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Coquitlam, are you ready to party? Summer music concerts are back

Starting next weekend, the city of Coquitlam will host drive-in shows in a bid to get events going again as provincial health orders loosen.
Janis Cleugh

It’s been months since music bands hit the stage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But, starting next weekend, the city of Coquitlam will host drive-in shows in a bid to get events going again as provincial health orders loosen.

As part of its annual Summer Concert Series, which typically happens at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park, the municipality will have four live acts performing in the parking lot of Dr. Charles Best secondary (2525 Como Lake Ave.), next to the sports field:

  • Redwoods: July 17 at 6 p.m.
  • Duane, Dave and Johanna of the Town Pants: July 17 at 8 p.m.
  • John Welsh and Los Valientes: July 18 at 1 p.m.
  • Raincity: July 18 at 3 p.m.

Terra Dickinson, Coquitlam’s cultural and community events supervisor, told the Tri-City News that the series moved up the hill because the city wanted to keep Town Centre Park open for the residents this summer.

“Dr. Charles Best [secondary] provided the perfect opportunity to host these concerts while still keeping Town Centre Park free for the community,” she said, adding that no sports games are scheduled on the field during the shows.

Sponsored by Coquitlam Centre mall, the concerts are suitable for all ages and offer a mix of genres: the Redwoods play rock, the Town Pants trio offer Celtic folk-rock, John Welsh and Los Valientes have a world beat sound and Raincity is a rage-funk group that’s opened for Our Lady Peace, Bif Naked and Five Alarm Funk.

Lead singer Clare Twiddy told the Tri-City News that the Coquitlam concert will be the band’s first in-person performance of the year. 

It’ll play some new tunes, penned during the pandemic, such as Diamonds, Sweat! and EZ — all of which are set to be released this summer.

Diamonds, which will drop Aug. 6, “talks about finding happiness in silence and stillness, and finding abundance in what you already have,” Twiddy said. “This song was really close to our hearts during Covid when we weren't able to do many of the things we love including, of course, live music.”

Still, depending on the Step 3 roll out of the provincial health orders, show attendees may have to watch and hear the concerts from their vehicles (about 30 cars are permitted in the parking lot, at a cost of $5 per event).

But that may change, Dickinson said. 

“At this time, we are asking audience members to stay in their vehicles for the drive-in concerts, but we will be reassessing the event format in light of the recent Step 3 Public Health Order updates to see if there are new opportunities for how we present the event.”

• To book a spot, visit coquitlam.ca/summerconcerts.