Opening of Waterloo Park Set for Aug. 14

After a full decade of being closed, Waterloo Park will at long last reopen to the public Saturday, Aug. 14. So says Waterloo Greenway, which broke the news today, along with word from C3 Presents that the park's first concert will be Aug. 20, with hometown hero Gary Clark Jr. breaking in the park's 5,000-seat Moody Amphitheater.

Aerial view of Waterloo Park (Courtesy of Waterloo Greenway Conservancy)

That means Clark will precede two bands previously announced to play the amphitheater the week after Labor Day: reggae rockers Rebelution (Thu., Sept. 9) and British trip-pop quartet Glass Animals (Sun., Sept. 12). (C3 has already loaded the park's September calendar with acts, including Counting Crows, Sylvan Esso, 311, and Quinn XCII.) By the way, for Clark's concert, and all ticketed concerts at the Moody Amphitheater, 100 free tickets will be available to the community through a lottery system.

Still, the Austin bluesman won't be the first musician to perform under the five miles of white I-beams that criss-cross the Moody Amphitheater's eye-catching roof cover. On the park's official opening day, dubbed CommUNITY Day, a host of local music makers will help inaugurate the Moody Amphitheater from 7-10pm in a concert called "Taste of Austin," showcasing homegrown talent. (The specific talent was not confirmed at press time.)

Waterloo Park's Moody Amphitheater (Courtesy of Waterloo Greenway Conservancy)

But people who aren't musicians will also be taking the Moody stage on Aug. 14. CommUNITY Day will begin at 10am with Waterloo Greenway leadership, Mayor Steve Adler, Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison, and other dignitaries cutting a ribbon across the stage.

Of course, the Moody Amphitheater isn't all there is to the renovated Waterloo Park, and Waterloo Greenway and the City of Austin will have family-friendly activities taking place throughout all 11 acres: STEM programming at the Meredith Heritage Tree Deck, environmental programming in the Luci and Ian's Family Hill Country Garden, kids’ activities at the Kitty King Powell Lawn and playscape, and performing arts at Lebermann Plaza – an intimate alternative to the Moody with a round performance area and seating for around 200 people on several curving rows of limestone blocks. For the full schedule of CommUNITY Day programming, visit WaterlooGreenway.org. And the calendar of future Moody Amphitheater concerts can be found at MoodyAmphitheater.com.