Close to 2,000 fans of rock music filled a diamond at Softball City for the first of two Russell & Roots concerts Saturday (July 29) in South Surrey.
Marianas Trench headlined a day of loud, guitar-driven songs at the inaugural all-ages event, staged by Newton-based Russell Brewing Company with the production help of Billie Aasen’s The Festival Company.
A second concert in the series, to feature country music, will be held there on Saturday, Aug. 12.
“I’ve always dreamed of doing something like this here,” said Jimmy Darbyshire, the brewery’s director of marketing.
“COVID happened and it wasn’t the best timing, and it took a little bit of convincing, just because compared to the size of our business and the size of this event, it’s a risky endeavor. But here we are, and we’re thrilled.”
RUSSELL MANIA!#RussellAndRoots #SurreyBC #SoftballCity @Russell_Beer pic.twitter.com/AgsksDoB1L
— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) July 30, 2023
#WastingMyTime by @DEFAULTBAND gives me those fine 90s vibes. pic.twitter.com/E8oWMkxzLg
— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) July 30, 2023
On Saturday, five bands played on a stage set up in the infield of the main diamond at Softball City, including Big Wreck, Default, The Wild and Good Goin’ (“battle of the bands” contest winners). VIP and general-admission ticketholders were separated by a long, yellow metal fence that ran the length of the ballpark, from the centre of stage to outfield wall.
Food trucks served BBQ brisket sandwiches, chili dogs and more, and cold beverages were sold to concert-goers, who got to watch “Russell Mania” wrestlers in a stage-side ring, between bands.
“This is the biggest concert ever held here at Softball City, which is surrounded by trees and it’s such a great spot, this little oasis,” Darbyshire said. “I’d love for this to be an annual event and grow it here.”
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Net profits of the concert series are donated to local charities including Softball City, Surrey Fire Fighters’ Charitable Society and the LIFTED youth mental-health organization, launched by Default singer Dallas Smith.
It was “a huge deal” for the Surrey beer company to hold the two concerts in this city, Darbyshire said.
“We’ve been in Surrey since 1995, and for those first years we didn’t have a tasting room or a venue where people could come and enjoy our product. So ever since we opened our tasting room, we now feel more able to get involved in the community.
“It’s kind of a weird thing,” he added, “because we’ve operated out of Surrey for so many years yet few people know who we are in Surrey. You go to Vancouver and everybody knows who Russell is. But specifically where we’ve been brewing beer, it’s been like an untapped market. For whatever reason Surrey wasn’t a great beer demographic in the very beginning. And we’re trying to change that.”
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Next up is a country-music concert Aug. 12 featuring LOCASH, James Barker Band, Meghan Patrick, Mark Ledlin and Dane Bateman. Another 2,000 people are expected for that show, to include mechanical bull-riding as a featured attraction.
Sold on russellandroots.com, tickets are $119.29 for VIP and $78.24 for general admission. Admission is free for kids 10 and under, in line with The Festival Company’s goals of having more young people experience the thrills of live music.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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