Zach Collier
Earlier this month at July’s Rooftop Concert, Jeremy Warner of BYUtv’s Studio C announced that musical super team The Aquabats! would be headlining in August. This is a huge announcement, not only because The Aquabats! are an internationally recognized ska/rock act, but also because previous Rooftop headliners have all been bands out of Provo.
While Neon Trees’ surprise performance in 2014 was certainly a big deal, they still had strong Provo ties. The Aquabats! are a 20 year old band from Orange County who used to play with Blink 182’s Travis Barker, have won Emmys for their television series The Aquabats! Super Show!, and are also responsible for Yo Gabba Gabba! on Nick Jr. Lead singer Christian Jacobs is the great-grandson of LDS apostle LeGrand Richards, though, so that may explain a connection to the Mormon-saturated Provo. Whatever the connection may be, the possibility of Rooftop Concert Series inviting higher profile acts to its stage is an interesting one to contemplate. It would certainly draw hundreds of people to downtown Provo – many not from the city itself – and would also allow bands from Provo’s burgeoning music scene to make connections with popular national acts. It would be great to see at least once a year.
Joining The Aquabats! are American Fork’s My Man Friday and Springville’s Mad Max & The Wild Ones. My Man Friday is an eleven-man swing-ska group, formed in 1996 and staging a comeback. Mad Max & The Wild Ones is a family Rockabilly band that has been featured in SLUG Magazine and whose guitarist, Wyatt, has performed on the Late Show With David Letterman.
Rooftop Concert Series is a free community event, sponsored by Provo City, Pepsi, Chat Books, Google Fiber, and Four Foods Group. The concert will be held at Nu Skin Plaza on 100 West Center Street August 5th at 7:30PM. Make sure to like Rooftop Concert Series on Facebook and check out “Pool Party” by The Aquabats! below.
Provo Music Magazine 