Sun's out, let's rock!
Published Saturday June 27th, 2009
Thousands to pack Magnetic Hill Concert Site today for Bon Jovi show
Apparently, even the weatherman is a Bon Jovi fan.
After a week of cloudy, rainy weekend forecasts, yesterday Environment Canada finally said the words everybody was waiting to hear: today will be sunny with a high of 26C (79F) and not a drop of rain in sight.
So it's all systems go for the kickoff to the Magnetic Hill Music Festival today, with Bon Jovi, Bachman Cummings, State of Shock, Mobile and Alfa Rococo ready to perform at Atlantic Canada's premiere concert venue.
Donald K. Tarlton of DKD Events was at the concert site under a blazing sun yesterday afternoon overseeing the finishing touches, and saying he looks forward to seeing 25,000 to 30,000 fans for the first of two big shows this summer. AC/DC will rock the hill on Aug. 6.
While the concert site won't host the numbers seen at the inaugural Magnetic Hill Music Festival last year, when the Eagles played to 60,000, Tarlton said he was pleased with the expected turnout, given the suddenly glutted Atlantic concert market this year.
He was also confident his company will continue to grow its business in Moncton.
"When we saw what we were up against this summer, we forecasted for 25,000 for the show and to get to 30,000 is just going to be a bonus. That's fantastic," Tarlton, better known as Donald K. Donald, said.
"And, of course, AC/DC speaks for itself. It's the pre-eminent granddaddy of all concert tours this summer anywhere in the world."
An estimated 60,000 fans are expected for that show, Part Two of the Magnetic Hill Music Festival, meaning Moncton's two entries into the concert wars this summer will make it all worthwhile.
"The market will shake itself out," Tarlton said. "What might have looked totally glamorous to some people (promoting concerts) might have some economic consequences to some of the backers and promoters producers involved in the shows.
"Our company looks at these things in a long-term way. We took this marketplace and invested in it, developed it and built it ... and we've done very well."
He said it all augurs well for the site as a destination and when the market picks the winners and losers this year, the Magnetic Hill Music Festival will come out on top. As for his venture, he said he's been surviving and succeeding in the business for 45 years and looks forward to continuing to grow it.
"And fortunately, we've done better than we expected for this show, and that's a bonus."
The gates at the concert site open at 1 p.m. and there will be box offices set up for those looking to buy their tickets at the gates.
Disabled
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
Comments (3)
All comments are subject to the site Terms of Use. For a full commenting tutorial click here.
Our editorial team relies on filtering technology and our visitor community to identify inappropriate comments. In the event that a site user has submitted offensive content that has evaded our filter, please select the option to Flag As Inappropriate presented within the comment. Thank you for helping to keep this site clean.