Def Leppard, Jason Aldean headline new summer fest

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This article was published 04/02/2025 (261 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This summer, Def Leppard and Jason Aldean are set to headline Winnipeg’s first stadium concerts in nearly a decade.

The Winnipeg Football Club and True North Sports + Entertainment have teamed up to bring the Thunder Stadium Concert Series to Princess Auto Stadium July 9 and 10.

“We haven’t had a show (like this) in such a long time,” said Kevin Donnelly, True North’s senior vice-president of venues and entertainment, at a media announcement Monday. “I think there’s an appetite for stadium shows here in Winnipeg and it’s great to be able to bring something here that will hopefully satisfy that.”

British metal band Def Leppard takes the stage with ’80s rock acts Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Foreigner, and Canadian cover band Toque, for the opening Rockin’ Thunder concert on Wednesday, July 9.

American performer Jason Aldean — who recently performed during U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration — plays the Country Thunder showcase on Thursday, July 10, alongside Tyler Hubbard, formerly of Florida Georgia Line; Nate Smith; and Madeline Merlo.

Donnelly said the decision to book Aldean predates the controversial country artist’s vocal support of Trump.

“He’s a very, very popular performer and his activity supporting the politicians of his choosing is his choice, as it is with everybody,” Donnelly said of the Try That in a Small Town singer. “The beauty of entertainment is if you don’t like the show, don’t buy the ticket.”

Tickets for the Thunder Stadium Concert Series go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster, with pre-sales opening today for Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Valour FC, Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose season ticket holders. The stadium can hold roughly 30,000 people; there will be field-level standing and seated tickets available.

Guns N’ Roses was the last major act to play the south Winnipeg stadium, which can hold roughly 30,000 people, in 2017. Donnelly said he and Wade Miller, the football club’s president and chief executive officer, have been working for years to bring music back to the pitch to no avail.

“We’re really looking forward to it,” Miller said. “Every time we put on a concert here, it’s a success and (the amount of) fun it is is an extension of a Bomber game.”

While stadium shows have gained popularity in the wake of the pandemic, Donnelly said it’s become increasingly challenging to attract stadium-calibre artists to smaller, isolated centres such as Winnipeg for one-off shows, making multi-city collaboration all the more important.

The two-night event has been in the works since last summer and is a collaboration with organizers of the Country Thunder festival held annually near Craven, Sask., each July.

“They reached out to me because they knew they couldn’t get Def Leppard to come to Craven alone,” Donnelly said. “So being part of a three- or four-show opportunity, like we are now, it became something the bands were responding to favourably.”

Donnelly adds that while ongoing tariff threats haven’t yet affected his job securing entertainment for Canada Life Centre and other True North venues, the impact of the possible trade war on the Canadian dollar has made it more expensive to book artists from the U.S.

Def Leppard and Aldean are both scheduled to play in Craven the weekend following their Winnipeg appearances. The mid-week timing and urban setting of the Thunder Stadium Concert Series aims to avoid conflict with other summer events Donnelly said, such as the Winnipeg Folk Festival, which opens July 10.

“We recognize weekends are a precious thing,” he said.

Organizers hope to make the festival an annual event. Economic Development Winnipeg is contributing $250,000 per year for the two years of the event, funded through the city’s accommodation tax, and Trans Canada Brewing is a presenting sponsor.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com

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