EXCLUSIVE: Inside Hard Rock Live, Rockford’s newest concert venue

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Within the nearly two weeks since Hard Rock Casino Rockford opened, big music acts including Brad Paisley, Joan Jett, and Akon have performed in the Hard Rock Live concert venue inside.

Hard Rock Casino Rockford President Geno Iafrate said Hard Rock Live adds another venue to attract artists and audiences to the Forest City.

“I think that’s what’s critically important to what we’re doing here with what the Coronado’s doing, what the BMO’s doing what all the venues in the Rockford region, are doing is I think, you know, if we complement each other and we work together, we’ve created we’ve just created an entertainment experience that’s a must see,” Iafrate said.

The venue can be reconfigured, with its collapsible seating, to accommodate other needs, such as an upcoming regional electronic dart tournament.

“It’s not just a concert venue. It’s a state-of-the-art, multipurpose multi-use venue that has a tremendous amount of flexibility. So I can retract the stadium seating in the back. And then at the end of the month, we take all this out of the way. We fill it with banquet tables and beautiful decor, and it becomes a banquet hall,” said Iafrate.

“It’s a blank canvas for any type of production crew that would like to turn it into something that hasn’t been done yet. And I’m really looking forward to the first time they’re going to retract the seat and do something that that that strays a little bit from like a traditional concert. But it’s definitely with those type of usage in mind that we’ve designed the venue,” Olivier Berge, president of the Montreal-based design firm Sceno Plus.

Berge said the design was centered around creating an unconstrained space.

Teddy Swims brings his “I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy” tour on Friday, September 20th.

The Brian McKnight 4 will perform on Saturday, September 28th.

Hard Rock is keeping the artists who will perform at the Flannel Jam: Country and Rock Confidential a secret. The concert will take place Sunday, October 6th.

The Black Crowes will perform on Friday, October 25th. Initially, the Black Crowes were set to take the stage in January, but the date moved to October once Aerosmith, who they were touring with, canceled touring.

Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes will perform on Friday, November 1st.

Industrial-gothic metal band In This Moment will perform with Kid Dracula and Mike’s Dead on Saturday, November 23rd.

Stained’s Aaron Lewis will bring his solo American Patriot tour to Rockford on Thursday, December 19th.

Tickets are available through Hard Rock Live or Ticketmaster .

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