Clover Island Inn’s recipe for summer fun includes music, sunsets, river view

“This (new stage) will improve the vibe of the concerts. You’ve got the stage, the (Columbia) River and the sunset,” said Mark Blotz, general manager and partner of Clover Island Inn, who helped get the annual concert series going 19 years ago.

Courtesy Clover Island Inn

There will be plenty of live music on the island this summer at Clover Island Inn in Kennewick.

Mark Blotz, Edward Nicholson and Liza Clitar have seen to that with the Summer Concert Series and the free Thunder on the Island lineup.

But they’ve also added something new and special: a brand-new Apex stage.

“The new Apex stage, we’ve been wanting it for 19 years,” said Blotz, who is the general manager and partner of Clover Island Inn. “It’s 32-by-34 feet. It’s one of the better concert stages, and we’re partnering with the Port of Kennewick in getting it.”

Blotz said that some of the acts have pretty much demanded they get a stage.

For years, bands have used two side-by-side flatbed trailers.

Apex stages are known for being safe and easy to put up. Two to four people typically can set it up in an hour.

“This will improve the vibe of the concerts. You’ve got the stage, the (Columbia) River and the sunset,” said Blotz, who helped get the annual concert series going 19 years ago.

Back then, Blotz was just chatting with the then-kitchen manager at the hotel when the idea of a concert series at the east end of the property came up.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. So he ran with it.

Over the years, bands such as Poco, Pablo Cruise, Night Ranger, Head East, Sugar Ray, and Sawyer Brown — which plays there every couple years — have appeared in the series.

“Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown loves it here,” Blotz said. “Quiet Riot wants to come back again when they’re on tour.”

This year’s lineup includes seven Summer Concert Series events, plus another 10 Thunder on the Island free concert events on Wednesday nights.

“This is the most outdoor events we’ve ever had in one season,” said Clitar, Clover Island’s director of marketing and sales.

Blotz and his staff get many of their acts through the International Entertainment Buyers Association, or Blotz might go to Hermiston’s fair or Legends Casino in Toppenish to talk to an act’s management.

To put together a series like this, Clover Island has to partner with a number of other businesses.

“We’ve got seven partners — the Port of Kennewick, Stevens Center Management, A-One, Retter & Company, Ice Harbor Brewery, Minuteman Press, and Cedars at Pier One,” Blotz said.

Most concert tickets cost $30 to $35, although country music stars Neal McCoy and Joe Nichols run fans $50 to $55.

Nicholson, the banquet and catering manager, said that the company did restructure the whole package.

“We put tables up front, and most of the table seats are $70,” he said.

Food and drink are available outside to listen to the live music with 1,600 of your closest friends on a hot summer night.

Clitar said that usually 17 to 25 of the hotel’s employees work an event. A total of 55 to 60 are employed there.

Clitar also added that the hotel has packages to complement the concerts.

“We have room packages, with an overnight room, two tickets, in the second row,” she said.

Nicholson added that series draws a number of groups.

“Groups come here and plan their events around a concert,” Nicholson said. “We had a high school reunion, Class of ’84, that wanted a band. So they came for a concert. And the bands are wanting to get in. We have bands from Seattle, Yakima and Ellensburg who want to play here.”

Blotz likes to make sure what Clover Island is doing doesn’t take away from other events.

“We wanted to work with other events. So we have our Wednesdays with Thunder on the Island, and Thursdays are Live at 5 at Richland’s John Dam Plaza.

Summer Concert Series

Saturday, May 25 — Garratt Wilkins & The Parrotheads (celebrating the life and music of Jimmy Buffett), with opening band The Shades. Tickets $30-$35.

Sunday, May 26 — Fastlane (celebration of The Eagles), with opening band Badlandz. Tickets are $30-$35.

Sunday, June 16 — Joe Nichols, country music star and three-time Grammy nominee, with opening band Stompin Ground. Tickets are $50-$55.

Sunday, July 7 — Fan Halen (Van Halen Tribute Band), with opening band The Knockdowns. Tickets are $30-$35.

Saturday, July 20 — Yesterday (Beatles Tribute Band), with opening band Colorblind. Tickets are $30-$35.

Sunday, Aug. 4 — Neal McCoy, country music star, with opening band Foolish Fortune. Tickets are $50-$55.

Sunday, Sept. 1 — Son Of A Gun (Guns N' Roses Tribute Band), with opening band Saints of Nevermore. Tickets are $30-$35.