For a venue like Tuacahn, it’s all about the Broadway shows, selling out seats in its high-quality professional live theater season night after night for years. But for more than a decade, Tuacahn has made its off-season just as entertaining by bringing in a wide range of talent — appealing to everyone from country music lovers to comedy fans and those aching for some rock and roll.

“Brian Regan and David Archuleta are two more examples of artists we’ve worked with….”

~ Jeff Martin

Willie Nelson. The Beach Boys. Martina McBride. Jay Leno. Styx. Jeff Foxworthy. The Piano Guys. Aside from sharing the distinction of being considered among the greats in the entertainment industry, these artists have something else in common. They’ve all had the opportunity to perform against the jaw-dropping red rock backdrop at Tuacahn.

“The program started with sporadic concerts featuring mainly Utah-based talent,” says Jeff Martin, Tuacahn concert programmer. “When Scott Anderson came on board in 2007 we started to ramp things up.”

In the early days most of the acts Martin was pitching to had not heard of Ivins, Utah, and it took a fair amount of negotiating to get talent agencies to agree to send their entertainers to a relatively un-tested market.

“There was an interest, but it took a while for us to develop a reputation as a concert destination,” Martin says. “It also took some time for us to learn what types of performances work well and who would come to which concerts.”

The key, as it often is, was consistency.

“We were consistently trying to book names that people recognized, classic rock and country bands that people know and love from the past,” Martin says.

Nabbing a few big names like Willie Nelson and Vince Gil, among others, proved to be a great way to solidify Tuacahn’s reputation as a serious concert venue.

“The artists were getting good feedback and asking to play here again,” Martin says. “It started to grow and it’s still growing year over year.”

Tuacahn audiences still enjoy some of the great Utah-based talent from the early days, but many of those performers have increased their name recognition in other ways since their Tuacahn debut.

“Jon Schmidt, now of The Piano Guys, is a great example,” Martin says. “It was fun to nurture him in his younger career and now bring his group back as major headliners.”

Developing and cultivating strong relationships with the artists is one of the things Martin says he likes most about this job.

“Brian Regan and David Archuleta are two more examples of artists we’ve worked with that I have personally tried to nurture relationships with over the years,” Martin says. “Brian Regan has performed here many times and he even filmed a Netflix special during the pandemic. David Archuleta really took off after American Idol and maintaining that relationship has been fruitful for both of us. His appearance this summer as the lead in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat grew out of that.”

But no matter how many amazing acts Martin books, there are always more groups people want to see on this iconic southern Utah stage. And truthfully, Martin has a few he’s had his eye on for a long time.

“ABBA Mania was hugely successful….”

~ Jeff Martin

“We really wanted to get Tony Bennett. We tried several times but it never worked out and now he’s not going to be doing concerts anymore,” Martin says. “Sometimes that’s how it goes.”

Then there are groups, like Imagine Dragons, that are just too big to put in a venue of Tuacahn’s size. But often, there are a variety of factors that come into play when planning out the spring and fall concert schedule.

“It’s not always just about offering them exactly what they’re asking for price-wise,” Martin says. “Sometimes you agree to everything they want and the answer is still ‘no.’”

Often it becomes a scheduling issue. Because the Broadway season remains as Tuacahn’s bread and butter, the concert scheduling must work around rehearsal and performance dates for the summer and fall shows.

“There are a lot of things to consider,” Martin says. “Certain groups just have too many people they need to transport to make it worth their while, or they’re touring on the other side of the country when we want them in Utah. There are a lot of elements that have to fall into place and the timing has to be right for these touring artists to come.”

Adding comedians to the lineup has been another great way to maximize the concert dates.

“That grew out of a practical need, but we’ve been very happy with the results,” Martin says. “We have to leave the stage open for rehearsals, but comedians require very little setup and can often perform on the theater set if they have to. That opened the door for Jay Leno, Jeff Foxworthy and a whole other category of performers.”

For years Martin says some of the people at Tuacahn were hesitant to dip into the world of tribute bands. But after giving it a try with ABBA Mania, those reluctant feelings turned into supportive ones.

“ABBA Mania was hugely successful,” Martin says. “Even still, we try to just have a sprinkling of tribute bands each year. We like to showcase the real deal as much as possible, but tributes are an important part of what we do.”

This season, Martin says he’s excited for the return of The Piano Guys to the Tuacahn stage, and he can’t wait to see The Temptations.

“There is a lot of enthusiasm and most of the concerts sell out.”

~ Jeff Martin

“We’ve got great variety in our program this year,” he says. “Some might think we’re not super adventurous with some of the choices we make but we don’t have the luxury of a fall back plan if they don’t work out. We have to be very thoughtful in who we book and how we proceed.”

So far, whatever Martin and his team are doing, it seems to be working out.

“Right now it’s in a good place,” Martin says. “It’s well attended. There is a lot of enthusiasm and most of the concerts sell out.”

Get your tickets to any of the talent gracing Tuacahn stage this concert season by logging onto www.tuacahn.org or calling the box office at 435-652-3300.