AtlanticFest to Bring Young Music Fans, Economic Impact to Moncton
MONCTON–When it comes to bigger shows, Moncton has been known to attract mainly classic rock and country acts. AtlanticFest, a two-date Labour Day Weekend festival, is aiming to shake up that notion and appeal to a younger audience.
On September 4, Moncton will host Selena Gomez, Flo Rida, DNCE, Shawn Hook and Francesco Yates at Moncton Stadium, a $17 million venue built in 2010. Paradise, NL will host the artists on September 3 at Paradise Park.
Newfoundland-based AtlanticFest promoter and organizer David Carver says his company’s philosophy has been to make the impossible possible in Atlantic Canada and he believes he’s done just that by bringing these particular artists to the area.
“There’s a lot of country shows that come through Atlantic Canada and a lot of classic rock shows and that’s great. Country music is excellent and classic rock music is excellent but there didn’t seem to ever have been a current Top 40 music festival that had ever come through Atlantic Canada,” he said.
“As soon as something hasn’t been done, that’s when my radar goes off and I get passionate. I thought about putting together a festival that appealed to a wider age group and a family element to it but certainly for the hardcore concert goers, music that would appeal to them as well.”
Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold says she expects AtlanticFest will have a significant economic impact on the city.
“The capacity of the stadium is 25 thousand people,” she said. “We don’t know how many people are going to show up for Selena Gomez but these kind of events are definitely great for our local economy. They attract people from all over who eat here, stay here, spend the weekend here.”
Arnold says the Moncton Stadium gained attention as a major venue after hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup, an event that brought an economic impact over $20 million to Moncton. She says hosting major events spreads awareness about the viability of Moncton Stadium and the city in general as a venue.
Carver said he chose Moncton Stadium because he always thought it would be a great concert venue. He says the venue offers something for every type of concert experience and that he thinks the artists will be impressed by the reception from Atlantic Canada.
“I think the music fans on the East Coast will show their appreciation as soon as the artists walk onstage and if the artist doesn’t know it before that moment, they find out pretty quick,” Carver said. “The fans on the East Coast are some of the most passionate, loud, respectful fans anywhere.”
Arnold says AtlanticFest will be the first concert held at Moncton Stadium, and it’s expected to be very different from shows held at Magnetic Hill.
“It’s tough to measure what the impact of something like that is but it’s all about building our city as a destination for these amazing world class events,” Arnold said. “I think it’s good for Moncton’s brand for sure. This is the first time we haven’t had sort of the classic rock concert so I think it’s good. It will bring a vitality and youthfulness to our city that’s more than welcome.”