Music Under the Stars Canceled Indefinitely

After 36 years, Music Under the Stars will take an indefinite hiatus beginning this summer.

According to a statement released by the Museums and Cultural Affairs Department, Music Under the Stars will not be returning this summer due to declining attendance numbers.

For years, the annual free summer music series was a favorite among El Pasoans and families who would picnic and have a great time enjoying music on the lawn of the Chamizal National Memorial.

Unfortunately, after poor attendance over the last few years, and budgetary challenges at the Chamizal caused by funding cuts at the national level led to the difficult decision of canceling the music series this year until organizers could reevaluate the future of the program.

Up until last year, Music Under the Stars was even split weekly between performances at the Chamizal National Memorial and Cohen Stadium and while people came out, it just wasn't enough to support the program for another year.

Back in the 2000s, Music Under the Stars had an average attendance of over 12,000 people per concert but over the years attendance was light with about 500 people attending per show. Organizers of the event went as far as booking Grammy-winning headliners, yet it still was not enough to draw a large crowd and attendance continued to decrease by 96 percent over the past ten years.

It’s a sad reality of just how important it is to support local events especially when they are offered for free to our community. El Paso has been working hard to shine and such annual events such as Music Under the Stars, Summer Concert Series at neighborhood parks, Cool Canyon Nights, and Alfresco Fridays will only continue to thrive with support from our very own community.