The Clarks to open SR VillageFest
VillageFest 2022 will be off to a rocking start Sept. 23, as Slippery Rock University welcomes The Clarks to Miller Auditorium.
The concert kickoff is a first for the festival, and organizers hope it draws folks to the borough for the entire weekend event.
According to Lisa Weinzetl, compliance manager at SRU and concert organizer, the show was inspired by the spirit of VillageFest.
“We wanted the band to add to the atmosphere,” Weinzetl said. “When I think of a community doing something fun outside, The Clarks were one of the first bands that popped into my head.”
Opening act band The Stickers will offer a country rock style to complement The Clarks’ classic rock. Both bands are from the Pittsburgh region, Weinzetl said.
She added that concert attendees will have the chance to dine from food trucks set up along Morrow Way from 4 to 8 p.m.
Tom McPherson, of Slippery Rock Development, said music is always part of VillageFest, as the festival ends with Bands on Bricks at the corner of New Castle and Main streets in the borough.
‘We’ve had Pittsburgh bands but not one as popular as The Clarks,” McPherson said.
The goal of the concert is to attract VillageFest attendees from outside Slippery Rock.
“We’re hoping people will come out and stay overnight in the hotels, eat in all of our restaurants. Try to make it a weekend event,” he said.
Weinzetl said placing music at both ends of the festival should entice people to stay all weekend.
“They’re two great bands in a new facility (at Miller Theater) in the village of Slippery Rock,” she said. “We want to expand their knowledge, we’d like them to spend the whole weekend, go to the concert, the football game Saturday night, and Bands on Bricks on Sunday.”
The concert begins at 7 p.m. Sept. 23. Tickets are $10.50 and are available at sru.universitytickets.com.
