There\u2019s that saying in baseball: If you build it, they will come. It\u2019s a message the Chicago Cubs<\/a> organization heard loudly in 2005 as it started to carve out a new use for the ballpark on non-game days, turning it into a popular concert venue.<\/p>\n Launching with Jimmy Buffett<\/a> over Labor Day weekend in 2005, Wrigley\u2019s live music program has thrived over the past 20 years, staging 80 shows and becoming a proverbial field of dreams for music fans.<\/p>\n Whether waiting out Pearl Jam\u2019s epic 2013 rain delay, seeing Tom Petty\u2019s final Chicago show in 2017 or witnessing Pink fly around the Friendly Confines like a real-life Tinkerbell in 2023, there are many \u201cyou had to be there\u201d moments. In fact, in 2013, Rolling Stone hailed Wrigley Field as number two<\/a> in its list of 10 best arenas and stadiums in America.<\/p>\n A couple watches Jimmy Buffett in concert from behind home plate at Wrigley Field, Sept. 4, 2005.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Tom Cruze\/Sun-Times file photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWrigley has become synonymous with music in the summer, and that is something we want to continue,\u201d said Crane Kenney, Cubs president of business operations. The milestone 2025 concert season starts Thursday with Post Malone, who will be followed later this spring and summer with performances by Chris Brown, the Jonas Brothers, ATEEZ and Stray Kids (the latter two marking a first for K-pop at the ballpark).<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019ve learned is we have fans who love music here that may never attend a baseball game,\u201d Kenney said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit like Red Rocks or Madison Square Garden. [Fans] don\u2019t want to just see Pearl Jam. [They] want to see them at Wrigley.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just the fans. Bands love it, too \u2014 especially locals like Fall Out Boy who played in 2018 and 2023. \u201cGrowing up on the north side of Chicago, going to games at Wrigley is a spiritual experience,\u201d band member Pete Wentz said. \u201cThe sounds and smells there take me back to going as a kid. There is no more hallowed and iconically Chicago rock \u2018n\u2019 roll moment than getting the chance to play a show there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJackie Robinson, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig played here, and I stood in the place where they once stood. \u2026 My Great Aunt Rosella\u2019s ashes are part of the dirt in the outfield,\u201d said Naked Raygun\u2019s Jeff Pezzati, recalling when the band opened for Foo Fighters in 2015. The Chicago punk icon\u2019s manager, Lou Lombardo, also remembered how meaningful it was for bassist Pierre Kezdy, who died in 2020. \u201cAfter his stroke in 2011, he wasn\u2019t sure if he would play bass again. After I spoke to Dave Grohl, and the Wrigley show was put into motion, Pierre used that as motivation to get strong enough to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger Waters, after performing at Wrigley Field in 2012, compared the acoustics to those of opera houses in London.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Scott Stewart\/Sun-Times file photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Kenney even recalled how Roger Waters, on his own accord, called into WXRT after bringing \u201cThe Wall\u201d to Wrigley in 2012 to gush to the radio station about playing the ballpark, comparing it to the acoustics of opera houses in London.<\/p>\n Kenney and Carl Rice, former vice president of large scale Wrigley Field events and projects, were instrumental in the original idea and development when the Tribune Co. owned the Cubs. It all germinated as a byproduct of the electric 2003 Cubs team that came alive in postseason glory. \u201cThe 2003 team captured everyone\u2019s imagination,\u201d Kenney said. That team and the 1984 team enthralled fans but also broke hearts by failing to reach the World Series. Those teams put more organizational focus on \u201cour chase to win a World Series and just being more competitive,\u201d Kenney said.<\/p>\n To do that, the team wanted extra sources of revenue to help offset Major League Baseball\u2019s competitive balance or \u201cluxury tax\u201d on teams with payrolls over a certain threshold. \u201cTickets and concessions, media rights, parking and suites \u2026 it\u2019s all subject to a big tax \u2026 [but] that\u2019s not true of music, music is exempt,\u201d Kenney said. Early on as part of the pitch to media, Kenney said, \u201cElton John is going to help us win baseball games.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ricketts family, who bought the Cubs in 2009, helped spur the concert program with a $1 billion investment in 2016 to build out the neighborhood as part of the 1060 Project. And, in fact, of the 80 shows at Wrigley, 56 have come after 2016. In more recent years, the Cubs organization has established an internal workforce, Wrigley Field Events, to lead the curation of more non-baseball events, including concerts.<\/p>\n Prior to 2005, Wrigley had at least one other concert \u2014 an orchestral performance in 1922. Stadium rock came to the ballpark late. At other venues, it dates back to the early days of the music. The Beatles\u2019 performance at Shea Stadium in New York in 1965 was considered a milestone. Nearly a decade earlier, in 1957, Elvis Presley played at Sick\u2019s Stadium in Seattle. Today, Boston\u2019s Fenway Park has a similar model to Wrigley, going back to 1959 when Ray Charles first played a one-off and 1973 when the Newport Jazz Festival brought acts to the park. Thirty years later, in 2003, when Bruce Springsteen reinvigorated the concept at Fenway, Kenney was there and recalled \u201cit was a proof of concept that it could be done.\u201d<\/p>\n Not that it\u2019s ever been an easy undertaking. Booking shows at Wrigley Field is a bit like trying to solve a Rubix cube. \u201cThe best way to kind of explain this is it\u2019s really a funnel,\u201d said Morgan Bucciferro, Cubs senior director for operations and guest experiences.<\/p>\n The first thing to consider is who\u2019s actually touring during the relatively small window of typically Memorial Day to Labor Day and has open dates when the Cubs are on the road. \u201cFrom there, we have to see which tour specifics will actually fit into our stadium,\u201d Bucciferro said, noting that not every production works for the unique setup of Wrigley Field. For example, for U2\u2019s 360\u00b0 Tour in 2009, the giant claw stage design wasn\u2019t feasible for Wrigley, and the band moved to Soldier Field. <\/p>\n Part of the challenge is the design of the 111-year-old ballpark, which still uses its large \u201celephant gate\u201d on the first base line to load in concerts (the name is a throwback to when Wrigley hosted circuses and brought in elephants through the opening). The gate is far from where the concert stages are constructed in center field, making labor a consideration. As is protecting the playing field. In 2015, then-manager Joe Maddon made headlines for claiming an AC\/DC show in September \u201ctotally messed up our infield.