Rock The Park series heading to Delaware Speedway in September

London, Ont. -

Country music and racing fans will be coming together this fall.

The announcement was made on Pure Country Radio’s morning show with Dave and Rachel early Monday -- the Road to Rock the Park is heading to Delaware Speedway.

“The Road to Rock the Park concert series continues here with Dean Brody, James Barker Band, a great young act - Jay Eagleson, and we’re going to have a fourth act to be named shortly,” says Brad Jones from Jones Entertainment Group

This will be a new endeavor for the new management group at Delaware Speedway. The track, west of London, just welcomed back live racing three weeks ago. They also plan to add other events in the future, but say concerts like this will be a focal point.

“When concerts became an option, we reached out to Brad Jones of Jones Entertainment right away, because we’ve been a part of some of their events in the past, and they are the best in the business as far as we’re concerned, and that’s how we got going,” says Speedway General Manager Luke Ramsey.

The capacity for the concert on Sept. 23 will be 3,500, but Jones says there is room to grow in the future.

“We think that it could be a capacity of 15,000 people quite easily, so we want to work on the parking and all those logistics.”

This, however, will not be the home of the annual ‘Rock the Park’ concerts, as Jones says he hopes to return to Harris Park in the summer of 2022.

A new City Hall proposal going to committee Tuesday that would create a 9 p.m. cut-off for music concerts and festivals, while on a trial basis, would impact all events like Rock the Park, and Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan says he’s against such a move.

“Rock the Park contributes over $2 million to the local economy, and so these events are really critical and really important to our city. Obviously we have bylaws in place, and I’m just not supportive of making significant changes to those bylaws at this time as we emerge from a pandemic.”

That’s good news for events like Rock the Park, but Jones says this new partnership with the Speedway will bring more acts to the region.

“In following years there will be standalone shows, here at the Delaware Speedway."

The concert in September will be part of the annual Great Canadian Race Weekend at the Speedway, with the return of the national stock car racing circuit planned for that weekend as well.

Tickets start at $39 and will be available online Friday July 30 at 10 a.m.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Humane Society London & Middlesex.