Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2025

BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF

ROCKING ON THE RUNWAY Forget Planes. Bands Will Take Off From YXU’s Runway In September

BY SARAH BELING

magine if Coachella was accompanied by the sights and sounds of planes taking off.

the event, the nature of the artists and the overall anticipated atmosphere,” adds Kay. “Most of these students are not in London in July and do not attend Rock the Park, so early September was a perfect time for our new addition,” says Jones . “I then met with Jeff Armour, COO of USC, and we both knew immediately we were going to build something exceptional together, not just for his students but for music fans far and wide.” Jones Entertainment, YXU, and USC spent a year planning the festivities, with care to work through “regulations on the airport aspect of things, overall safety plans, traffic flow patterns, etc.,” says Kay. The result, she hopes, will be an exciting addition to the city’s live music landscape in a unique setting. “The headliners are absolutely artists that we would not be able to afford at Rock the Park due to the cost, and we wouldn’t want to increase ticket sales to be able to afford them, so ultimately with a larger capacity we are able to secure these artists at a more affordable public ticket price,” says Kay. “We are looking forward to bringing the entire London and surrounding community together in hopes of creating something magical that hasn’t quite been able to be done yet in this capacity.” The team at YXU “cannot wait to welcome guests from across Ontario and beyond to our amazing airport and Canada’s first UNESCO City of Music,” adds McFadzean . “The airport takes great pride in serving and supporting our community and with this great new concert partnership with [Jones Entertainment], we look forward to continuing to host world-class events for years to come.” As for whether a successful Rock the Runway festival could inspire other airports to rock out at their own runways? “Yes,” says Kay, “we do think so!”

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Locals to Ontario, Canada’s London International Airport (YXU) soon may be able to capture a similar experience as they take a new kind of musical journey. YXU has partnered with Jones Entertainment Group for an inaugural Rock the Runway festival premiering this September. The two-day outdoor concert on YXU’s northwest runway – featuring sets by American and British singer songwriters Noah Kahan and Myles Smith, rock band The Strumbrellas, DJ and record producer Marshmello as well as Canadian rapper and singer BBNO$ – will serve as a complimentary event to Jones Entertainment Group’s popular Rock the Park concert series held each July. Conversations around planning a Rock the Runway event began with an invite for the Jones Entertainment team to visit YXU from airport president Scott McFadzean, says the company’s marketing director Myriah Kay. “Scott McFadzean reached out to [president of Jones Entertainment Group] Brad Jones and discussions began with the opportunity on how we could collaborate,” says Kay. “After conversations with Scott, and quite a few walkthroughs, we knew the space would be the perfect fit for an outdoor concert series.” The two organizations then reached out to the Western University Students’ Council (USC) to engage the area’s student population “given the timing of

Left: Canada’s London International Airport will host an on-runway music festival in September.

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AX NEWS JULY/AUGUST 2025