There were no people, anywhere. Then I remembered I had been given a personal check-in time for my seat, so I figured correctly that guest arrivals were staggered to support social distancing.
So I slowed down, looked around, and spied a sandwich board sign guiding me to an obscure side door.
We entered wearing masks as requested. The host found our names on a list, took our temperatures and had us sign a waiver. Basically, we agreed that if we died from Covid, would would hold the organizers harmless. Full disclosure: I didn’t even read the waiver. Does anybody? Once we were escorted to our personal VIP lounge, we were able to ditch the masks and relax.
Once we were escorted to our personal VIP lounge, we were able to ditch the masks and relax.
Pierpont Place is not the typical concert venue. The idea of converting the event center into a concert venue was born of a desire, by owner Jance Boes, to bring back live music in a safe way. Boes is a music lover and knows artists in the music community. She wanted to give musicians the opportunity to play live and offer live music to a music starved public. She also wanted to drum up a bit of business for her event center business—which was pretty much DOA from the pandemic.
Each VIP lounge had room to dance.
The concert series is billed as a VIP experience. Social distancing is enabled by the staging of well-spaced VIP lounge areas that offer seating for groups up to six or so. Each VIP lounge is furnished with comfortable lounges coffee tables, and plants, making the experience almost feel like you were at home. And importantly, each lounge includes enough room to get up and dance.
The space is well lighted—not too dark—with accent lights that enhance the visual aesthetic. The stage is slightly elevated and the sound was excellent. Boes hires a local sound engineer to run the sound, and rents audio equipment appropriate for the space.
Each lounge has a semi-private waiter so ordering drinks and food is easy. Each ticket comes with two top shelf cocktails and charcuterie platter first course, followed by a tapas plate and finished with a dessert plate. The Charcuterie platter was put together with the help of Nicolas & Co, and included Creminelli meats, Beehive cheeses, breads from Salt City Bakery and locally grown fruit.
The charcuterie platter .
I wasn’t expecting much regarding the food, so my expectations were blown away. Boes has a history in local cuisine and says she likes her guests to come hungry and leave full.
Boes says she curates top-shelf alcohols from local distilleries, when possible, and her team creates a custom craft specialty cocktail for each show.
Tickets don’t come cheap—they run about $60 per person and patrons must commit to purchasing an entire lounge. But the tickets include the show, and amazing food and cocktails.
The reality is live music costs more right now becasue venues and musicians have to plan for fewer people to allow for social distancing. When you consider the cost of a concert at say, Usana Amphitheater, the price is very fair—especially considering the VIP experience.
The Eagle Environmental Trifecta Summer Concert Series has five shows scheduled (only three remain), with a sixth show being explored.
If you want to experience live music in a way you’ve likely never experienced before, call a few close friends and grab some tickets. Upcoming shows include:
A final note; live music and venues need help right now. If you care about local music, support these music businesses, now, to help ensure they will be here when we get past this pandemic. Learn more about Pierpont Place at their website, pierpontplace.com. You can also read about other live shows in Searching for the Sweet Spot in Live Concert Performance.
Thank you Scott for taking the time to come and check out what we are doing to stay relevant, how we are supporting local musicians, non profits and small business collectively! I am glad you enjoyed your evening and thanks for all you are doing in support of us little gals and guys!