One of the Midwest’s finest facilities Alpine Valley Music Theatre in Elkhorn, Wisconsin will not be hosting any concerts this season. Live Nation announced that the outdoor venue will not open in 2017 due to a lack of tour routes that traditionally pass through the area. With Phish off the road, and Dave Matthews taking a year off with his Band, the Valley will remain quiet this summer.
“It’s an unusual year in that a lot of artists we’ve traditionally hosted are playing in other buildings or not playing at all this season,” explains Jon Reens, the Vice President of Marketing for Midwest music at Live Nation.
“Either they’re not coming through Wisconsin or are playing at places like Wriggly Field instead of Alpine Valley,” he says. “Dave Matthews, the band, isn’t touring this year. Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds are touring together, but they’re playing at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago.”
While Live Nation still worked to book the season with other noteworthy acts, they weren’t able to come up with the proper billings needed to open the venue for the 2017 season. “Whether it was touring schedules, or production design where they can’t fit on our stage, or other things, they were not able to confirm for 2017,” explains Reens.
Instead, the time will be used to focus on revamping the venue with general maintenance and repairs for a great season next year. “We have absolutely zero intention of abandoning the facility,” he assures. “We are refocusing on 2018 to build a more robust schedule. We had to make a difficult decision to not open for this year, but we’re focusing on 2018.”
Not totally random, but remember when the Famous Mockingbird “totally knew shitting on Trey would inspire him”? Read the full interview here.
[via My Walworth County]