Artpark Celebrating 50th Anniversary This Summer

Artpark marks its 50th anniversary in Lewiston with a wide array of concerts and events

Perched above the Niagara Gorge, with Queenston, Ontario to the left and Lewiston to the right, Artpark is one of the best and most beautiful music venues in Western New York, with all the space but none of the stress of Darien Lake and the option for both indoor and outdoor concerts.

This is the 50th anniversary of the venue, says Dave Wedekindt, Artpark’s interim president, so says the park “has always been a part of my life.”

He promises that visitors to any of the dozens of events in summer 2024 will see a place that’s familiar but improved. “When you visit the grounds this year, you’ll see a transformation in some of the ways you will move about and enjoy the park, setting the stage for the Artpark 2030 vision plan which we are working to reveal to the public in the near future,” he says.

Artpark came to life in 1974 in a partnership between the New York State Parks and Artpark & Company, a nonprofit organization. “Artpark welcomes artists to enjoy and be inspired by the dramatic scenery and rich history of the Niagara River Gorge and welcomes visitors and locals to enjoy the art and experiences created on its 150 acres. Over the decades, Artpark has hosted tens of thousands of groundbreaking visual artists, cutting-edge theater, dance, and cirque arts performers, beloved bands and museums representing a multitude of genres, festivals featuring local, national, and international artists, poets and writers, and more, earning a worldwide reputation as a special place for people of all ages and walks of life to make and experience art,” according to the park’s website.

This year’s offerings remain true to that spirit, with a great variety of indoor and outdoor shows for music lovers of all persuasions.

The full season includes outdoor amphitheater concerts from:

• Los Lonely Boys, May 31
• Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, June 22
• Dispatch, June 28
• Orville Peck, July 1
• Train, July 19
• The Flaming Lips, July 22
• Pat Benatar and Niel Giraldo, July 24
• Two Door Cinema Club, July 29
• Slash SERPENT Festival, July 30
• Backroads Blues Festival, August 10
• Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket, August 11
• Stray Cats, August 13
• Blues Traveler and Big Head Todd and the Monster, August 16
• Bush, Candlebox and Jerry Cantrell, August 17
• OAR, August 27
• Cole Swindell, August 29

 Inside, on the Main Stage, Artpark welcomes:

• Gary Clark Jr., May 25
• Sarah McLachlan, June 18 (sold out)
• Bonnie Raitt, June 21
• Norah Jones, July 6
• Puccini’s Greatest: A Gala Opera Concert, July 14
• Jamey Johnson, July 16
• The Machine Performs Pink Floyd with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, August 3
• Tedeschi Trucks Band, August 20
• Cage the Elephant, September 7 (sold out)

On June 29, Artpark once again will host the Strawberry Moon Festival, a celebration of our Indigenous neighbors and their heritage, followed by the Artpark Fairy House Festival on July 13.

The full list of events, and ticketing information, can be found at https://www.artpark.net/.