Hitting the Right Notes
The sweet sounds of your favorite band or artist filling the night sky. The familiar strum of a guitar, range of a lead singer’s voice, or drum solo with thousands of your closest friends, hanging on every note.
I have missed it terribly and I know so many of you have as well.
Which is why we are so excited for August and the months ahead as we welcome some of our favorite entertainers back to Lincoln with the return of concerts. Lincoln is set to host numerous national acts in the weeks and months ahead, resuming the incredible entertainment options that we have grown accustomed to over the years.
On the heels of the great success of the National High School Finals Rodeo and an overall increase in visitors to Lincoln over the past few months, we are once again seeing Lincoln provide excellent entertainment opportunities for residents and visitors alike. This extends to events of all kinds coming back to Lincoln, from group tours to large concerts, which will dominate August in particular.
The week of August 9 will set the tone for the rest of our 2021 events in Lincoln. The Avett Brothers and Willie Nelson take to the Pinewood Bowl stage, Zoofest returns to downtown Lincoln, and
Dropkick Murphys and Rancid all entertain Lincoln that week. This of course leads up to Garth Brooks, who will entertain 90,000 plus fans at Memorial Stadium for a one-of-a-kind event that will be talked about for years to come.
The fact that Brooks’ concert sold out in roughly 90 minutes is a true indication of not only his popularity but also how excited Lincolnites and those from surrounding areas are for live music events.
It goes without saying that not only the Garth Brooks concert, but all concerts and performances have an impact on our local economy, with hotels being booked up, restaurants patronized, and local businesses welcoming more people through their doors.
Some estimates suggest Brooks’ appearance in Lincoln could generate more than $10 million for the local economy.
“It is a huge weekend for Lincoln and essentially another Husker home game in terms of dollars spent in our community,” according to Jeff Maul, executive vice-president of the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The immense impact of events like this helps boost our hospitality industry from motels and hotels to restaurants and other attractions around Lincoln.”
We continue to hear from interested groups and events that are thinking about coming to Lincoln for the rest of 2021 and into the years ahead. Early interest has beat industry projections for similar cities and even exceeded our initial projections for 2021. Lincoln has traditionally weathered widespread economic uncertainty better than many peer communities and this appears to be the case in a post-COVID-19 landscape as well.
With Husker home football games and volleyball matches also returning to full capacity this fall and basketball in the winter, the rebound will continue with tourism driving a number of visitors to our local businesses. August will be a time to sing along and celebrate the incredible strides we continue to make as a community, including through the support of local business.
