As high temperatures hover in the 90s and 100s in July, the operators of major outdoor concert venues in the Salt Lake Valley face a challenge: How to safely host events in the heat.
Chris Mautz, the concert promoter at Red Butte Garden, said the venue — which is nestled in the Wasatch Range foothills — has a “pretty active dialogue around weather in general.”
Red Butte’s Summer Outdoor Concert Series consists of 30 different shows from June to September. Next week, with high temperatures predicted in the upper 90s, Red Butte will feature the indie pop/jazz band Lake Street Dive performing Tuesday and the jazz/rock band Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue on Thursday.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Red Butte Garden concert goers wait for the gates to open, on Monday, July 15, 2024.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre said they provide fans and misters throughout the West Valley City venue, provide complimentary sunscreen, have free water refill stations and have increased the amount of water bottles people can bring to shows from one to two.
Last week, at the Noah Kahan show at Utah First, concert attendees were allowed to bring water bottles as large as one gallon. This weekend, pop singer Niall Horan and rock band A Day to Remember each were scheduled to headline concerts at Utah First.
Representatives for Sandy Amphitheater did not respond to an interview request for this story. The alt-rock band The Decemberists are scheduled to perform there Wednesday, and jazz/pop singer Norah Jones is slated to play there Thursday.
Across the state this summer, there are nearly 200 concerts scheduled at indoor and outdoor locations. Heat exhaustion at outdoor concerts has been a topic of conversation across the industry.
In November, a fan at a Taylor Swift concert in Rio de Janeiro died of heat exhaustion. A report from Bloomberg in June suggested that outdoor concerts need a new game plan in the face of continued climate change.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Chris Heck sprays Joyce Knoblett with water to cool down, as they wait for the gates to open, at Red Butte Garden, on Monday, July 15, 2024.
Mautz, at Red Butte Garden, said, “for years and and pretty much since the beginning, we’ve always allowed picnics and coolers into our concerts. We do have a water filling station. We allow folks to have umbrellas after gates, they put them down once the show starts, of course.”
Mautz also said Red Butte officials hope patrons are “taking care of themselves” by staying hydrated while waiting in line to get into the venue, and are exercising general situational awareness. Because there are no assigned seats at Red Butte, people need to line up early to get preferred seats.
“There’s not a ton that we’ve been able to do, it’s not our road outside, we don’t own it. Certainly folks out there have taken it upon themselves to even bring their own little pop-up tents, umbrellas and different shade mechanisms up there,” Mautz said.
Mautz said the venue pays attention to warnings from the National Weather Service and other agencies. Up until now, he said, the venue hasn’t had to divert from its “normal schedule” to accommodate excessive, dangerous heat.
Musicians and touring operations are “mindful” of the environment they are performing in and where patrons will attend, Mautz said, but it hasn’t become a conversation during the booking process.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) HISS Golden Messenger plays at Red Butte Garden, on Monday, July 15, 2024.
Mautz said Red Butte is also “uniquely positioned,” which helps in combating excessive heat.
“We’re pretty fortunate that where the garden is located, we do have some benefits … where we do see some real cooling pretty quickly into the evening hours. Believe it or not, even on some of the hottest days we’ve seen so far, there’s still people putting on sweatshirts before the show’s over,” he said.
Up to now, Mautz said, rising temperatures haven’t had a sway on whether or not the summer concerts can continue.
“There are a lot of things that could go into potentially presenting concerts into the future that might mitigate some of those concerns, whether it be starting shows later, opening doors later, making modifications along the way,” he said. “But currently, we still have that great cooling in the evening. …
“[It] is certainly a bit disheartening to see how dramatic sometimes these heat waves have become, and how sustained they are,” Mautz said. “But so far, we’ve been able to not have to get so far out ahead of it to start making future modifications.”
