Nick Jonas, the youngest of the Jonas Brothers, had his solo show at Musikfest’s main stage ended by a lightning storm Saturday – just the second time in the festival’s 28-year history that a headliner was cut short by weather.
Fifty-five minutes into Jonas’s concert, the 18-year-old told the crowd of about 3,500 that because of the weather, “They’re telling me we need to step off stage for a little bit until they figure it out.”
Soon after, Patrick Brogan, vice president of performing arts for ArtsQuest, the organization that runs Musikfest, took the stage to say, “Because of the weather, we’d like to ask you to safely evacuate the arena. Thank you, goodnight.”
The crowd briefly chanted “We want Nick! We want Nick!” before the crowd rushed out of the arena. Outside, a large group of girls surrounded the entrance to the backstage area and took up the same chant.
“So sorry we had to call off the rest of the show in PA,” Jonas posted on his Twitter account shortly after the end of the concert. “The weather just wouldn't allow us to carry on safely. I was having an awesome time! The crowd was amazing to stick around and rock through the rain with me.”
The light but steady rain started just five minutes before Jonas hit the stage, and it grew into a torrential downpour with several loud cracks of thunder – the first 25 minutes into Jonas’ set.
The deluge also prompted ArtsQuest officials to close all other outdoor stages at Musikfest an hour early. The other stages were shut down at 10 p.m., about 40 minutes after the Jonas concert.
The festival set to resume Sunday at noon.
“Public safety is our number one concern,” ArtsQuest President Jeff Parks said. “With the severity of the weather, we decided to halt the performances on our outdoor stages. The ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks remained open, with live music, comedy performances and films for our patrons to enjoy.”
Jonas, playing with a four-member band, had performed a dozen songs, including some of his solo tunes, some by the Jonas Brothers and some covers. But he had not performed his biggest solo hit, “Who I Am,” the title song from his 2010 solo album.
On a solo concert run in spring 2010, Jonas’s set included 15 songs plus a medley of covers in a 100-minute show.
The show was Jonas’s only solo show scheduled this summer. He has taken most of the year off to write and produce other artists and earlier this month had starred in a production of the play “Hairspray” at the Hollywood Bowl. He’s scheduled to start a solo South American tour on Sept. 21.
ArtsQuest officials did not immediately respond to telephone and e-mail messages left seeking more information about the decision to end the show.
Jonas’s opening act, Ocean Grove, played a full half-hour set, and there was a half hour wait before Jonas started his show.
Tickets for Jonas’s concert were $29 and $39.
Before the show was halted, Jonas told the crowd, “I don’t know about you all, but we came to rock tonight. I know it’s raining out there, but I hope you’ll do the same.” Later, he told them, “I know it’s not the best conditions, but you guys are making this a party.”
The only other time a Musikfest headliner’s show was shortened by weather was in 2005, when 1970s rocker Steve Miller was forced off the stage – also after just under an hour – by lightning at the former RiverPlace stage.
Miller on Monday played the festival for the first time since that incident, saying, "I think the last time we were at your festival we got cut short by some weather. That's not going to happen this time. We're going to play everything we want." He played 22 songs in a show that lasted just under two hours.
In 2001, a Montgomery Gentry concert was delayed by a thunderstorm, and in 2002, a storm held up the start of a Guess Who concert, preventing opener Blue Oyster Cult from performing.
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