By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
If you were letting your summer schedule settle out before you bought tickets for the summer concert at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, there is some good news and bad news awaiting you at the box office.
The good news is that there are some great shows in a spectrum of genres with original-price tickets available through the Gardens, including this Sunday’s Rodrigo y Gabriela visit, with the fine alt-folkie Justin Townes Earle opening, as well as July shows by Andrew Bird, The Mavericks + Los Lobos, and Dawes + Margo Price.
But if you waited to get your tickets for the likes of classic rock stalwarts The Beach Boys, Styx, and Foreigner, you are going to have to pay the price for indecision — tickets for the sold-out Aug. 11 show with Foreigner had an original ticket price of $84 and now the cheapest we see are $155 on StubHub.
In all, and including the Nahko and Medicine for the People show on June 6, 15 of the 30 shows were sold out as of this week — but that means tickets are still available for (in addition to the one’s mentioned) Buddy Guy + Kenny Wayne Shepherd, June 10; Steve Miller Band + Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, June 24; Gipsy Kings with Simi, July 21; An Evening with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, July 26; JJ Grey & Mofro + Jonny Lang, Aug. 14; Stray Cats, Aug. 15; Mandolin Orange, Sept.4; Tash Sultana with Leo James Conroy, Sept. 8; The B-52’s + OMD + Berlin, Sept. 11; and the season closing show of Calexico and Iron & Wine, Sept. 18.
The three aforementioned “great shows”, in our humble but semi-knowledgable opinion, are worth the ticket price and worth deeper preview discussion.
Anybody who saw Andrew Bird last year probably already have their tickets for his show. Bird has been around but you may only know him from his 2016 solo release “Are You Serious” and the single “Capsized”. His visit last year to Meijer Gardens with Esperanza Spalding was, arguably, the hippest night of the season.
Los Lobos, the hard working, constantly touring band – led by David Hidalgo, Louie Perez, Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano and Steve Berlin – rolled into their fifth decade with 2015’s “Gates of Gold”, their first full length studio album since 2010’s “Tin Can Trust” — a great collection constantly on my playlist.
And Margo Price is, borrowed from someone else, country as is should be. Price has played with Jack White and Willie Nelson … is there two more diverse musical mentors? At her 2017 concert at St, Cecilia Music Center, my review noted that Price came to the stage wearing a pretty pink little dress perfect for the stage of the Grand Ole Opry but with her exposed shoulders showing off a big ole tattoo, and proceeded with a rough-edged if not intentionally alt-country set of often introspective, intimate original songs and covers of the who’s who of classic and outlaw country.
As the Gardens opens its season it will do so with more audience entry gates in an expanded plaza area, an expanded and modernized concession area, and access to new and expanded restrooms first from the outside for those lined up and then from the inside.
The physical changes conclude a two-year effort of significant expansion and improvement of the venue while maintaining the 1,900-seat general seating area.
The Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater tickets are general admission. Concertgoers are welcome to bring a blanket or low-rise chair to sit on. Low-rise chairs are defined as 12-inch maximum from ground to front of seat bottom and 32-inch maximum to top of chair back in highest position — these rules are strictly enforced. No other chairs will be permitted in the venue. A limited number of standard-height chairs will be available to rent for $10 (located in designated area-may not be removed) on a first-come, first-served basis.
All concerts take place rain or shine, and weather delays possible. Concertgoers are also welcomed to bring their own food, sealed bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages in their original sealed containers.
For more information and tickets for non-sold out shows visit meijergardens.org . For those seeking aftermarket tickets, you are on your own.
