Socially distanced 3-day concert proposed in Dixon

DIXON – A large outdoor concert event with a Grammy Award-winning act might be coming to Dixon in June.

A yet-to-be-named production company contacted the city interested in using the large retention area off of Chicago Avenue for a socially distanced three-day concert, which could bring in 2,000 to 3,000 people each night, City Councilman Mike Venier said.

The music group is also being kept under wraps until details are finalized, but it would be “a Grammy Award-winning artist and his band,” Venier said.

The company specializes in socially distanced concerts with “pods” of four or eight people, and it would be the third performance in the U.S.

“They do it socially distanced, and they do it really really well,” Venier said. “It will be a major event, and one of the few that will take place in the U.S.”

The event would be the second weekend in June, and more details will likely be available in the next week or so, said Matthew Lenox, marketing coordinator at the Dixon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street.

“It sounds exciting, and we hope it happens,” he said.

The production company is a spinoff of what brought the Gentlemen of the Road tour to Dixon in 2012, when Mumford & Sons played in Page Park, Venier said.

They looked at that site for a venue, but there wouldn’t be enough space to do all the socially distanced pods, he said.

“This type of massive event draws people nationally, so it takes extra planning and consideration,” Mayor Li Arellano Jr. said. “A successful event would help continue to build up our town as a venue location and give us an opportunity to promote our other music-imbued events such as Petunia Festival and Blues, Brews, & BBQ. This is also an opportunity to continue building up relationships with national firms that look for places to brings national acts and events.”