ROGERS, Ark. — The Walmart AMP's concert season is opened Friday night with Hozier and continues on Saturday with Riley Green, but the stormy weather moving in and out of 5COUNTRY is creating a challenge for AMP officials and attendees alike.
"The challenge with being an outdoor venue is the one thing you can't control is weather. So the kind of forecast that we have going on this weekend is kind of our worst-case scenario because you have storms that are continually rolling throughout the day," said Director of Public Relations for the AMP Jennifer Wilson.
Wilson says that they will operate as normal and watch the weather as it rolls in. While rain is a concern, it's not what creates the challenge.
"We operate as if the show is gonna go on as normal, as scheduled, unless we know something different. The biggest challenge for us is not necessarily rain, it's going to be wind, high winds, and lightning. So if we have storms that are headed towards us, when we're in 'show mode,' and high winds and lightning are part of that, then that's when we have to evacuate the venue." Wilson explained.
Wilson says that there are a few steps that fans can take to help make their concert experience better even during bad weather.
"Make sure that you dress appropriately for the weather. Right now, it's early in the season, it can get really chilly out here at night after it rains, so dress in layers. Then the big thing that we ask people to do is follow us on social media. Because if we have to push gate times, if we end up having to evacuate or do something like that, we're going to push that out on our social media channels," Wilson said.
Since it's a new season, the AMP has some changes that Wilson wants fans to know about both inside and outside of the venue.
"This is a different season, every season. I feel like it's a different season because this area that we're in is growing and changing so much. So the big thing that people need to know about is there's lots of construction around the AMP, not at the AMP, but all around the AMP. So that's going to impact your traffic patterns," Wilson said.
Despite the construction and weather, Wilson says that some new offerings at the AMP are sure to offer a silver lining to even the rainiest of concert experiences.
"We'll have new shaker cocktails this year with refillable souvenir cups, so that's a new piece. We also have some new merch that we're selling. We've always had the branded blankets but we're also going to have hand warmers and fans and of course you would probably need both of those phone chargers. Little bit of everything," Wilson said.
Outside of Friday and Saturday's shows, there will be three next week.
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