With a view of the mountains and a place under Provo’s summer night sky, it’s hard not to love the Rooftop Concert series.
Tonight marks the last concert of the Rooftop Concert series, a succession of concerts from May to October that have celebrated Provo’s music scene and cultural identity. Tonight’s concert features The Lower Lights, a group of musicians who gather to revive old hymns, with the appropriate amount of folksy undertones.
The Rooftop Concert series started as an effort to revive the arts in downtown Provo. The organizers of the series, some of Provo’s most prominent artists and personalities, began preparation last October.
[/media-credit]Mindy Gledhill, one of the event organizers, explained the decision to host the concerts on a downtown rooftop.
As far as choosing a venue, the rooftop of a downtown parking garage presented itself as the perfect option. After some deliberation among the organizers, the concert series officially became the Rooftop Concert series, Gledhill said.
“It wasn’t a venue until we made it one,” she said. “You can see the rooftops of historic buildings and the mountains, but most of all it’s central, exactly what we wanted.”
Madison Parks, a junior from Huntington Beach, Calif., studying public relations, said the venue was a highlight of her experience.
“My favorite part, besides it being free, was the setup,” Parks said. “You could see the city lights of Provo and there was space to just walk around. I love that Provo is doing this, it just seems like something a college town should be doing.”
Performing at these free concerts has also been a unique experience for the musicians. It’s hard not to love a roaring crowd of college kids on a nice summer evening, said Imagine Dragons band members in an email.
“We were all blown away by the massive crowd response and enthusiasm,” the band members said. “It was, once again, a reminder of how alive and vibrant the Provo music scene is. There is definitely a hunger for live music which is so validating as a band.”
The concerts have grown throughout the summer, with more than 4,000 in attendance at September’s Imagine Dragons show. Kendrick, one of the event organizers and author of the blog cjanerun.com, explained what has made the series so successful this year.
“I’ve been told by many people and I agree, that putting on a free concert for the community and to do so with such style and safety couldn’t happen anywhere else in the world,” Kendrick said. “I feel like we’ve taken advantage of Provo’s unique culture — the culture that people aren’t always comfortable with — and put it to good use.”
