As little as a year ago, you wouldn’t expect to see acclaimed national acts like Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Donavon Frankenreiter and Sarah Jarosz performing at an Upper Merion park. Turns out those are just a few of the highlights from this year’s Concerts Under the Stars, our critics’ pick for Best Outdoor Concert Series.
You can thank Rising Sun Presents for our suddenly bountiful live music scene. And if you believe RSP’s Jesse Lundy and Chris Perella, this is only the beginning. “Much of what RSP has done is re-envision existing venues and events with an eye toward a higher caliber of artist, better production and a better experience for the fans,” says Lundy, a senior talent buyer at RSP.
Nearing four years old in its current incarnation, Rising Sun Presents consolidates the ample booking, marketing, production, ticketing and operational expertise of Point Entertainment, Ardmore Music Hall and Bonfire Entertainment. AMH is the collective’s impressive flagship venue, but RSP also has key partnerships with Wayne’s 118 North, Phoenixville’s Colonial Theater, and Underground Arts and MilkBoy in Philadelphia. “We’ve taken what we’ve done at Ardmore Music Hall, where we renovated and pushed the envelope on programing, and applied the same drive for excellence to things like Concerts Under the Stars,” Lundy says.
Even more impressive is how RSP was able to pull off so much of it during the pandemic. “Being small and independent was a scary proposition in April 2020,” says Perella, RSP’s founder and also a senior talent buyer. “Creating some formal alliances with shared resources quickly became a compelling path forward, but building out that plan and vision at a time when live events had temporarily ceased to exist was unnerving, to say the least.”
Aside from Concerts Under the Stars, RSP produces Bryn Mawr Twilight Concerts, the Wayne Music Festival, Ardmore Rock N’ Ride, Manayunk’s Sing Us Home, and other series and festivals. Its reach also extends to restaurants—Ripplewood Whiskey & Craft in Ardmore and the Refectory in Villanova. “The breadth and variety of our accounts and venues, paired with multiple talent buyers coming together, has resulted in a competitive advantage that brings more elevated and exciting bookings to the suburbs than you’d typically expect,” Perella says.
And that means more good news for live music fans.
Visit risingsunpresents.com.
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