MORGANTOWN – It takes a village, people.
And sometimes, it takes the Village People.
In a recent update to Morgantown City Council, Director of Arts and Cultural Development Vincent Kitch said pulling together the free Friday night concert series that brings an eclectic mix of local, regional and national musical acts to Morgantown each summer is no little feat.
For the most recently concluded series – a 12-show run that ended with a massive crowd for country duo Maddie and Tae on Aug. 29 – Kitch estimates the manpower investment across all city departments somewhere in the range of $150,000 to $200,000.
The city paid local and regional artists $20,500 to serve primarily as opening acts.
The headliners this year – including, among others, tributes to AC/DC, Huey Lewis and Jimmy Buffett as well as featured artists like Sierra Hull, Hinder, Hoobastank, Los Lonely Boys and, yes, Village People – earned checks totaling $353,500.
Another $95,000, not including in-kind assistance, went into production support and advertising, and $20,000 was spent on local hotels and food purchases in support of the acts.
It’s a large undertaking – and it’s having no small impact.
“We’re bringing anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 people downtown every Friday night,” Kitch said. “We’re impacting the restaurants, the bars. We’re putting heads in beds. We are making significant economic and social impacts on Morgantown, the Wharf District and the entire county. That’s something that we’re all very proud of.”
Between the free summer series, two ticketed concerts, the July 4th celebration and other one-time events like the Wine & Jazz Festival, it’s estimated more than 55,000 people spent time at Hazel Ruby McQuain Riverfront Park in summer 2025.
As for revenue tied directly to the concerts, on-site vendors made more than $188,000 in sales. Artists moved about $50,000 in merchandise.
That’s to say nothing of the food, drinks and hotel stays purchased across the greater Morgantown area.
That larger economic impact, Councilor Mark Downs said, is one area where he would like to see a greater level of specificity.
Downs suggested Kitch work with the Morgantown Area Partnership, which has access to software – Placer AI – that uses cellphone data to essentially map the movement of people.
In other words, the software can show you how many people went to a specific restaurant before attending the free concert, or how many made stops in local bars once the show ended.
Kitch said he’s aware of the software, and the possibilities.
“I’ve seen those reports that can tell you, ‘Oh, 300 people went to Oliverio’s who were in the park from 8 to 10. It’s scary, big-brother stuff. It really is, because they track individual cellphones and they can tell you X number of people were here and they went to this bar and this restaurant. It’s fascinating stuff.”
Downs said being able to present that data is important to telling the story of why the Ruby Summer Concert Series has quickly become a crown jewel of the city’s cultural efforts.
“This is a big economic impact, and I really want to, as somebody that believes in making this investment, I want to make sure we’re taking advantage of all of the tools that are available to us to quantify the benefit of what we’re doing,” he said.
As for 2026, the summer will likely kick off June 6 with concert series alum, and local favorite, Almost Queen.
Beyond that, Kitch noted, putting together a lineup of opening acts and headliners that live up to the motto “Something for everyone” is quite the sausage-making process involving a lot of time spent poring over the routing sheets that indicate who might be touring where, and when.
From there, agents and artists are contacted regarding pricing and availability.
“We try to lock down our higher-priced artists first and then build in around them as best we can. We only have two-three nationally touring tribute bands each year and we like to start each month with one,” he said. “As the process continues, it becomes harder when we only have two-three open dates and we have to look for certain kinds of music to keep it diverse.”
The full Ruby Summer Concert Series lineup for 2026 will be announced on or near April 1.
