Hey there blog-land! My head is swimming with a whole day’s worth of phone calls, planning, schedule updates and details on this year’s upcoming Rock the Garden…but someone at the Walker has decided that some of you out there might be interested in the backstage perspective on putting on a rock concert of this size in the middle of the street for 11,000 people. So here I am!
As the Production Manager for Events and Media Production, my department is responsible for supporting all the technical needs for performances and events presented and programmed at the Walker. For most of the productions we facilitate, we are working with one or two of the many departments at the Walker to bring arts, fun, and parties to the public. But Rock the Garden is a great example of the synergy of working across almost all of the various departments throughout the entire Center to bring a whole day of fun to those of you lucky enough to get one of those tickets before the show sold out! Some of us have been working on Rock the Garden 2009 since the week after last year’s show came down…so it will be great to share our excitement with ticket holders as they (hopefully) enjoy the fruits of our year-long labor!
This blog will be coming to a computer screen near you with the backstage perspective on creating an off-site event in the middle of downtown, for 11,000 of our closest friends, with 4 bands from around the country…in 36 hours! Photos, snippets heard backstage, troubleshooting, and the joys of a 7am-3am day with the crew of Rock the Garden…
In case you weren’t listening to 89.3 The Current just now, Walker performing arts curator Philip Bither and The Current’s Mary Lucia have announced the honest-Abe lineup of cutting-edge indie rock bands (as opposed to the April Fool’s version posted by some of our friends in the local media) for Rock the Garden at the Walker on June 20:
The Decemberists – bandleader Colin Meloy not only spins hyper-literate, mesmerizing tales, but he and his cohorts are consummate onstage entertainers as well-which explains the borderline obsessiveness of their fans. Their brand-new 17-song rock opera, The Hazards of Love, carries their ambitious, theatrical pop to new heights.
Calexico – these Southwestern experimental folk rockers had their songs “Crystal Frontier” beamed into space last summer as wake-up music for the astronauts on the Space Shuttle Discovery – news the band shared by making a free MP3 of that song available.
Yeasayer have landed on many critics’ buzz lists with their self-described “Middle Eastern-psych-pop-snap-gospel”; they conjure ancient traditions while looking toward an alternately bleak and bright future in songs like “2080.”
Solid Gold – the buzz over these local electro-rockers has grown rapidly since the release of their first full-length recording late last year. During a recent UK tour, NME described “Get Over It” as “exquisite spectral disco and a slow-burn favourite in the making” – and it has a free MP3 of the tune on its website.
If you’re not a member, now is the time to become one – tickets are only available to members of the Walker or MPR through April 22. Click here for all the details – including a special deal for new and renewing members!
You can also check out Rock the Garden on Facebook where we’ll be posting details leading up to the event. Visit rockthegarden2009.com which will take you there.
Photo by Cameron Wittig
Tune into 89.3 The Current at 4pm to hear Walker performing arts curator Philip Bither and The Current’s Mary Lucia announce the lineup for Rock the Garden on June 20 – this festival has become one of summer’s coveted tickets. Speaking of tickets, they go on sale tomorrow too, but Walker and MPR members get first dibs. If you’re looking for an excuse to join, this is as good as it gets. Oh wait, it gets better: Your ticket is free if you contribute at $60 or more; tickets for you and a friend are free if you renew or joining at $150 or more. As you listen to Mary and Philip playing songs from the bands, check out images from Rock the Garden last year – and picture yourself this June, soaking up sun and great sounds in our grassy back yard.