Starting Friday, local bloggers and Twitter users buzzed about a potential upcoming concert at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Birmingham-based promoter Red Mountain Entertainment officially announced the venue’s schedule for its opening weekend on Monday, proving the rumors true.
The Avett Brothers with special guest Band of Horses will perform Friday, April 1, followed by Patti LaBelle and The O’Jays on Saturday, April 2. The shows are part of the inaugural Coca-Cola Concert Series.
Originally, Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker were set to perform the opening concert at the venue, but a scheduling conflict moved the show to May 25.
The Ferguson Center staff and the SGA are collaborating with Red Mountain Entertainment to put on the performance by The Avett Brothers and Band of Horses.
“With 33,000 students, we wanted to book bands that would appeal to students and that play at a lot of colleges,” said Red Mountain Entertainment’s Gary Weinberger. “We want to let students know right away that we’re sensitive to their needs.”
A main goal behind planning the show is to create a relationship with the city of Tuscaloosa and maintain the already established relationship with Red Mountain Entertainment, said Heather Roberts, a program assistant with the Ferguson Center whose primary responsibility is planning the concert.
“The city wants [the amphitheater] to be as much a part of the university community as the Tuscaloosa community,” she said.
Roberts, a UA alumna, said they are working to give students interested in event planning and concert production an opportunity to participate in the process of organizing shows at the venue.
Red Mountain handled the contracting and is promoting the show, while a team of graduate assistants selected the artists by researching which bands in the right price range were available, as well as what genres students prefer.
“It’s more affordable for us, and it’s a way for them [Red Mountain] to partner with the University,” Roberts said.
The Tuscaloosa Amphitheater has a seating capacity of approximately 7,470 reserved seats. The University is purchasing a block of tickets for students, while the rest of the tickets will be available to the general public for $33 each, Weinberger said.
Student tickets will be available for $10 each, with proceeds going to a scholarship fund. Though the starting date for sales is undecided, students will be able to purchase tickets at the Ferguson Center, Roberts said.
Tickets for the general public for both shows will go on sale Saturday, Feb. 12, at 10 a.m. through the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater Box Office and Ticketmaster.com, or by phone at 800-745-3000.
“We’re definitely excited that the University gets to be a part of the opening show and that students get to be some of the first to attend an event there,” Roberts said.
Though this is the only event the University is currently helping to plan, Roberts said she hopes to plan more shows in the future, with the Ferguson Center staff serving as a liaison between the University and the amphitheater.
For more information about the amphitheater and upcoming events, visit tuscaloosaamphitheater.com.
