John Kritzman Photo
Bleachers at the Bowl. No more of this until Sept. 21.
The city’s premier outdoor concert venue doesn’t have any shows booked for July and August — with its last concert having taken place at the end of June, and its next concert scheduled for late September.
Why no live music these peak summer months? Because of “voracious competition” from Live Nation, which pays “exorbitant” prices to keep acts from coming to the Westville Music Bowl.
Promoter Keith Mahler provided that explanation when asked why the former tennis stadium-turned-outdoor concert venue at 45 Yale Ave. doesn’t have any more concerts booked until the very end of summer.
The most recent show that Westville Music Bowl put on was the jam band Goose, last Sunday. Its next scheduled show is rapper Sexxy Red, all the way out on Sept. 21. The venue’s season began in May, and has seen concerts this year by such groups as Bleachers and the Avett Brothers, as well as a season-opening Freestyle Extravaganza.
“It’s just an off year,” confirmed Mahler about how the venue will be quiet for July and August. The nonprofit New Haven Center for Performing Arts Inc (NHCPA) brought to life the Westville Music Bowl at the site of the former Connecticut Tennis Center in 2021. Mahler’s company is a third-party facility manager for the venue. (That same nonprofit also runs the College Street Music Hall, which does have shows booked for this summer. Mahler’s company is also putting on outdoor concerts at Powder Ridge in Middlefield this summer.)
Paul Bass file photo
Westville Music Bowl's Keith Mahler: "We're going to book appropriate shows for our venues. Plain and simple."
One challenge to booking shows this summer, Mahler noted, was that Westville Music Bowl teamed up with the leading East Coast concert promoter The Bowery Presents relatively late last year. Given how far in advance one has to book shows these days, that relatively late partnership agreement made it hard to line acts up for this summer.
But, he said, the bigger problem is competition from Live Nation, the national concert promoter and venue operator and federal government-alleged monopoly — a claim Live Nation has denied.
Mahler accused Live Nation — which books shows for the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, and Toad’s Place in New Haven, among other venues — of overpaying for acts that Westville Music Bowl might also seek out. That drives up ticket prices for everyone, he said.
He argued that Live Nation does what it can to try to put Westville Music Bowl and other NHCPA venues out of business.
A representative from Live Nation did not respond to a request for comment for this article.
“We’re working on a lot of things for next year,” Mahler promised for Westville Music Bowl. He said he and his partners are already now lining up shows for next summer. “We’re gonna compete for shows, we’re going to book appropriate shows for our venues. Plain and simple.”
Asked what this year’s concert-less July and August mean for the future of Westville Music Bowl, Mahler insisted, “It means nothing.” The venue isn’t going anywhere. It will still host live music. And next year is another year.