‘Celebrate getting back to normal’
Blue Rodeo to play indoor show on New Year’s Eve
A year-end musical extravaganza will usher out 2021 in Niagara Falls in December, but the traditional outdoor concert at Queen Victoria Park remains off the table.
More than 75 live music performances will take place at 20 venues across Niagara Falls between Dec. 27 and Jan. 1, including an indoor concert on New Year’s Eve featuring Blue Rodeo, Serena Ryder and Crown Lands.
The first Niagara Falls Music Live event will bring a talented and diverse lineup of local, Ontario and Canadian talent to the city with more than 11 events per night, and 13 live music events on New Year’s Eve.
It’s a major turnaround from last year when all New Year’s Eve programming was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Janice Thomson, president of Niagara Falls Tourism, said Niagara Falls Music Live is not a replacement for the traditional outdoor concert at Queen Victoria Park on New Year’s Eve.
“We were planning this since last January — we’ve been working on it all year, so it’s going to be a major event, we’ll have it a few times a year is our plan … the next one will be in the spring, so it’s not meant to replace any existing (events),” she said.
Thomson said the goal is to showcase Niagara Falls as a “great place to come for live entertainment.”
“Niagara Falls is seen as a reliable destination for visitors. They know, if they book anything in Niagara Falls, they’re going to have a good time,” she said.
Monday’s announcement from Niagara Falls Tourism about Niagara Falls Music Live was followed by a joint statement issued by Niagara Parks Commission and City of Niagara Falls that this year’s outdoor New Year’s Eve celebration will
again be “paused” due to the pandemic.
The statement from David Adames, chief executive officer of Niagara Parks, and Mayor Jim Diodati, said although the traditional concert in Queen Victoria Park will not be taking place, “there are still plenty of exciting events” happening at Niagara Parks and across the city this holiday season, including Niagara Falls Music Live.
“Guests can also look forward to classic holiday events such as the OPG Winter Festival of Lights, which will once again light up the (Niagara) Parkway, Dufferin Islands and tourist districts in millions of twinkling light displays,” said the statement.
Adames said the outdoor celebration is being “paused” again because it was too difficult to plan such an event with all the uncertainty due to the pandemic.
“Planning a large-scale event like New Year’s Eve takes time and we, along the with the stakeholders, recognized that this was another year to pause,” he said.
“We are all certainly supporting the Niagara Falls Music Live event and all the other activities that are happening during the holidays in Niagara Falls.”
Diodati said Niagara Falls Music Live is a “way to help celebrate getting back to normal, putting COVID behind us.”
“Obviously, it’s a different approach to what we’ve done in the past. Instead of one big event, a bunch of smaller events, and it’s a good chance to reinvent things. It’s a good opportunity to pivot and try something new.”
Blue Rodeo’s first new album in five years, “Many A Mile,” is being released Dec. 3 and the New Year’s Eve concert at Scotiabank Convention Centre will kick off the iconic Canadian band’s 2022 national tour.
The schedule will showcase a wide array of music genres including jazz and rock hosted in theatres, convention centres, restaurants and bars.
“We are thrilled to introduce another signature event to the lineup of unforgettable experiences that make Niagara Falls Canada’s entertainment capital and a perfect winter getaway,” said Thomson in a press release.
Five concerts, including New Year’s Eve with Blue Rodeo, will bring live music back to stages across Niagara Falls with Canadian rock-favourites, The Trews, headlining at Scotiabank Convention Centre on Dec. 28 (tickets for both concerts go on sale Nov. 3).
Live entertainment at Marriott on the Falls, Old Stone Inn Boutique Hotel, Hilton Fallsview Hotel & Suites and Sheraton Fallsview Hotel will be announced later this week.
Visit musiclive.ca for more information.