Tribute concerts come to Niles
Singles, doubles, triples and homers won’t be the only hits at Eastwood Field this summer.
Summer Hits at the Ballpark will feature 10 nights of tribute concerts at the home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in Niles.
Jennifer Campbell, founder of Moxie events, said she approached Scrappers General Manager Jordan Taylor about doing more events at the field after the success of the Easter Egg hunt Moxie did there.
“We started looking around the country at what they were doing at other minor league baseball fields,” Campbell said. “We want to bring people out for events other than Scrappers games. It’s a beautiful facility. There’s nothing else like it around here.”
The inaugural season will include a mix of country, classic rock and R&B with tribute acts ranging from early ’60s hitmakers Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons (The Four C Notes) to contemporary chart-topper Bruno Mars (Earth to Mars).
“I wanted entertainment for every demographic,” Campbell said. “I wanted to do Motown, I wanted to do ‘Jersey Boys,’ I wanted to do country.”
In addition to the concerts, Moxie also has two family events planned for the summer, a “Dino Day” with animatronic dinosaurs on July 30 and a Unicorn Day on Aug. 6.
Summer Hits will start June 9 and 10, the same weekend as the long-running River Rock at the Amp, a tribute band concert series at the Warren Community Amphitheatre.
Only one act — The Prince Project — is booked at both venues, and only three of the 10 shows feature the classic rock tribute acts of the ’70s and ’80s that have dominated the River Rock lineup in the past. Campbell said she believes there is room for both in the market.
“The amp has been wildly successful,” she said. “I’ve supported it in the past and will continue to support it. I think it will be a much different experience.”
Campbell said she also would like to expand the offerings to include some national acts in addition to the tribute shows, but those tours in most cases need to be booked six months or more in advance, and there wasn’t time to do that for the inaugural year.
Those who purchase tickets in advance for one of the two shows opening weekend also will receive a voucher that can be redeemed to attend a regular season Scrappers game.
“We thought most people would wait until day of to buy tickets, but a lot of people are taking advantage of it, which helps the Scrappers too,” Campbell said.




