From Counting Crows to Leon Bridges: Here's how the PNE chooses it summer concert series headliners

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Counting Crows opens the 2025 Summer Night Concerts series at the PNE on Aug. 16.

Fans in the Pacific Coliseum will be singing their hearts out to such classic 1990s hits as Mr. Jones from the band’s debut album August and Everything After.

For PNE creative director Patrick Roberge, having the San Francisco group play the Chevrolet Stage is another check off the concert bucket list.

Planning the 15 nightly shows that run during the fair is akin to putting together a puzzle. Each piece needs to reflect a part of the audience demographic that attends the annual exhibition.

Given this year’s lineup ranges from Canadian classic rocker Tom Cochrane to Texas soul singer Leon Bridges to Pakistani singer-actor Atif Aslam, it’s clear putting the series together is not an easy task.

“It gets more and more interesting every year, and 2025 is no exception,” said Roberge. “I’m old enough to recall seeing Sonny and Cher at the Star Spectacular in the early ’70s, which was what launched the regular music component and it’s been going ever since.

“Every year, I call this the ‘guilty pleasure of concert-going’ since you make it part of your fair experience, along with getting some dinner and, maybe, sticking around after to catch the duelling pianos and finish with the fire show.”

The 2025 lineup is an eclectic one that moves across local heroes like Mother Mother and Marianas Trench to cult pop act Rainbow Kitten Surprise and singer Meghan Trainor.

But the real lifeblood of the PNE concert series, and those of other fairs across the country, are the classic-rock and hip-hop groups from the mid-’70s to mid-’90s. This year, Foreigner, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Flo’Rida all appear.

In many cases, these are more brands than bands, with no original members in the ranks. That doesn’t lessen the demand for booking them, though. The circuit is extremely competitive and it can take years to get a group like Counting Crows.

“It’s a lot more competitive than people might imagine, as I’ve been trying to get Counting Crows forever and we’ve never been able to land it,” he said. “You have to make it attractive so the acts want to play here, because there is more work out there than the artists to go around. We happen to have built a reputation as a really great, professional experience for both bands and audiences that helps us in attracting the high level of name talent we present.”

While availability is a major factor, appealing to the unique tastes of the Lower Mainland market is paramount.

“Our audiences are very vocal about what they want to see, which includes coming to relive some of their memories from the past with Gipsy Kings or Tom Cochrane,” he said. “The truth is, those nostalgic classic rock and pop acts are often our very bestsellers.

“I also love that we can still provide that first-time concert experience for families with someone like Meghan Trainor, who I’m not sure has ever played a stadium show here before, or local heroes like Mother Mother playing their new album in town for the first time.”

With an average ticket starting at $45, it’s possible to combine a Summer Nights concert with a bag of mini doughnuts, a ride on the wooden roller-coaster and a round of Whack-a-Mole on the Midway, and still come in at a lower price point than the average arena show during the year.

Being sure to budget things out is not easy, says Roberge. Besides competition, increased touring costs have elevated artist’s fees in recent years.

“This isn’t a typical concert experience, it’s a generational tradition of a great summer evening,” he said. “What really makes it fun for me is when we can bring in both the classics and groups that have a huge following locally, regularly selling out other venues. Sure, we may gravitate to the Chicagos and Beach Boys demo, but we can also take risks with a musical smorgasbord that you can gravitate toward.”

But next year will be different.

The opening of the new Freedom Mobile Arch means the Pacific Coliseum will no longer host the concert series. The new amphitheatre will be a game-changer in terms of open-air performances in Vancouver. The roof of the new venue makes it protected compared to truly open-air spots like Malkin Bowl or Deer Lake Park. This will extend the season for outdoor shows further into the fall.

“It opens us up to the big amphitheatre tour circuit in the U.S., which we have missed out on since we haven’t had an amphitheatre here since Expo 86,” he said. “This is a state-of-the-art new venue that is going to be busy immediately. With that said, I’m going to miss the Coliseum, which is such a great, open room with so much music history behind it.”

Fair-goers will begin the next chapter in the history of the PNE Summer Nights Concert series in the new venue in 2026.

Here are 5 PNE Summer Nights Concerts to see

With 15 shows on the 2025 schedule, deciding which PNE concerts to catch is clearly a matter of personal taste. After checking out recent live performances on YouTube of all of the artists, the following five seem like sure bets for a good gig. All shows take place at Pacific Coliseum, doors at 6:30 p.m. and show at 7:30 p.m. Tickets at pne.ca and Ticketleader.

Bleachers (Aug. 19)

You may not have heard of this upbeat pop band, but lead singer Jack Antonoff is an 11-time Grammy award-winning songwriter and producer who has worked with such household names as Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde and many, many others.

Gipsy Kings, feat. Nicolas Reyes (Aug. 20)

This band’s blend of flamenco and pop made them global superstars with sales of more than 14 million. Still fronted by leader and co-founder Nicolas Reyes, the band still delivers Romany fire live sounding every bit as fresh as it did when Djobi Djoba hit the charts in 1982.

Marianas Trench (Aug. 24)

Fraser Valley favourites Marianas Trench have a huge catalogue of hit songs to roll out in concert and a live show that delivers the band’s complex pop-rock sounds in style. Come for the harmonies, stay for the riffs.

Foreigner (Aug. 28)

Longtime lead singer Kelly Hansen, who replaced original vocalist Lou Gramm in 2005, recently announced his retirement on the series The Voice. Based on recent live shows, he and the band are laying down classics from Hot Blooded to Waiting for a Girl Like You with real passion. The set list is like listening to classic rock radio today.

Meghan Trainor (Aug. 30)

With a vintage vocal pop approach that boasts elements of everything from Brill Building pop to ’80s R&B, this is the show likely to have folks dancing in the stands to hits such as Made You Look and All About That Bass.

sderdeyn@postmedia.com

Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.