Sunshine, blue skies and the hits of Freddy Mercury and Queen proved an unbeatable combination as residents and visitors flocked to White Rock's waterfront for another in the Concerts at the Pier series on July 17.
Alex Nixon, executive director of co-presenters the White Rock BIA, estimated that some 10,000 to 11,000 people were gathered at the East Beach stage in the parking lot adjacent to Grand Chief Bernard Robert Charles Memorial Plaza for the concert by Ontario-based tribute band Simply Queen.
"That places it on par with 54-40 in 2023, although not the record of 13,000 set by the Colin James concert the same year," Nixon told Peace Arch News.
The line-up of Mercury impersonator and frontman Rick Rock, guitarist Charles Christopher Lambrick, bassist Mitch Taylor and drummer Phil Charette took a nostalgic crowd on a high-energy tour of the Queen catalogue, ending with a spirited version of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Earlier in the evening the opening act, vocal duo Avenue Elle (Alison Lumley and Chrissie Natoli) played folk-pop-ballad originals to a smaller but appreciative crowd.
Next concert in the series, presented by TD Ready Commitment, will be on Aug. 14 at the West Beach stage (Memorial Park) when Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson and her band sGaanaGwa (featuring Bill Henderson and Claire Lawrence of Chilliwack fame) will present a fusion of ancient Haida tradition with modern music forms. Opening act for that concert will be the environmentally conscious folk-rock band The Wilds.
Wrapping the series up on Aug. 21 (starting at 7 p.m.) will be the music of Five Alarm Funk, one of Canada's premier high-voltage bands for the past 20 years, with opening act Pax.
