RAPID CITY, S.D. — The fate of Rapid City’s popular outdoor concert series, Summer Nights, that draws thousands of people to downtown Rapid City, is now in the hands of the Rapid City Council, as it considers whether or not to approve the events 2025 permit application.
Summer Nights is a free concert series for all ages in the heart of downtown Rapid City held every Thursday night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., from Memorial Day to Labor Day, bringing music, food, and community spirit to the heart of Rapid City. Now in its 17th year, its location at the intersection of St. Joseph and 7th Street has become a point of contention, with some businesses claiming it disrupts their operations and negatively impacts their revenue.
In January 2024, a group of 41 businesses met to discuss their concerns with Summer Nights, including Bokujo Ramen, Who’s Hobby House, Black Hills Mushrooms, Independent Ale House, and numerous others. In a letter addressed to the Summer Nights board, they cited a loss of revenue due to limited parking, increased theft, and unfair competition from food trucks. Some businesses claimed a 40-60% loss in sales during each Summer Nights event.
Over the past year, the Summer Nights Board, City Council, Visit Rapid City, some downtown businesses and a mediator have been discussing a location change but have been unable to settle the issue.
In a statement released by business owners and despite the issue of location, the overall message was one of support. The statement reads:
“While we feel strongly that Summer Nights is disrupting downtown commerce, the second strongest feeling in the community is that no business owners want Summer Nights to end. The businesses represented believe that a free concert series is a wonderful way to reward the hard-working people of Rapid City and the surrounding communities. We have seen the smiles, the hands being held, the rugs being cut, and the laughs being had. Unfortunately, we are seeing it out of the front window of our businesses. The community is imploring you, the board, to look at the positives of this — you have created an event that the community wants to see succeed. We look at this as a community coming together to help everyone succeed. It is the farthest thing from ‘us versus you’, this is intended to create a ‘we’ moving forward.”
Judd Nielsen is the president of the Summer Nights Board. In an interview with KELO News, he said, “I get that we do have an impact on some businesses. We do close the street. But we also bring 5,000 people downtown every week and that’s free marketing. Right when you’ve got drive-by traffic that can actually see what’s in your store, that has to be a benefit to some, maybe not on that day, but it has to be a benefit overall.”
Nielsen claims the conflict has made it difficult to organize the event for the 2025 summer. At this time of year, talent and vendors are being booked for the summer event. He says there isn’t enough time to figure out all the details of having to move Summer Nights to a different location before summer 2025. “It’s not about location now,” he shared. “What we need is time. We’re asking for one more year so that we can figure out what the best location is for this event to move forward.”
He added, “We’re more than happy to continue to discuss a location change for the 2026 season,” said Nielsen “But at this time, and all of the planning that we have to do, we had to submit our permit for the 2025 season at its current location.”
The Rapid City Council is expected to review the permit application during its next meeting, Monday, December 16, 2024.
