What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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8 WHAT'S UP! JUNE 20-26, 2021 COVER STORY W e've finally made it. It's been two years — and one whole canceled season — since the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers hosted a major tour with a nationally touring artist. Last summer, the venue was able to open for a few movie nights at limited capacity, and the Happy Hours at the AMP series gave guests a chance to see local live music on the new Choctaw Plaza at the top of the lawn. When the outdoor amphitheater reopens for a full season June 25, it will be the first time patrons will be able to experience all the new amenities and spaces (at capacity) that came with its $17.2 million expansion. "I'm very excited to have some of the artists back with us that have been with us prior because I think they're going to be really happily surprised with the artist amenities that we've added backstage," adds AMP Vice President Brian Crowne. "That loss of live arts, of live music, that experience, it became very apparent to me how important it is to a lot of people's mental health," he goes on. "And I think having that taken away is creating a demand and an appetite for it even more because there's nothing like going to a live music event and checking out of reality for a couple of hours, just experiencing it in the moment. And it can be very healing when you're talking about day-to- day stresses of life, not even a pandemic. So I think that [loss] adds to [people not taking] it for granted. It's like, 'You know, I may not get a chance to see that band again. They may not come back through here. So we're going to take that chance, and we're going to go now.'" Twenty-six shows have been announced for the 2021 season, with a couple more expected soon. Three shows originally part of the 2020 season have already been slated to visit next here. Check out the artists bringing full-scale national tours back to Rogers this year: JUNE 25 An Evening With Chicago 7:30 p.m. Tickets $30-$315* One of the longest running and most successful rock 'n' roll groups of all time returns to the Walmart AMP to open the season June 25. Chicago is one of the best-selling groups of all time, has landed on Billboard's lists for top 100 greatest artists of all time ranked by both single chart success and album chart success, and the group received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in October. "It's one of those bands that when you see 'em, you forget how many hits they had till they start playing the show," Crowne There are 26 shows scheduled so far for the 2021 return season at the Walmart AMP in Rogers. Several acts are making their Rogers debut, and a couple are even coming to Arkansas for the very first time. Organizers anticipate one or two more announcements in the coming days before the season is truly set. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Ben Goff) All About The AMP Touring music back with a bang this summer FAQ Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion WHEN — 2021 season through October WHERE — 5079 W. North- gate Road in Rogers INFO — 443-5600, arkan- sasmusicpavilion.com FYI — Ticket buyers may also choose to add one of the venue's new amenities — Fast Track for early access to the venue and lawn chair rentals — to their tickets for $10 each.