It’s been three years since the campus of the Université de Moncton hosted its first concert, but music fans will be back and screaming on Saturday. Pop superstars the Jonas Brothers will take the stage at the Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium and the City of Moncton’s director of events and venues is thrilled to have them. “It’s awesome,” said Shane Porter. “Obviously we want to have big names. We’ve hosted a number of big names over the years. So anytime you can do an outdoor show with a large act like that, obviously we’re excited.” Around 23,000 fans attended Guns N’ Roses on Aug. 5, 2023. Porter said there’s a few tweaks for this year’s show, mainly with transportation drop offs, but the plan is basically the same. “It went very, very well. We did a number of large-scale sporting events over the years in the stadium with the CFL and we hosted FIFA’s Women’s World Cup and stuff like that, so we’ve had a lot of experience of getting people in and out of this site,” said Porter. Porter and the city would like to see big time shows at the stadium every summer and not once every three years. “We’re doing a lot of talking right now and a lot of planning. I hope that comes to fruition. The plan has always been to do something annually,” said Porter. Moncton’s annual Pride Parade is also taking place Saturday which means the streets of downtown will be full of people. The Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium is a short drive from downtown and within walking distance for most people. Gallagher’s Irish Pub owner Steve Gallagher is expecting more business than usual. “There’s no doubt about it. I’m talking on behalf of all the pub and bar and restaurant owners. I wish there was just more of them. More concerts, because it does increase the foot traffic downtown,” he said. Tide and Boar owner Chad Steeves said it’s already been a great summer around the city and events like the Jonas Brother concert help pack the downtown venues. “I love all the events coming in. I’d like to see a bit more sometimes on Main Street. I think events like the car show day where everything is downtown and people are walking around do draw a lot of people. Maybe Canada Day moving back to Main Street would be awesome. Besides that, I think they are all great and fantastic for business,” he said. Over the years, Moncton’s Magnetic Hill concert site has seen mega stars like the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles and U2 play in front of tens of thousands of fans. Two great sites, Porter said, but the city is concentrating on the Croix-Bleue Medavie Stadium right now. “We see the way touring is going. They seem to focus more, promoters do, on stadiums. So, I’ll never say that Magnetic Hill is out of the picture. We talk about it all the time with promoters. But right now, this site seems to fit the bill,” said Porter. While Moncton has hosted some of the biggest names in rock over the past twenty years, Porter said Saturday’s show with the Jonas Brothers and opening act Arkells is more on the pop side. “You see a lot of country in the marketplace right now in Atlantic Canada. You see a lot of rock over the years, but we don’t do a lot of pop outdoors and this type of music, so we’re really excited about this one,” said Porter. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
