By Patrick Mcardle
THE RUTLAND HERALD
They’re all back: Big outdoor concerts that fans can attend in person, the Vermont State Fair and some of the most popular artists of the 1990s, including Vanilla Ice, Coolio, Tone Loc, Rob Base and Young MC.
On the opening night of this year’s fair, the “I Love the ’90s” tour will play at the grandstand. Musical acts who had big hits about 20 and 30 years ago like Vanilla Ice (“Ice Ice Baby”), Coolio (“Gangsta’s Paradise”), Tone Loc (“Funky Cold Medina”), Rob Base (who performed “It Takes Two” with the late DJ E-Z Rock) and Young MC (“Bust a Move”) will perform.
The show will take place at the fair, but it’s organized by the Paramount Theatre. Executive Director Eric Mallette said the tour has been going on for quite a while.
“We’re really excited to finally be bringing it to Rutland,” he said.
He said it was “pretty new territory” for the Paramount to be organizing a show with multiple acts to take place at the fairgrounds off Route 7 in Rutland. He noted that last year, the Paramount arranged for the Jeff Dunham appearance.
Dunham is a ventriloquist comedian who has appeared on “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night with David Letterman.”
Arranging to bring the ’90s tour was something suggested by demographics of the Rutland area. Mallette said he looks at who lives in the area and who’s buying tickets when deciding which performers or events to try to bring to the city.
“Some of the evidence is anecdotal but a good portion of it is quantifiable. It’s ticket sales that we’ve seen here and this really fits the bill in terms of what it is our market has said they would like to attend,” he said.
Arranging a headline show for the fair, which runs from Aug. 16 to 20, is something Mallette called a “newer relationship” for the Paramount, but said he hopes it will continue and grow.
“I think it’s a win-win for both organizations, the fairgrounds and the Paramount, but the community as well. The fact is, we live in a city of about 15,000 people, and we have available to us not only a gorgeous, 830-seat Victorian opera house but (also) a 4,000 (person) capacity fairground grandstand so this opportunity to make the most use of that is one that we want to take up on as much as frequently as we can,” he said.
The shows at or arranged by the Paramount are also economic drivers for the area just as the fair brings visitors to Rutland.
“The Paramount generates so much money per year in support of area restaurants, area hotels, all the things that come with attending a live event. You can multiply that when you look at presenting in a space that’s so much larger. A 4,000 capacity venue is going to have an impact on the local economy almost five times the size as a single night at the Paramount,” he said.
The work done to attract performers to the area is something Mallette said can “snowball” over time as musicians, actors, comedians and others find that Rutland is a good place to perform.
“The more Rutland becomes known as the place to go to see live events, the more live events there will be,” he said.
The concert will also come at a time when life for many Vermonters is returning to the kind of “normalcy” residents knew before the pandemic.
“There is no doubt that there has been an unsatiated appetite for live entertainment and we experienced that, not only last year with our outdoor series in the meadow at the fairgrounds and during our Jeff Dunham show at the grandstand at the fairgrounds, but our numbers here in the theater, indoors, have also been very strong,” he said.
Mallette said he’s expecting a strong response, especially from Rutland County residents who haven’t been able to get out much in the last few years.
Tickets for the show, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Aug. 16, can be purchased from the Paramount box office on Center Street or through the website at paramountvt.org which also has information about other upcoming shows and events. The box office can be reached by phone at 802-775-0903.
Mallette encouraged people in the area to keep an eye on the Paramount’s website for news about future events.
“As we resume more regular operations, they can expect to see a season that they would relate to as more normal in terms of quantity for the 2022-23 season and that (announcement of the pending season) will come out officially within the next month or two,” he said.
patrick.mcardle @rutlandherald.com
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