MGM Bets On Big Performers Like Stevie Wonder To Entice Visitors
On Main Street in Springfield, Massachusetts, MGM’s resort casino is just south of the MassMutual Center where Steve Wonder performs September 1. Photo by Jill Kaufman for NEPR
For the first time ever, the influential and iconic Stevie Wonder will play Springfield, Massachusetts.
The September 1 concert is the beginning of a new kind of entertainment in the city, according to MGM Springfield. The casino opens August 24, and is bringing Stevie Wonder to town.
While music fans have long been coming to Springfield for jazz, blues and classical concerts, and hip hop and rock fans regularly find great bands on stages around town, it’s been decades since the city was a destination for anyone so big.
Music write
r David Sokol saw Bruce Springsteen at the MassMutual Center in 1976 when it was called the Springfield Civic Center.
“[Springsteen] played there early on in his career, the year after Born to Run came out,” Sokol said.
As music critic for The Advocate newspapers for 15 years starting in the mid 1970s, Sokol saw hundreds of concerts throughout the Pioneer Valley.
It was the glory days of Springfield’s rock scene, he said, and tickets for groups like The Eagles were $5.
So many big names came through, like David Bowie, Santana and Aerosmith. Sokol saw them all.