Music festivals in Elk Grove? Here’s what it’d take for the growing city to host big events

Elk Grove wants to bring more entertainment to the city.

Multiple city officials said that they would be open to hosting more festivals and experiences in Elk Grove in the future — things like music concerts, comedy shows and other live entertainment.

However, Elk Grove public affairs manager Kristyn Laurence said the city currently has no plans to develop a fairgrounds space for festivals or concerts. Deputy city manager Kara Reddig also added that nothing is being contemplated at this time.

So where would the city host such large events?

Elk Grove Park has long been a destination for them, as the park sits on 122 acres, according to the Cosumnes Community Services District website. The park has been the site of community events such as the annual July 4 fireworks show and the city’s Giant Pumpkin Festival in October.

By comparison, Discovery Park, the host site of music festivals such as Sol Blume, Aftershock and GoldenSky, is more than double the size of Elk Grove Park at 275 acres.

Sol Blume, which was recently postponed to 2025, attracted more than 46,000 people — over 23,000 per day — in 2023. Aftershock, a four-day event, saw about 160,000 during last year’s festival for an average of about 40,000 attendees per day.

Elk Grove’s July 4 event has attracted up to about 18,000 visitors in past years, Reddig said.

Cosumnes CSD general manager Phil Lewis said the city’s annual Giant Pumpkin Festival sees about 70,000 people in attendance over a two-day period, working out to roughly 35,000 people in the park per day.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean Elk Grove Park could host tens of thousands of people for a concert.

“The Pumpkin Festival is an open event…we don’t have any fencing,” Lewis said. “It would be a little bit of a different type of event compared to most of the festivals or events that we host at Elk Grove Park. But it really would be more of just determining what those needs look like.”

Existing Elk Grove event sites

There are other, smaller event locations in Elk Grove, such as the Laguna Town Hall amphitheater, which was the site for the city’s first jazz festival in September hosted by organizers A-List Party Experience (APEX). The inaugural festival last year welcomed 700 visitors, despite wet weather.

APEX co-founder and director of marketing Rob Sutton said at the time it was a good turnout despite the rain, and that he anticipates more will show up for the spring music festival this coming weekend at the same venue.

APEX director of talent and vending Michael Craft said their purpose is to bring more entertainment and music festivals to Elk Grove and hope to be a part of larger discussions.

“There’s no reason why we couldn’t... with all the land and stuff that we have with where we have 100 parks in Elk Grove,” Craft said. “I’m sure that we could entertain something on that scale and I think it would be a collaborative effort. APEX would be definitely willing to collaborate with another entity, or a few entities, to make that a possibility.”

There is a parcel at Kammerer Road and Lotz Parkway sitting in the city’s 1,200-acre southeast policy area (SEPA) master plan. It was set aside nearly 20 years ago for Elk Grove’s last large-scale urban development.

The land is partially planned for the relocation of the Sacramento Zoo from Land Park to Elk Grove. The Elk Grove City Council will vote Wednesday on whether to move forward with the project. If approved, the zoo could open by 2029 — and the city projects it could draw more than a million annual visitors.

While the potential zoo would only occupy 103 acres, the remaining 1,100 acres of land is already in use, Reddig said.

“Most of that is in development for housing,” Reddig said. “There’s 165 acres to the west of the zoo, but it’s in active farming. There is also 75 acres, the same owner, that is north of Sterling Meadows.”

What about the new casino?

At Sky River Casino’s groundbreaking in 2021, Wilton Rancheria officials said they one day planned to add a 300-room hotel, as well as a pool, spa and entertainment center to the property near Highway 99. The land, north of the casino on Stockton Boulevard, is currently zoned for commercial and retail uses, Wilton Rancheria officials said in a news release.

Wilton Rancheria Tribal Chairman Jesus Tarango told The Sacramento Bee in 2023 their goal has always been to “create a complete entertainment resort” in Elk Grove.

“We have never wavered in our vision to create a complete entertainment resort. In the short time we’ve been open we are already moving on with our plans and that speaks volumes about our partner but also tribal leadership past and present,” Tarango said at the time. “We will continue to invest to enhance the Sky River experience and that means evaluating all expansion opportunities.”

