Doubling down on optimism that the concert industry can fly on like a free bird by next summer, organizers of the Twin Cities Summer Jam are going ahead with ticket sales next week and have added Lynyrd Skynyrd and a few other names to their 2021 lineup.
Skynyrd joins the previously announced Zac Brown Band and Carrie Underwood as headliners of the second-ever installment of their three-day festival, scheduled July 22-24 at Canterbury Park in Shakopee. The "Free Bird" rockers — continuing a farewell tour that started in 2018 — will top off the Summer Jam's Thursday night roster, followed by Underwood on Friday and Brown's crew on Saturday.
Country singers Kip Moore (Thursday), Brett Young (Friday) and Ashley McBryde (Saturday) were also all added to the schedule in an announcement Friday morning. The new lineup shows a clear tilt toward twangers in Year Two compared to the more rock- and pop-flavored inaugural TC Summer Jam lineup in 2019, which featured Aerosmith, Pitbull and REO Speedwagon along with Tim McGraw and Rascal Flatts.
Friday's announcement comes just days after another of the Twin Cities' biggest summer music fests, Walker Art Center's Rock the Garden, was called off for 2021 due to the continued uncertainty around the pandemic.
Now it's up to concertgoers to decide who and what to believe when it comes to the return of live music: Summer Jam tickets go on sale next Friday, Nov. 20, via tcsummerjam.com.
General-admission prices start at $199 for a three-day pass or $99 for a single day, while VIP tiers range from $699-$259. Camping packages are also available for campgrounds on site at the horse track.
Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658
@ChrisRstrib
