were dazzled by having a star in their midst, but left him alone to practice and sweat.
That night in concert he was limber and agile as he worked his way through a 22song setlist that included his own hits, such as Englishman in New York, Fields of Gold and Desert Rose, and Police smashes Roxanne, Every Breath You Take, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, Message in a Bottle and De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da.
8. KISS, 2013
Critics have panned them for years. We agree, the guys from KISS are not great musicians, they never had a No. 1 single. KISS are amazing showmen led by founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, decked out in their 1970s makeup. Pyrotechnics, a giant spider, blood spitting, fire eating, pole dancing, and, oh yes, Detroit Rock City and Rock and Roll All Night. Kelowna loved them. It’s also amazing to see the wide demographic of fans at a KISS concert, ranging from little kids to overweight guys in their 70s.
9. ROD STEWART, 2001
It was one year before he launched his wildly-successful American Songbook series of albums, and Rod hadn’t yet become a parody of himself. His set weighed heavily on his early years (Reason to Believe. Maggie May, and the Faces’ gem Stay With Me) and his love of Motown songs (Having a Party, It Takes Two). But Rod was still at the top of his game and he delivered an unforgettable show, highlighted by his more recent hits Downtown Train and Forever Young.
10. BRYAN ADAMS, 2015
Adams has played concerts in Kelowna more than Johnny Cash played prisons. He’s coming back in the spring.
His best show, to date, was a celebration of the 30-year anniversary of his landmark album, Reckless. He performed the entire album live — the hits (there were five), forgettable numbers (Long Gone), and even some tracks that were recorded but didn’t make the album (there was a song called Reckless — the album’s title stuck). Then he pounded out hits that came before and after Reckless, backed by his long-time band, all dressed in Adams’ trademark black and white. For good measure, he tossed in a cover version. At age 55, this kid still wanted to rock. Reckless, to date, is one of the top-selling albums of all-time by a Canadian artist.
Did we miss one of your favourites? Send your thoughts to: letters@ok.bc.ca or visit The Kelowna Daily Courier’s Facebook page.