The Twilight Concert Series is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The 2017 lineup was announced on Thursday.
It includes performances by Solange and The Roots, and begins on July 20 with the Swedish electronic band Little Dragon.
Jesse Schaefer is with the Salt Lake City Arts Council and heads up preparations for Twilight. He’s excited for artists who’ve previously played at Twilight to return this summer for the 30th anniversary.
Kurt Vile & The Violators are one band he’s excited to see come back to Salt Lake City on July 27. "They performed back in 2011 as an opening artist, so it’s exciting to see them doing a lot in their careers and coming back to be a headliner. The Roots, 2008 was the last time they were here, and Charles Bradley.”
The lineup announcement comes amid concerns that the concert series is currently operating about half a million dollars over budget.
In January, the Salt Lake City Council approved some emergency funding, but are looking into how the concert series should be funded in the future. Council-members have questioned whether the artists are getting to popular and the crowds too big for a city-subsidized concert series. Schaefer says that might be the case.
“It’s a balance,” Schaefer says. “It’s not something we try to do with every show, but it’s exciting the fact that we have that opportunity to bring some of these artists to present them on this kind of stage that we have.”
Schaefer says it’s an issue the city council and the arts council will be discussing in the coming months.