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Protections have advanced since then. \u201cWe\u2019re really fortunate that technology has come such a long way on the terraplas and the membrane they put down to protect the field,\u201d said Kenney, adding that there\u2019s no seating on the infield as another protective measure. <\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of playability, we really haven\u2019t had any issues. \u2026 Morgan and her team are miracle workers in getting the field back in playable shape.\u201d <\/p>\n It\u2019s a process that takes roughly four days, said Bucciferro. \u201cWhat we typically like to see is two days to build the stage. \u2026 On the third day, we bring in the tour production. On the fourth day, we host the show, and then that night we begin to tear down.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of the Cubs team responsible for Wrigley Field concerts: President of Business Operation Crane Kenney, Director of Events Megan Gaseor, Senior Director of Operations and Guest Experience Morgan Bucciferro, Chief Commercial Officer Colin Faulkner, Vice President Wrigley Field Events Andy Blackburn, Senior Vice President Marquee 360 Cale Vennum and Director and Chief Operations Officer David Cromwell.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Barry Brecheisen\/For the Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Other issues have also been worked out over the years. Unlike other stadiums, Wrigley Field sits in spitting distance of residences and schools. When Fall Out Boy played in 2023, the show was so loud that people as far as Lincoln Park and Ravenswood said they could hear it. It was chalked up to unusual \u201catmospheric conditions\u201d with intense winds carrying the acoustics farther than normal.<\/a><\/p>\n In 2013, current 44th Ward Alderman Bennett Lawson, who had also been on the staff of his predecessor Tom Tunney since 2004, said the office was flooded with complaints after Pearl Jam played until 2 a.m. A year later, the city\u2019s night game ordinance, which also governs concerts, was amended with steep fines to basically ensure it couldn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n Of that event, Kenney said, \u201cIt was an in-the-moment decision driven by the artist who wanted to continue the show. The city worked with us to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Ernie Banks joins Eddie Vedder on stage during a 2013 concert at Wrigley Field, when Pearl Jam played \u201cAll the Way.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Stephen Green\/Chicago Cubs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It still remains one of his \u2014 and many fans\u2019 \u2014 favorite memories, particularly seeing Ernie Banks join Eddie Vedder onstage for a duet of Vedder\u2019s song \u201cAll The Way\u201d just a year before Banks died. Uber Cubs fan Vedder, who was not available for comment for this story, also has been known to play music in the team clubhouse and leave guitars behind in the players\u2019 lounge as a way of bridging the gap since players never get to see shows at the ballpark.<\/p>\n In 2023, shortly before taking office, Lawson surveyed nearly 2,000 residents<\/a> and found a largely positive reception to Wrigley concerts: 37% attended one or more shows that year and just 8% of residents in the ward wanted fewer overall concerts and events. Those who live in the 60613, 60614, 60640 and 60657 zip codes are also invited to sign up for a \u201cWrigley Field Neighbors\u201d program<\/a> that offers regular communications and allows residents who are registered to buy concert tickets before the general public. Plus, it\u2019s good for business.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Lady Gaga played on Monday night most recently, we were having dinner at El Jardin [on Clark Street] and the owner came over and said, \u2018Can we have every concert on a Monday night?\u2019\u201d Ald. Lawson said. <\/p>\n Jimmy Buffett performs at Wrigley Field in 2005, the first rock concert at the ballpark.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Tom Cruze\/Sun-Times file photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n He too is a big fan of the shows, and recalled how special it was to see the first Wrigley concert, which happened a week after Hurricane Katrina. As part of the night, Buffett performed the Steve Goodman song \u201cCity of New Orleans\u201d in the bleachers during a solemn moment.<\/p>\n Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers\u2019 2017 show was meaningful for another somber reason, as it was the last time Petty played Chicago before his death that October. \u201cI don\u2019t like to look at that tour in that way,\u201d said Heartbreaker keyboardist\/pianist Benmont Tench. \u201cLord, I wish he was still here. We were playing really well and none of us expected it.\u201d Tench recalled having the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go up to the organist\u2019s booth at Wrigley and play. \u201cTo hear it ricochet around the stadium, it was marvelous.\u201d<\/p>\n As for the future of the concerts at Wrigley, Kenney said the organization wants to have \u201cmore music and more diversity. Smaller shows with less of a stage build-out are a possibility. This season, the Landmark Records installation at Gallagher Way, a small gathering area just outside the ballpark, also offers live music around the 1:20 p.m. home games on Fridays. \u201cWe hope to be a place for everyone to come and find something for themselves,\u201d said Bucciferro. \u201cBaseball is always going to be our number-one priority \u2026 but we really try to make this a place where people can see different types of music and experience different types of acts.\u201d<\/p>\n ![\"Roger](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/01cc1ef\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/1800x1196+0+0\/resize\/840x558!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F65%2Fe7%2F526f0d3642e983f300323992674d%2Fwall-cst-061012-9.JPG\")
<\/p>\n<\/picture>\nNavigating the Cubs\u2019 schedule and the neighborhood<\/h3>\n
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