Concord Pavilion ready to open up for shows next month
Spirit West Coast tour will bring first fans to venue since pandemic started
Having mostly gone without live music since early 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, fans understandably have been wondering when the first major ticketed concert might take place again in theBayArea.
And at this point, it appears the answer is July 18, when the Spirit West Coast concert takes place at the Concord Pavilion.
Chart-topping singersongwriter Chris Tomlin headlines this popular Christian music showcase, which also features such acclaimed acts as Danny Gokey, Phil Wickham, We Are Messengers and Riley Clemmons. Tickets cost $15-$65 and are at transparentproductions.com.
Of course, there already have been some smaller shows such as at Blue Note Napa gigs at the Charles Krug Winery, which holds some 250 fans for gigs. Plus the Stern Grove Festival has just announced plans to return in midJune, albeit (at least initially) at limited crowd capacity.
But in terms of a ticketed, full-capacity show (or at least close to it) at a venue that can hold thousands — something that will approach what concerts were like in 2019 — that likely won’t happen until fans gather together in Concord on July 18.
“It’s exciting to see how quickly the situation has changed,” remarks Tim Taber, CEO of Transparent Productions, promoters of Spirit West Coast and other Christian music concerts around the country. “Three months ago, we were pretty sure that large-scale events wouldn’t be able to take place this summer.”
Taber said he was hoping to get the all clear to host the event at full capacity after California reopens the economy Tuesday.
Yet it’s hard to know how the event will be affected now that Gov. Gavin Newsom recently has said that California’s state of emergency will extend past that date.
Still, Taber says that the concert could still work at a somewhat limited capacity.
“We could pay for the event at 67% capacity,” he says. “We probably couldn’t break even at 50%.”
The former still would represent a very sizable crowd. The Pavilion boasts a 12,500 capacity for concerts, so 67% of that would represent almost 8,400 fans.
Promoters likely would take that trade-off in a heartbeat.
Spirit West Coast will happen more than two weeks before the next show at the Concord Pavilion — an Aug. 5 date with prog rock legend King Crimson. It also takes place well before the first shows of the year at other 5,000-pluscapacity Bay Area venues, which include Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View (Dierks Bentley on Aug. 21), SAP Center at San Jose (Harry Styles on Aug. 20), Oakland Arena (Celine Dion on Sept. 4) and the Greek Theatre in Berkeley (Rebelution, Steel Pulse on Aug. 13).
“Concord Mayor Tim McGallian, our City Council and city staff are very excited for concerts to resume at the Pavilion,” says Jennifer Ortega, community relations manager for the city of Concord. “It is a beautiful outdoor venue and wildly popular.”
Representatives from Live Nation, which operates the Concord Pavilion, are looking forward to welcoming fans back to concert venues after the extended break in live music.
“It’s encouraging to be closer to reconnecting fans to their favorite artists at live concerts,” a Live Nation statement reads. “As each event approaches, any updates will be shared on our website and directly with ticket holders with information needed to plan a visit to Concord Pavilion, including the latest policies and procedures to know before entering the venue in accordance with guidelines from local health and public safety officials.”