Why all the changes to this year’s Rooftop Concert Series? Founders open up
Last year's Rooftop finale, which featured headliner Neon Trees, drew as many as 10,000 attendees.
Demand for the series outgrew its original location, on top of the Provo Town Square parking terrace.
This year's Rooftop Concert Series is moving to ground level, in front of the Nu Skin building on Center Street. "I think with the new venue, it’s going to allow us to add more people than we ever did before,” said co-founder Justin Hackworth.
Rooftop Concert Series co-founders C. Jane Kendrick (pictured), Justin Hackworth and Sarah Wiley nearly ended their run as event organizers this year. “Six years ago, our careers were in a different place, our families were in a different place," Kendrick said of the series' beginnings.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on the Rooftop Concert Series. Click here to read Part II, which explores the series’ role in downtown Provo’s growth.
Keeping the Rooftop Concert Series on a rooftop became nearly impossible. As it turns out, so did moving it off.
On the cusp of its sixth season, which kicks off Friday in downtown Provo, Rooftop Concert founders C. Jane Kendrick, Justin Hackworth and Sarah Wiley sat down with the Daily Herald to discuss the past, present and future of the acclaimed series. As they opened up, one thing became clear: A lot of stuff goes on behind the scenes.
CREATING A BEAST
Hypnotic stage lights, nearly deafening rock ‘n’ roll and a frenzied chorus of cheers ignited downtown Provo’s crisp autumn air last Oct. 3. As many as 10,000 people crammed into Center Street and 100 West that night for last year’s Rooftop Concert Series finale. Provo music alums Neon Trees headlined. Organizers put a massive stage and lights setup on Center Street, not the Provo Town Square parking terrace where the series had always been, to accommodate the demand. Downtown Provo was seemingly transformed.
It’s hard to believe that show nearly ended Rooftop entirely.
“It just felt like we had accomplished what we set out to do,” Wiley recalled. “We had created an artistic identity downtown, we helped revitalize, we brought people downtown — let’s end on a high note.
“I feel like it set up an expectation that we never intended, and don’t intend, to meet,” she continued. “It does worry me that the only thing that people have to compare against, at this point, is what it looks like, and sounds like, and feels like, to have a huge band and 10,000 people and this huge production.”
The three of them debated what to do this year. They had options: handing it off to someone else, taking a year off or stopping it altogether.
“Six years ago, our careers were in a different place, our families were in a different place,” Kendrick said. “We were just six years younger. We had the energy, and I think we had more time to do it.”
They decided to call it quits, and Kendrick scheduled a meeting with Provo Mayor John Curtis. She explained their situation to him — that Rooftop had outgrown their expectations, energy and time — but his response was somewhat surprising.
“He said, ‘No, this is not acceptable,’ ” Kendrick recalled. “Basically, he talked me back into it. And then I had to talk these guys back into it.”
A JOINT EFFORT
The logistics of executing an entire summer concert series — booking musicians, crafting lineups, doing promotion, coordinating with the city, recruiting a sound crew, setup crew, vendors, etc. — is a tall order. Especially on a volunteer basis. According to Kendrick, Mayor Curtis said he’d do whatever it took to keep them on board, and has provided an ample support staff and modest compensation for their time and effort. This expanded infrastructure, they said, will accommodate Rooftop’s continued growth for another year.
Hackworth said the city’s assistance has increased as the series has grown. When Rooftop started, he recalled the city’s support was fairly hands-off — it allowed them to do their thing, but remained rather passive on the whole. Rooftop, however, gradually became enmeshed in downtown Provo’s revitalization. Mayor Curtis’ recent insistence and support shows just how much that relationship has grown.
“For five years we got along by asking for favors, and paying less than the going rate,” Hackworth said. “So part of a bigger budget is paying people what they need to get paid.”
FROM THE ROOF TO THE STREET
With the exception of a few shows, the Rooftop Concert Series has always been atop the Provo Town Square parking terrace. It was the ideal spot when things first started. As demand grew, however, the parking structure became increasingly packed. Once demand exceeded that space, moving locations just made sense. This year’s Rooftop shows all will be on Center Street, in front of the Nu Skin building. Kendrick said the decision was one of both practicality and safety. Being on the structure while thousands jump in unison was both thrilling and legitimately frightening.
“It’s not even meant for a concert,” she said of the parking garage. “At some point, we were just getting a little bit nervous.”
Hackworth recalled bringing an engineer to the parking terrace before last year’s September show to assess its structural integrity. Scoping out the empty structure, the engineer said it would all be fine.
“And then he came to one of the shows, and then he said, “Oh! So this is what happens up here.’ And he kind of changed his mind,” Hackworth said. That was the last time the Rooftop shows were on a rooftop.
It’s an incredible view on top of the terrace, especially when the sun goes down — and especially when it’s warm, there’s a band playing, and paper lanterns hang above the crowd. Indeed, the series has been inextricably linked to that visual.
“But I think with the new venue, it’s going to allow us to add more people than we ever did before,” Hackworth said. “People who’ve maybe never come, because it was too crowded, might feel like they can come and have a little more room.”
A YEAR FOR CHANGE
A new location and budget aren’t the only changes to this year’s series. To offset the expanded scope of each individual show, this year’s series features four concerts (previous years had six), on the first Friday of each month through September.
Instead of releasing the entire series lineup at once, Kendrick, Hackworth and Wiley are staggering those announcements. Each specific show will have its lineup announced a few weeks prior. This allows more flexibility should last-minute changes arise. In addition, the annual tribute show, which honors a specific musician, band or musical theme, has been moved from July to August. The July show should be particularly intriguing, since it’s happening on July 3 — the same night Provo residents pack downtown to secure their spots for the Freedom Festival Grand Parade.
It’s a lot of changes this year, some big and some small, but for now that’s the status quo.
“We just decided that this was going to be our year of change,” Wiley said. “Anything that we had considered doing differently, let’s just try it.”
