See who's coming to South Shore Music Circus, Cape Cod Melody Tent

“We are doing the biggest number of shows in 10 years,” said Vince Longo, general manager of the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset, and the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis. “We are still fine-tuning our schedules, but from the sales side, the pandemic is over. The music fans came back last summer to an extent, but this year, people really want to go out. We have kept our heads down and kept booking shows, and it is looking like a very good season.”

The two summer venues will kick off their schedules in the next couple of weeks, with the Melody Tent opening June 3 with jamband Umphrey’s McGee, followed June 8 by New Orleans legend Trombone Shorty with Mavis Staples, and then country singer Kip Moore on June 9.

The Cohasset tent will open June 9 with rockers Nancy Wilson’s Heart, followed on June 10 by Kip Moore, and then the June 14 stop for the Happy Together oldies tour, featuring The Turtles, Gary Puckett, Little Anthony and the Classics IV.

Wide array of acts on the way

Longo has been happy to look at a much wider menu of available music acts, but he noted that the music business in general is busting loose this summer.

A look back: Vince Longo's Music Circus memories

“There are more touring acts coming to Boston too,” said Longo. “It’s like a rising tide lifts all boats. MGM Music Hall, Roadrunner, the Xfinity Center; they are all busy. Of course, we start booking early, and were able to get some really top people at the right price. Our sales are running much better in July and August, but that’s normal. This is my 30th year in this job, so if I didn’t have it figured out by now, we’d be in trouble.”

The way the shows break down by month, the Music Circus has six shows in June, a dozen in July, six in August and three in September, for a total of 27. The Melody Tent is busier, with a dozen June shows, 14 shows in both July and August and three in September for a total of 43.  That makes a whopping total of 70 shows between the two venues, over about a 14-week period.

Venues expect better staffing levels

One more factor that should make those shows go smoothly is that the two tents will have plenty of staff. One effect of the pandemic and its aftermath was a shortage of people who wanted to work at the summer venues.

“Staffing is honestly much better this year,” Longo said. “We’ll be getting more as kids get out of school ... and we have commitments from quite a few. Trying to keep our venues staffed was a miserable job in 2020 and 2021, when we had to get by with about 150, well below our normal 240 workers. We are already over 200 people, so it is still a bit hard, but better. And a big plus is that we have many more repeats than I can ever recall. When you have people who’ve worked here before coming back, knowing the ropes and so on, that continuity really helps.”

Accidental oversight corrected for 2023

The return of many more acts to the touring routine also made it easier for the venues to correct what was kind of an accidental oversight last season.

“Last year we only had one female artist,” said Longo. “I got calls about that. It wasn’t anything intentional. It was just about who was touring last year at our size (2,300 capacity in Cohasset, and a bit less at Hyannis). Now this year we have seven different female headliners. One of the biggest is Lainey Wilson, who’s huge this year in country music and from her role in ‘Yellowstone.’ Her show sold out in two days.

"The fact is there are more female acts touring this year, and we’ve also made an effort to go more for singer/songwriters, like Carly Pearce. Of course, we always try to create a balance in our schedules, because if you feature too much of the same style, it starts to be not as popular.”

Different venues, different schedules

The Cape Cod venue tends to be more rocking, since it is not in a residential neighborhood, and that also means it usually has more adventurous bookings.

“We have some new stuff this year, new for us,” said Longo. “Like Trombone Shorty, who has Mavis Staples touring with him, and that’s a really big one. Then later on we have (soulman) Keb Mo, which is a cool show, and also (rockers) Fitz and the Tantrums, (New Kid on the Block) Joey McIntyre and Melissa Etheridge. We got some of these people for the right price because they wanted a midweek show and that happens a lot with better-known acts. We also try to bring different elements to the venues every year. Like we have (jazz and swing) singer China Forbes every other year, because I love their music, and that other sort of crowd they bring in.”

Train tops list of headliners

Cape Cod and Cohasset also have rockers Train, a New England exclusive for the band that was playing places like the Xfinity Center just a couple of years ago. Train hits Cohasset on Aug. 15, and plays the Cape Cod tent the next night.

