Country superstar Keith Urban will hit the stage at Rogers Place Friday night for what will be the first concert at the new downtown arena. As it turns out, that’s not exactly the case.
Similar to what they did with a secret hockey game earlier this month, Rogers Place hosted a top secret concert to test the facility’s lights, sound and stage. But in order to do that, they needed a band. Enter White Lightning.
“It was awesome,” Steve Bosch, lead singer and guitar player of the local indie group, said.
READ MORE: Edmonton police warn of fraudulent Keith Urban tickets
So how did it all happen and how did no one know about it?
The band was contacted by the entertainment manager of Rogers Place, who they had met while playing a gig at the Alberta Legislature on Canada Day.
“She said, ‘Hey, we’ve go to do a test event to try out this stage, to try out the full concert venue, to try out the full changeover from ice to show and test everything out. Would you guys be up for it?'” Steve explained.
The answer was, of course, yes.
“As a band, we sort of – over text message – had a little bit of a digital freak out. Very, very exciting for us,” Savanah Bosch, a singer in the band, said.
WATCH: Top to bottom tour of Rogers Place
This wasn’t just any average show; it was a full concert production. The Oilers Entertainment Group invited hundreds of its staff to watch the show, as well.
“It was a great event all around and an important part of building commissioning that needed to happen in advance of our concert rollout later this week,” Tim Shipton with the Oilers Entertainment Group said.
Watch below: Move over Keith Urban, it turns out local indie band White Lightning was the first act to play Rogers Place in downtown Edmonton. Here’s a bit of the top secret concert.
“It was great,” Savanah added. “We were also really fortunate to have some of our family members join us as well.
“If there were bugs, we didn’t know about them. Everything went very slick.”
The stage measured about 60 feet by 40 feet, Steve said, which was perfect for his band considering its size.
“Just a huge stage. So much space. We had a 10-piece band so it felt like it was filled up enough,” he said. “The sound on the stage was incredible.
“I think the newness and the excitement and the sound and the aesthetic of it all was pretty overwhelming.”
The band has been playing together for years and recently began working on new material for their upcoming CD release party, which is being held at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Beverly Heights Community Hall.
READ MORE: Does every seat in Rogers Place have a great view? Maybe not
This isn’t the only secret event to be held at Rogers Place in recent days. Earlier this month, the MacEwan Griffins played a secret hockey game at the new arena in order to make sure the facility was ready for the upcoming hockey season.
Watch below: Gord Steinke sits down Edmonton indie band White Lightning
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