After a quiet year and a half, Saint John’s waterfront is about to get a little louder and it has nothing to do with AIM Recycling. AREA 506 organizers have announced that, after several months of planning and a healthy vaccine rollout, they’ll be returning with a series of concerts this summer that will be held on their old stomping grounds.
It’s not quite a full-blown music festival—don’t expect a throng of sweaty people pressing you against the stage—but a much more genteel affair, spaced out over several weeks. Think of it as a slow reintroduction to music festivals, and society in general, paced out to avoid overwhelming the senses.
“This year’s format will look a little different and really puts the health and safety of our volunteers, artists and attendees at the forefront,” says Ray Gracewood, AREA 506 Founder and Chairperson. “We are ecstatic with what our planning committee has been able to create with the support of an amazing group of partners and stakeholders.”
Rather than their usual New Brunswick Day Weekend bonanza that tends to turn Uptown Saint John into a throbbing mass of humanity, AREA 506 will be hosting a ten-part Waterfront Concert Series taking place on Long Wharf on the Saint John Waterfront.
Concerts will take place each Friday and Saturday evening, running from Friday, July 16 to Saturday, August 14. Each night will have limited tickets, available as six or ten-person pods designed for maximum safety and minimizing social contact to your own little bubble cluster.
The plan for the AREA 506 2021 Waterfront Concert Series actually sound much more akin to their VIP experience, which we already know from experience is the preferable way to experience AREA 506.
“The location is perfect, not only because it feels like home, but also because of the space it affords us to encourage social distancing and to create a really unique pod-based environment for this year’s event” says Gracewood. “The site planning process has been a challenge as we’ve never organized an event like this, but I’m excited because the design is really starting to feel like everyone will get their own mini-VIP section”.
In an era when the future of many music festivals is in question, AREA 506 notes that the project would not have been possible with the support of public and private sponsors, led by Envision Saint John: The Regional Growth Agency.
“We’re incredibly excited to work with the AREA 506 team to make the Waterfront Concert Series a reality,” says Paulette Hicks, CEO of Envision Saint John. “As a founding partner of AREA 506, we knew that the team would rise to the challenge of developing an innovative experience that’s unique and cool, true to its brand, but also safe and responsible.”
AREA 506 has yet to announce the lineup and schedule of their 2021 Waterfront Concert Series, but details of that will be made public on Friday, May 28 with tickets going on sale Thursday, June 3. Exclusive pre-sale will be made available via their AREA 506 newsletter.