The annual Canada Day concert in Killarney was moved to July 6th this year but the change of date didn’t keep music fans away.
The weather co-operated and organizers were thrilled to see a large crowd at the fairgrounds on Saturday.
The Killarney Community Events Committee hosts the concert each year. Member Bart Sutherland said they weren’t sure what to expect. “It ended up better than we had expected. I’m sure we’re close to either side of 3,000 people and that’s just 200 fewer than last year when the concert was on July 1st.”
There was a huge sale of tickets at the gate and that helped pump up sales prior to the concert.
“Brett Kissel is an amazing man and he put on a great show and he’s a very down to earth kind of guy and it was a great, great show," said Sutherland
The free concert shows in the afternoon started about an hour late because of some showers that passed through the area, but the shows got back on track and all the bands were able to get their full sets in for the fans.
“It’s not as rosy as last year because when you book a bigger name you have bigger expenses. Artists’ expenses are going up but it’s also a little tighter for a lot of people at the gas pumps and the grocery stores. We’ll visit that and see what direction we go next year.”
“No matter what artist we bring in we’ll be back in business and there will be a concert in 2025.
Organizers plan to stay on the first weekend of July for the next few years. “It’ll be a few years before July1st falls on a long weekend and a weekend concert definitely helps an event like this,” said Sutherland.
Eight community groups provided volunteers and they’ll be sharing in a $20,000 payout from the concert.