‘Expensive umbrella’: Musicians disappointed with new $1.6M stage in Kelowna’s city park

The new outdoor Island Stage in Kelowna’s Waterfront Park is facing some fierce criticism from musicians who think it was a waste of money.

The stage faces west into the sunset, has no storage or backrooms for performers and has a relatively simple design for the $1.6 million price tag. Musicians around the city have been complaining about it, including globe-trotting jazz singer Anna Jacyszyn.

“It’s just an expensive umbrella,” Jacyszyn told iNFOnews.ca. “Nobody is going to want to play there. I know, I don’t want to play there.”

She said the old stage had similar issues since it faced the same direction, but she enjoyed playing there.

“I used to phone in the beginning of the year and say, ‘when can I play on the Island Stage? Can I book myself the Island Stage?’ Everything else was like secondary, but to play on the island stage was a big coup,” she said. “You can take your little trolley and your blanket and sit on that knoll and watch a band and then at sunset and dance a little bit. It was brilliant.”

The money for the stage came from the city and the Ministry of Tourism through its destination development grant.

The City of Kelowna’s media relations manager Tom Wilson said the stage is better than the old one.

“This new stage is a significant improvement over the previous version, that was in need of repair, as it improves on logistical, spectator, and artist requirements such as increased spectator space/experience, improved electrical supply, better sight lines, and overall aesthetics,” he said in an emailed statement.

Wilson said the lack of storage for performers was due to a lack of funding.

“There is currently no storage or back rooms in this new version as budget did not allow for it,” he said.

Jacyszyn said the stage did not appear like it was designed with any input from musicians, but Wilson said the city consulted event organizers, artists and audio-visual experts. 

“As soon as somebody hears it’s a city job, they double their wages and they double the amount it’s going to cost,” Jacyszyn said. “Now somebody is driving a Mercedes Benz instead of a Ford Fiesta.”