Concerts to return to Aurora's RiverEdge Park in July
RiverEdge Park in Aurora has announced the return of live concerts in July.
The park's open-air John C. Dunham pavilion is expected to have a mix of original and tribute acts throughout the summer.
Opening the season is One of These Nights, an Eagles tribute band on July 9. Other highlights include rap star Snoop Dog with guest Twista on July 18, and the genre-busting collective Poi Dog Pondering on Aug. 28.
"We're trying to be prepared as possible," said Jim Jarvis, vice president of programming and sales for RiverEdge. "So when we get the OK, we can hit the ground running."
Jarvis said governmental guidelines for safe audience capacities are still largely up in the air. He hopes that Illinois will at least reach a "bridge phase" with reduced capacity attendance by summer, though full capacity is the desired target.
"We've been running through all sorts of configurations," Jarvis said. "At the end of the day, our number one goal is to keep everybody backstage, onstage and in the seats as safe as possible."
From potential temperature checks to mask mandates, Jarvis said RiverEdge will do all it can to inform its patrons of any state guidelines that they may have to abide by to visit.
Most of the concerts originally were planned for 2020 but were rescheduled to this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for June 2020 concerts that were postponed (like the Blues on the Fox festival and The Chicago Experience), ticket holders will have a few options. They will have 60 days before the rescheduled 2022 concert dates to confirm attendance, or to seek a refund or credit for other RiverEdge or Paramount Theatre shows.
RiverEdge is not alone in pinning its hopes on July. The Ravinia Festival in Highland Park and concerts at Wrigley Field in Chicago also have July start dates.
"Mind you, we started taking a bit of a slide over the last couple of weeks," said Jarvis about the state's uptick in diagnosed coronavirus cases. "Hopefully that won't continue, otherwise nobody will be doing shows this summer."
RiverEdge Park is located at 360 N. Broadway St., Aurora. To reserve tickets and for more information on the summer concert season lineup, visit riveredgeaurora.com or call (630) 896-6666. Tickets will also be sold on-site, pending availability.