Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion Adds Shows To 2014 Lineup

Venue On Track To Open in June

STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF Construction continues as supporters and members of the media attend a topping ceremony Monday for the new Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers.
STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF Construction continues as supporters and members of the media attend a topping ceremony Monday for the new Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers.

— Boston, Foreigner and the Steve Miller Band joined the slate of concerts for the inaugural season of the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion.

At A Glance

Upcoming Shows

Tickets are on sale for the first two scheduled shows at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers.

• June 20 — Darius Rucker with Pat Green and A Thousand Horses

• July 7 — Willie Nelson and Family, Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas

• Aug. 3 — Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers with Edie Brickell

• Aug. 15 — Boston

• Aug. 29 — Foreigner

• Sept. 11 — Jake Owen

• Sept. 27 — Steve Miller Band

Source: Walmart AMP

Brian Crowne, general manager of the Walmart AMP, announced the new concert dates Monday during a topping off ceremony. Center supporters and local dignitaries signed the metal beam before workers hoisted it into place above the 5,430-square-foot stage.

"We will become a destination and a stop for artists on tour," Crowne said.

The new concert dates are: Boston on Aug. 15, Foreigner on Aug. 29 and the Steve Miller Band on Sept. 27.

Construction of the $11 million pavilion is slated to be done in early June. The earliest concert on the schedule to date is Darius Rucker on June 20.

Johnelle Hunt, a founding Walmart AMP benefactor, said she does not know many of the acts scheduled to perform at the amphitheater this year, but she has plans to be in attendance July 7.

"I already have my tickets to see Willie Nelson," she said.

Hunt donated the six acres the music venue sits on near the Pinnacle Hills Promenade.

She also provided a $3 million interest-free loan for the venue's construction.

Other large contributors were the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation and Walmart, both making $2.5 million donations.

Three of the amphitheater's five Teflon-coated fabric sheets that will provide cover for the 3,000 permanent seats are in place. The other two will be installed over the next week and a half, said David Swain, project manager.

Swain said the covering will be able to withstand wind of up to 90 mph.

The venue also will be able to seat more than 4,000 additional people on its sloped lawn.

The Walmart AMP also has 294 box seats. Peter Lane, Walton Arts Center president and chief executive officer, said more than 85 percent of those are already sold.

"This is just adding another element to all the great things we have in Northwest Arkansas," Hunt said. "This is another thing that will pull people to our great part of the state."

Lane said the music venue is another piece of the area's entertainment puzzle.

"There are so many pieces, and this gives us even more options," he said.

The Walton Arts Center also is in the early stages of a $23 million expansion and renovation of it Fayetteville site on Dickson Street. Work is scheduled to start this summer and be complete in 2 1/2 years.

The Walton Arts Center opened in Fayetteville in 1992.

The Arkansas Music Pavilion started in 2005 in the Northwest Arkansas Mall's parking lot. Crowne bought the venture in 2008 and sold it to the Walton Arts Center in 2011. The venue moved to the Washington County Fairgrounds in Fayetteville in 2012.

Lane said an additional, larger arts center is expected to be constructed in Bentonville.

"Arts are alive in Northwest Arkansas," he said. "We are selling more tickets faster than ever."

NW News on 04/01/2014

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