Black Jacket Symphony has rescheduled a drive-in concert originally set for Thursday, June 11, at the Hoover Met Complex, 100 Ben Chapman Drive.
The 8 p.m. show, paying homage to Queen’s “A Night at the Opera” and featuring Marc Martel, has been moved to June 26, organizers said in a Facebook post. Tickets purchased for Thursday’s performance will be honored on the new date, organizers said
The concert was canceled on Wednesday, just one day before the performance, because it conflicted with a city curfew. Hoover’s curfew, which went into effect June 1, runs from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily until further notice.
“The city of Hoover has informed us that they are choosing to continue their curfew and are requiring that we cancel our performance of Queen’s ‘A Night at the Opera,’” organizers posted Wednesday on the Black Jacket Symphony Facebook page.
"We are devastated. The stage is built, the band is in rehearsals, and we have spent weeks meticulously prepping for an incredible event. At a time like this, we feel music is a universal language that builds community and wish we could have provided our community with that outlet.
“All tickets will be refunded.”
The City of Hoover had promoted the concert with a post on its Facebook page as recently as Tuesday afternoon.
“Looking for a way to enjoy some live music, but stay safe as well? You might consider the Black Jacket Symphony concert to be held this Thursday. This week’s performance will feature Queen’s ' Night at the Opera,'” the post said.
Black Jacket Symphony originally planned to present four shows in its “Concerts From the Car” series -- on consecutive Thursdays, June 4-25, at 8 p.m. -- but the ensemble canceled two shows and rescheduled another after Hoover announced its curfew in response to George Floyd protests.
The first event in the series, focusing on the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album, was rescheduled from June 4 to June 19. Two more shows planned for June 18 and 25 -- highlighting “Escape” by Journey and “Damn the Torpedoes” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers -- were canceled. The “Abbey Road” show remains on the schedule for June 19.
Organizers for Black Jacket Symphony emphasized that city officials made it possible to reschedule the Queen show.
“The city of Hoover was inundated with complaints about their handling of the curfew and last-minute concert cancelation,” Jason Rogoff, event organizer and producer for Black Jacket Symphony, said in a Thursday email to AL.com. "When we initially put the series together, the economics were based on four shows. With the first week getting pushed back due to the protests and curfew, we had to re-evaluate and reduce the overall number of shows to two.
“When the city forced us to cancel the Queen show, I was very candid with the mayor that I didn’t see how we would be able to move forward with a single show based on the economics. We are already taking a huge financial hit due to the pandemic and to take an even bigger hit as a result of all of the cancelations would be devastating. Mayor (Frank) Brocato asked what we needed in order to pull off both concerts, and he stepped up this morning by finding community partners to help sponsor the two remaining shows.
"To be clear, without the mayor’s assistance, we would have had to cancel the entire series. He had a strong desire to help us move forward with these events for the entire Birmingham community and we are incredibly appreciative for his efforts and for the support of Regions Bank, Hoover Toyota, and Signature Homes. These are companies who care about their community and align well with our desire to create live concert events for people to enjoy in these unprecedented times.
“We are incredibly appreciative of our fans — without them and their response to last night’s cancelation announcement, these shows would not be happening.”
Tickets for both drive-in concerts -- the Beatles tribute and Queen homage -- are on sale via Black Jack Symphony’s website, priced at $80-$220 per carload.