Looking at the upcoming list of major acts coming to Rogers Arena brings it all back for me. I feel like a kid in a candy store again looking at all the incredible performers we are able to see live again. Before the pandemic I used to work as a ticketing supervisor for Ticketmaster/Live Nation. Rogers Arena and BC Place were my playground and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the atmosphere of a big concert night. There is nothing like that kind of electricity. The masses flooding in, getting ready to see their favourite performer. The energy is just nothing like I’ve ever experienced anywhere else. 

I remember very clearly on March 15, 2020 when the head of events staff at Rogers came down from the main offices and told us we would be closing down for the foreseeable future during the height of the COVID 19 Pandemic. Just…”we are closing the arena doors and honestly we don’t know when we are opening them again”. For me it was one thing to lose a job I had really come to enjoy, but it was more than that. I used to work shows like Paul McCartney, Elton John, Beyonce…I got to be in the same room as artists I had looked up to and studied my whole life as a songwriter. I didn’t realize how much it meant to me until I questioned whether or not I would ever be able to experience that feeling once more.

Scrolling through the upcoming summer’s events list for Roger’s Arena makes me so incredibly grateful. The Weeknd, Maroon 5 and The Black Keys are just a few of many big names coming this summer. I for one will be getting tickets to as much as I can afford. Live music events on that scale are an experience unmatched that I won’t ever take for granted again.