By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
The most-anticipated aspect of the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s summer concert series is the quality and varied line-up but usually the least-anticipated aspect of the concerts was the lines to get in and after: the crush when the gates open, the lack of a (shall we say) ‘nearby’ line to the rest rooms, and the lines for the concessions.
This season, The Fifth Third Bank Summer Concerts at Meijer Gardens 2019 lineup will continue its great musical line-up featuring 30 shows ranging from the every-season sell-out of Lyle Lovett (whose summer concert streak will now be at 14 years) to the ‘Who is that?’ Garden’s debut of Mandolin Orange.
But Gardens upgrades will ease the other three issues, with more entry points due to extra 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 intimacy of the venue, including the renovated the Steve & Amy Van Andel Terraces for sponsor seating, added new support areas for visiting artists, backstage and loading dock improvements and increased the space — but not capacity — in the 1,900-seat general seating area.
As usual, there will be multiple ways to lay down your money and get your tickets, in various technology forms, and not all of them require standing in lines. For all the details of the ticket options, which is its own separate story, check out The Insider’s Guide on the Meijer Gardens website (scroll down on the page to Insiders Guide to Buying Ticket and follow the link).
And now for the good stuff: who’s coming!
Let’s separate the list into who’s coming back for an encore, who’s into classic rock, and the who’s next in music whom you might want to catch up with — at least in my humble opinion.
First the encores, at least a sampling of such: Lake Street Dive + The Wood Brothers, June 12; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, June 27; An Evening with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, July 26; Michael Franti & Spearhead, Aug. 23; and The B-52’s + OMD + Berlin, Sept. 11.
The classic rock (and other classic) bands offering up their classic hits, from about 40 years of such things: Buddy Guy + Kenny Wayne Shepherd, June 10 (ya, I know it’s blues but classic blues.); Steve Miller Band + Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives, June 24; Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles, June 30 (as close as we’ll now ever get to the Fab Four); Three Dog Night, July 11; The Temptations + The Righteous Brothers, July 28 (OK, classic soul); An Evening with The Beach Boys, Aug. 1; An Evening with Styx, Aug. 9; Foreigner, Aug. 11; and Stray Cats, Aug. 15.
And for who’s coming that either you might want to check out or simply should not miss:
Nahko And Medicine For The People, June 6. Describing his latest release, “My Name is Bear”, Nahko says on his website: “So many dear people helped me write and live these stories. The two summers I spent in Alaska, half the winter in Louisiana and the other half holed up in my van in Portland, and then the first year in Hawaii were transformational.” Sounds to me like someone worth a listen.
Andrew Bird, July 18. Bird has been around but if you missed his 2016 solo release “Are You Serious”, and the single “Capsized”, which got the most airplay, you missed a great multi-leveled, alt-whole bunch of things, collection which featured guest vocals from Fiona Apple and some fine shredding on his electric violin. His visit last year to Meijer Garden with Esperanza Spalding was, arguably, the hippest night of the season. More recently, Bird has released a series of site-specific improvisational short films and recordings called Echolocations, recorded in remote and acoustically interesting spaces including a reverberant stone-covered aqueduct in Lisbon. Ya, someone to definitely check out.
The Mavericks + Los Lobos, July 25. I’ve yet to hear The Mavericks but they had me at 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”, the band’s outstanding Grammy nominated (for Best Americana Album) release that is constantly in my personal setlist. Can’t wait.
Mandolin Orange, Sept. 4. Don’t know much about the the North Carolina duo of singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multi-instrumentalist Emily Frantz, but I really like what I’ve heard of their just released “Tides of a Teardrop” — described by one listener as “the duo’s fullest, richest, and most personal effort. You can hear the air between them — the taut space of shared understanding, as palpable as a magnetic field, that makes their music sound like two halves of an endlessly completing thought.”
The rest, and no offense to fans of, include: Rodrigo y Gabriela with Justin Townes Earle, June 9; Big Head Todd and The Monsters + Toad the Wet Sprocket, June 20; Old Crow Medicine Show, June 21; The Mighty O.A.R. Summer Tour 2019 with American Authors, June 26; Amos Lee, July 15; Gipsy Kings with Simi, July 21; Dawes + Margo Price, July 31 (Margo’s alt-country is worth the price of admission by herself); An Evening with CAKE, Aug. 7; Sarah McLachlan with Orchestra, Aug. 8; JJ Grey & Mofro + Jonny Lang, Aug. 14 (Same thing I said about Margo applies to Jonny); Tash Sultana with Leo James Conroy, Sept. 8; and Calexico and Iron & Wine, Sept. 18.
And a few details that remain the same
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 (weather delays possible). Concertgoers are also welcomed to bring their own food, sealed bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages in their original sealed containers.
