WILKES-BARRE TWP. — For at least a few days, maybe only a few hours, things felt somewhat normal.
Will Beekman, general manager for ASM Global at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza, took a well-deserved breather Monday.
Three consecutive parking lot concerts drew approximately 4,000 attendees combined, Beekman explained.
“It felt so good to be working on live events again,” Beekman said. “It’s been four months, but it feels like four years. And that’s what everyone is longing for — venues, artists, patrons, people in general — to feel like things are normal again. It was a lot of work, but man was it a lot of fun.”
The three-in-a-row concerts kicked off with “Come Together: A Community Benefit Concert for the Arts” on Thursday evening.
That was followed by performances from Queen tribute act Almost Queen on Friday night and comedian Jim Gaffigan on Saturday night.
Thursday’s show benefited The F.M Kirby Center, Karl Hall, The Ritz Theater, The Scranton Cultural Center, The Dietrich Theater, McGlynn Center in Wilkes-Barre, The Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre, WVIA, Axelrad Screen Printing and Luzerne County Head Start. Two additional non-profits will be added via fan vote in the coming weeks through the Gallery of Sounds Facebook page.
The three-event series was well-received, Beekman said.
”The production was fantastic,” Beekman said. “The weather couldn’t have been better. And the performers gave everyone their money’s worth. I couldn’t be prouder of the job our staff did to put this together from scratch and pull it off without any issues.”
Beekman said the series was a lot of work, but well worth it.
“We did more than entertain,” he said. “We put people back to work, at least for a few days. We gave people a reason to cheer, and to smile. And we gave them hope that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We’re just trying to bridge the gap between where we were and where we hope to soon be, and this was a fun way to do that.”
Asked if more parking lot concerts are on the horizon, Beekman said it’s possible.
“Right now, we just want to breathe,” Beekman said. “We want to step back and assess the entire situation. What did we do right? What could have been done differently? Once we have that meeting to discuss and review, we will then discuss the possibility of doing this again.”
Beekman said he receives inquiries daily from agents, promoters and performers who are interested in this concept, but currently nothing else has been scheduled.