the final encore - Great Park Neighborhoods

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COMMUNITY IN
ORANGE COUNTY
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Above: The Pacific Symphony Orchestra
performs during its Irvine Meadows Summer
Festival. Below, left to right: Gwen Stefani,
Zac Brown and Michael Jackson have all
played Irvine Meadows.
THE FINAL ENCORE
Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre helped define
contemporary Orange County
O
BY KEDRIC FRANCIS
n an October night later this
year a band will play one
last note at Irvine Meadows
Amphitheatre. Fans will
cheer and applaud the final
encore. Perhaps they’ll
linger, taking it all in and
recalling other concerts and
other nights, before a last,
long walk down the hill. Even the traffic
jam in the parking lot might inspire a
last twinge of nostalgia for the outdoor
music and events venue that is closing
after this, its final summer season.
When Irvine Meadows opened in
late August of 1981, lions and rhinos
still roamed at Lion Country Safari,
fighter jets flew from the nearby El
Toro Marine Corps Air Station, Irvine
Spectrum didn’t exist and opening
night at the Orange County Performing
Arts Center was still five years away.
The architecturally unassuming
amphitheatre tucked into the hills
between Irvine and Laguna Canyon
was a key part of the evolution of OC
and Irvine from beige-tinged and
For more on what inspires Irvine,
go to irvineinspired.com
buttoned-down suburbia to the vibrant
and diverse community it has become,
complete with its own creative culture.
“For the longest time, if you lived
in Orange County, going to a major
concert almost certainly began with
an hour on the freeway to L.A.,”
recalls former OC Register rock critic,
music expert and museum curator
Jim Washburn. “OC was just a sleepy
bunch-of-nothing place that bands
drove though on the way to San Diego.
When Irvine Meadows opened in
1981, headlines wondered if OC was
cosmopolitan enough to support a
major concert venue. Audiences quickly
answered that question.”
Irvine Meadows, which was also
known as Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
between 2000 and 2014, was home to
genre-defining debuts and important
musical moments. Michael Jackson,
David Bowie, Robin Williams, Prince,
Freddy Mercury and Frank Sinatra are
among the performers no longer with us
who played the 15,000-seat venue.
“Irvine Meadows put OC on the
map in the minds of agents, managers
and artists,” says Matt Curto, who
began at the venue in 1985 as assistant
general manager. Orange County soon
became a place where bands tried out
SUMMER FOR
THE SYMPHONY
“It’s hard to believe, but it’s been
almost three decades that we’ve
been performing in our summer
home here in Irvine Meadows—
bringing it alive with the sounds
of Pacific Symphony’s Summer
Festival,” says PSO Music Director
Carl St.Clair. “This summer will be
our last performing there—and
while very exciting plans are
taking shape for 2017—we hope
everyone will come and be a part
of our grand finale season. Each
concert promises to bring to life
the finest musical experiences by
our remarkable orchestra.”
JULY
The Music of
Michael Jackson
JULY
Beethoven’s Ninth
AUG
Raiders of the Lost Ark
AUG
The Spy Who Loved Me
featuring Sheena Easton
SEPT
Tchaikovsky Spectacular
4
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13
21
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concerts at Irvine Meadows, along with
“multiple nights with Oingo Boingo
around Halloween, three nights with
George Michaels in 1988 when he was
at his peak, and No Doubt’s four soldout shows in 2009,” with Katy Perry as
an opening act.
“And we can’t forget the Weenie
Roast,” Curto says of KROQ radio
station’s annual festival that helped
define summertime for music fans
during its 24-year run. “And all of the
great bands that played as part of that
festival over the years.”
It’s been 35 summers of live music
at Irvine Meadows, with the final
shows set for the end of October—
though the performers are still a
secret. So what’s next for outdoor
concerts in Irvine? The Orange
County Register has reported several
times that the Orange County Great
Park is one possible site for a new
amphitheatre, though nothing official
has been announced.
Music fans hope that future SoCal
summers will include concerts under
the stars in Irvine.
All shows start at 8 P.M.
pacificsymphony.org/tickets/
concerts/summer
new material and innovative concepts.
The founders of the original and
highly influential Lollapalooza festival
selected Irvine and not L.A. for three
of its earliest shows during the 1991
debut season that helped establish
alternative rock. The Eagles launched
their “Hell Freezes Over” reunion tour
at the venue in 1994, after not playing
together for 14 years.
Curto, who is Operations Manager
at Irvine Meadows this season, lists the
five sold-out shows by The Eagles at
the top of his list of most memorable
Let’s make Irvine the very best it can be. Let’s keep our eyes
and minds open to new ideas. Let’s go beyond the status quo.
Let’s surprise ourselves with what happens next. Let’s go.
CREATED BY SOCAL NEWS GROUP CUSTOM CONTENT | SPONSORED BY FIVEPOINT
FIVEPOINT’S COMMITMENT
TO CULTURE & TRADITION
The heart and soul of any great
community is its culture and traditions.
For 35 years, Irvine Meadows has
been a center of culture, particularly
live outdoor music, in Irvine. It has
hosted generations of diverse fans
that reflect the energy and creativity
of Orange County. It’s why FivePoint
has agreed to sponsor the storied
amphitheater for its final season and is
eager as the developer of Great Park
Neighborhoods to help further the
tradition of outdoor music in Irvine.