Ever since the entertaining kitchen party-style country music concert at Affinity Place in May, we’ve been wondering when the next concert would be announced for Estevan.
We now know who it is, and it looks like it should be a great one.
It was announced earlier this week that The Offspring and SUM 41 would be entertaining local music fans on Nov. 23. For music fans in the 18-50 age group, these are two well-known acts that should prove to be an entertaining show and a big draw, as both have had numerous hits in their lengthy careers.
The bonus is that it’s a Saturday night show, so most spectators won’t have to worry about getting to work the next morning, no matter how late this concert goes.
One of the concerns raised with previous concerts at Affinity has been timing; they have been held on Sunday nights, or from Monday to Thursday, and people have to be at work the next day.
It also makes it difficult for fans from out of town to come to Estevan for a shows.
Put it on a Saturday night, though, and you’re more likely to get fans travelling from a distance, and it should be a bonus for alcohol sales during the concert. (We hope the city will have enough fully-staffed places to purchase alcohol during the night).
When Affinity Place opened in 2011, you often had five or six special events for the first couple of years. We had some great bands and performers roll through town. But over time, the novelty of having these acts has worn off, and due to the crash in oil prices in 2014, most people don’t have as much disposable income as we used to.
Therefore, the number of concerts has gone down.
There was one concert in 2017, two in 2018 and there will likely be just two this year. Four a year would be a nice number.
These concerts are not only good for music fans and for Affinity Place, but they’re good for the community as a whole. They bring people here who spend the night in our hotels. People eat in our bars and restaurants before going to the concert.
It makes for a fun night out that doesn’t just start or end at Affinity Place.
There hasn’t been a bad concert at Affinity since it opened. Sure, some have had better attendance than others, but the shows that have made their way to our events centre have been entertaining. If you’ve attended a concert at Affinity, you probably left feeling like you had your money’s worth, and that it was a great place to watch a concert, regardless of whether you were in the front row of the arena’s floor, or a standing room spot at the west end of the building.
Every performer who has been through Affinity Place has marvelled at the venue itself. There’s a reason why Estevan is often the smallest market on a tour; it’s the smallest community for the SUM 41 and The Offspring tour, too.
Performers know they will play at a great venue when they come to Estevan.
Affinity Place was not built to just be an ice sports venue. It was constructed to be a place that would host trade shows, community events and other attractions, including concerts.
So we’re excited to have this concert coming to Affinity Place. Hopefully the community will support it.
And hopefully we’ll keep getting concerts in Estevan. After all, Affinity Place should give us a variety of events, even in the winter months.
