From On the Stage to Under the Stars

by Nicole Willis

The Handlebar is amplifying the downtown Pensacola music scene with its new outdoor concert series.

The Handlebar will kick-off the series on August 10 with the 20 Years of Tears concert. Hosted at the Hunter Amphitheater at the Community Maritime Park in downtown Pensacola, 20 Years of Tears is a concert event hosted by famed rock band Hawthorne Heights.

Hawthorne Heights rose to popularity in the mid-2000s with their emo rock and post-hardcore sound. The band has gathered fellow rock acts and are taking their tour throughout the country. Joining Hawthorne Heights in Pensacola is Thursday, Anberlin, Armor For Sleep, Emery and This Wild Life.

Announced in the spring, the concert was initially set to take place outside of The Handlebar on Tarragona Street. However, the event’s great demand led organizers to move the event to the Hunter Amphitheater at the Community Maritime Park.

“When we first took on the event, we had ambitions that it would do well. We have an outdoor space, and we were going to get pretty creative with it to make the show happen. The demand ended up being so much greater than what we expected, so we made the decision to move it,” The Handlebar General Manager and Night Moves CEO Robert Goodspeed said. “We’re excited that we get the chance to extend it and bring it to a bigger area.”

Goodspeed organized last November’s Night Moves Fest, also hosted at Community Maritime Park, as a part of Foo Foo Fest. This festival brought popular indie and alternative artists like Manchester Orchestra and Soccer Mommy onto the amphitheater stage. Goodspeed hopes that the similar 20 Years of Tears event leads to even more fan-favorite groups to the stage.

“With Night Moves Fest last year, we got our foot in the door in terms of bringing some nationally recognized talent to the park. We got to explore what the infrastructure looks like to build the park and make it show-ready. Now this is an opportunity for touring bands to be able to contact us and do shows on a larger scale,” he explained. “I think of it as like a Pensacola version of The Wharf, or what it could be.”

Serving as a stepping stone to putting Pensacola on the map for more national and international artists, 20 Years of Tears is set to be an exhilarating show for fans of rock music. The show is open to all ages and provides open space to sit in the grass, so mini rockstars and rockers in the making can come to enjoy the evening, too.

Tickets are on sale now at thehandlebar850.com. General admission tickets are $45 plus fees and VIP tickets are $80 plus fees. VIP tickets include early entry to the venue, access to a premium viewing area, and access to VIP lounge areas with private bars and restrooms.

The Hunter Amphitheater is a part of Community Maritime Park, located at 301 W. Main St. in downtown Pensacola. Doors open at 4 pm and the first act begins at 5 pm. 20 Years of Tears is an allages event. For event updates, be sure to follow @thehandlebar850 on Instagram and Facebook. For more information, visit thehandlebar850.com.