“Train is going to be our biggest expenditure of the season,” Longo admitted. “But we believe it will pay off eventually. The first show is almost sold out, and we expect to go to a second show. We haven’t doubled up a show at Cape Cod since the Moody Blues eight years ago. But responses like that make you think the music audiences are back.”

Drama club to take the stage

The Music Circus also has a special connection this summer with the Cohasset Dramatic Club, which is staging two shows at the Music Circus. On July 13, it will present “Finding Nemo Jr.,” a kids show scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start. On July 20, it will stage “Godspell” with a normal 7 p.m. show for everyone.

Marley, Reagan, Glazer lead comedy slate

Comedy is still a popular item to book, and this year will favorites like Bob Marley, Brian Regan and TV’s Ilana Glazer.

“Comedy is still strong, and it is easy to produce,” Longo said. “Comedy outside adds another element, and it’s a fun evening. We are looking at a second night for Bob Marley, and this is Ilana Glazer’s first time in a room this size. Tribute acts do very well, and we have some reggae on the Cape. We find the younger crowds like reggae, or jammy stuff like Lettuce, and it works well with people who want to relax after maybe being on the beach all day.”

Attendance remains steady

Music fans can check out the full schedule for the South Shore Music Circus, at themusiccircus.org, and there’s a link there to find the Cape Cod Melody tent schedule too, at melodytent.org.

“There was a time not long ago where we all worried that people might be getting away from events like ours,” said Longo. “Some people felt Netflix was going kill all other forms of entertainment. But the last six or seven years have been very steady, aside from the pandemic. And the coolest thing now is seeing how badly people want live music and entertainment, and we look forward to an exciting summer.”

Boston Calling dominates weekend's live music schedule

It is a quiet weekend for music in the city due to the massive Boston Calling Festival at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Brighton.

THURSDAY:  Chris Hersch and the Moonraiders with lots of truck-driving songs at The Burren. Uncle John’s Banjo brings some Grateful Dead tones to Soundcheck Studios. Wesley Stace – the songsmith also known as John Wesley Harding – plays at Club Passim.

FRIDAY: Boston Calling’s lineup tonight includes The Foo Fighters, The National and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The big local show is the triple-header at Soundcheck Studios, as Weymouth’s Jay Psaros celebrates his new album (“Long Time Coming”), with Hanover’s Aldous Collins performing with his roots band that includes mandolin master Jimmy Ryan, and Scituate’s Ward Hayden & The Outliers celebrating their new album (“South Shore’). Les Sampou sings at The Jetty at 5 p.m., with Bikini Whale rocking out at 9 p.m. The Alastair Moock Trio warms up Club Passim. Mogollar performs an earthquake relief show at The Sinclair. The pop trio Waterparks enlivens The House of Blues. San Halo gets down at Big Night Live. Blues rocker Popa Chubby plays at The Spire Center.

SATURDAY: Boston Calling’s daylong show has The Lumineers, Alanis Morissette and Joy Oladokun, among others. Allyoucaneat rocks The Sinclair. Mercy heats up The Next Page Café with rock and soul. Parrot-head Jim Sylvia sings at The Jetty at 3 p.m., while No Shoes Nation gets you dancing at 9 p.m. There’s a “post-Boston Calling” show at Brighton Music Hall, where GA-20 takes the stage at 11 p.m.

SUNDAY AND BEYOND:  Boston Calling’s Sunday lineup offers The Queens of the Stone Age, Maren Morris and Paramore. Kelly & the Pour Boys light up The Jetty. Tuesday, the timeless music of Crowded House at The Wang Center.  Also Tuesday, Rock veteran Dave Mason always a fiery performer at the Spire Center. Wednesday, Grandson and KFlay get The House of Blues grooving, while Feid stops off at MGM Music Hall, Sisters and Mercy are at Big Night Live, and Dinty Child performs at Club Passim. On June 1, Hayley Kiyoko sings at The House of Blues; while Colorado jamband Runaway Grooms makes their Soundcheck Studios debut; and Emily King headlines Royale. June 2, the funk band Hippo Campus opens the season for the Leader Bank Pavilion. On June 9, Chris Stapleton brings the fire to Xfinity Center.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: What's coming to South Shore Music Circus, Melody Tent for summer 2023