The Greater Grand Rapids area was all a buzz last week. Not only did Garth Brooks tickets go on sale – with 60,000 tickets sold for six-concerts in one day – but the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park released its 2016 summer concert series line-up as well.
And it is quite the line-up with a mixture of returning favorites, Grace Potter, Gavin DeGraw, and The Beach Boys, and some who have never performed at the Gardens’ outdoor amphitheater such as opener Tears for Fears and Motown’s darling Diana Ross.
“We brought back some such as Jackson Browne because his show sold out so quickly last year and so now those who didn’t get to see him might have the chance to do so,” said Andrea Wolschleger, whose last task as public relations manager for the Frederik Meijer Gardens was promoting the summer concert series. “It really is a nice mix of returning favorites and new faces.”
While tickets are a hot item, with the Gardens at about 95 percent sold for the 2015 summer series, Wolschleger said there is a misnomer that all the concerts sellout right away during the members-only preview sale.
“Actually during the member sale, we might have five or six of the concerts sellout,” Wolschleger said. There are around 30 concerts in the series starting with Tears for Fears on June 6 and ending with Gavin DeGraw and Andy Grammar on Sept. 7.
Of course, If you are really hoping to snag those tickets for Diana Ross, the best chance is to be a member of the Gardens since the member-only sale starts at 9 a.m. April 30.
“I would recommend becoming a member before April 30,” Wolschleger said. “You are going to want to be able to get online right away at 9 a.m. If you try to get your membership done that same day you might have problems getting online for the members’ sale.”
Becoming a Gardens member – which starts at $50 for an individual ($30 for a student) – now or even a few days before means any problems can be resolved before the sale starts, Wolschleger said. Members also save $2 a ticket. There is an $8 per order handling fee through StarTickets. For the general public, there is a $3.50 handling fee per order plus a $5.25 convenience fee per ticket. There are no fees for tickets purchased through the Meijer Gardens Admission desk during normal business hours.
Members have until midnight May 13 to order tickets. Starting at 9 a.m. May 14, tickets are released to the general public. For a complete list of performers, dates and times, click here.
The amphitheater seats 1,900 and is general admission. Blankets and low-rise chairs that are 32 inches maximum from ground to highest position of the chair are allowed. A limited number of standard-height chairs will be available to rent for $5 on a first-come, first-serve basis. Concertgoers may bring their own food, bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages. For complete guidelines, click here.