A timeline for a Sky River Casino events center, though, has not yet been publicly announced. A Sky River spokesperson on Thursday said casino officials were not available at this time for an interview discussing plans for an entertainment center.

City, local parks officials chime in

Cosumnes CSD spokesperson Jenna Brinkman told The Bee in an email that there are several factors to take into account when considering a potential site for an event.

“We review the nature of the event, the variety of vendors, the amenities and entertainment options, food and alcohol service, fencing and equipment needs, parking, estimated attendance, safety and security measures, equity, accessibility, and many other factors,” Brinkman said. “It may take up to a year of careful planning to successfully execute a large special event rental. Our comprehensive process aims to create inclusive and enjoyable experiences while ensuring the park’s sustainability and integrity as a community resource.”

Despite the fact that most of the events at Elk Grove Park — and throughout the city — are catered towards being community- and family-friendly, Lewis said that Cosumnes CSD is “definitely open” to conversation with promoters or groups interested in coming to Elk Grove.

“I think Elk Grove is obviously a growing community and a community that has a lot of folks that are interested in opportunities for entertainment,” Lewis said. “We’re definitely in that space and wanting to be able to provide those types of services, but it would be fully dependent upon the understanding of what the full event would look like for that park specifically.”

‘Growing in that direction’

Elk Grove was the fastest growing city from 2004 to 2005, according to U.S. Census data. The city’s population has continued to boom and has since grown to 176,000, according to the 2020 Census count.

Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen said in a text message to The Bee that she would be “supportive” of more entertainment in Elk Grove.

City Councilmember Darren Suen said that he’d “love to see more concerts” in the city.

Elk Grove Arts Commission chair Nan Mahon said the commission is also actively looking to bring more music events to the city. She said her focus is gearing events towards adults.

“We’ve been growing in that direction,” Mahon said. “The arts commission has really been trying to bring more of that kind of thing. We put on about five shows. We’ve grown a lot here in Elk Grove.”

The city’s arts commission has been in existence for 20 years, and Mahon has been a part of the group for the last 15 years. The city has many possible venues, Mahon said, but having one specific venue would increase the probability of seeing more concert-like events in Elk Grove in years to come.

“I see that in the future, as soon as we get a fine arts center,” Mahon said. “We don’t have a fine arts center. And so we’re limited because of that. We have the land and the plans for something much bigger and better, but we just don’t have the facility yet.”

Elk Grove Arts Commission utilizes the city’s District56 venue for many events, including a recently announced “Blues in the Grove” concert planned for July. District56 sits on 56 acres of land which includes an inside venue that seats up to 400 people, as well as an outside campus for festivals and fun.

“We have a lot of festivals that bring a lot of people (to Elk Grove),” Mahon said. “(At) District 56... the campus is pretty big and so we do a lot of festivals there. It’s also a matter of financing. The arts commission (puts on shows) out of arts commission’s budget. We have to stay within that budget, but if we start getting more financing for it, we could go a lot bigger by using the campus, as well as the building.”

In addition to the venue, Mahon said they have to pay the artists to perform. It can cost a pretty penny. If the funding is there, she said they’ll be able to bring highly anticipated artists to Elk Grove to perform.

“We could go with bigger names once we get more money too,” Mahon said. “We looked at some larger names...but they were way out of our price range.”

For concert and festival space, Reddig said, Elk Grove Park is really the best option.

“District56 is a possibility, but it isn’t really set up for a large-scale music event and has a lot of residences directly adjoining,” she said. “Just outside of town there are some ranches, but that is outside of the City’s control and would get into County permitting, which isn’t our jurisdiction.”

Nonetheless, Lewis said that Elk Grove is looking for additional entertainment options and would be excited to host any event or opportunity that arises.

“We are definitely looking for additional entertainment opportunities to keep people that live in Elk Grove, in Elk Grove and have those opportunities,” Lewis said. “Folks coming from outside Elk Grove (have) the ability to see what a great town that we have and the growing community of the different opportunities for entertainment, food and activities.”