Grand Rapids Amphitheater Unveils 11-Hour Summer Kickoff

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The community gathered at the Acrisure Amphitheater in Grand Rapids for its grand opening on Friday night. However, the celebration didn’t end there. The 12,000-capacity venue, located at 201 Market Ave. SW, is hosting a free, all-day community day on Saturday to mark the opening weekend.

From 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., the public can explore the new space along the Grand River while enjoying a lineup of 20 performances from local West Michigan artists across multiple stages. The day will conclude with an evening drone show presented by Meijer.

Grand Rapids resident Brandon Chaney praised the venue, stating that there are no bad spots in the house.

“It’s set up extremely well. I’ve been to the Meijer Gardens venue. I’ve been to Pine Knob quite a bit over the years. I’m a big concertgoer — been going since I was 13 years old, and I’m 50 now," Chaney said. “People should definitely come out and check it out.”

Market Avenue was closed at 8 a.m. between Wealthy Street, south of the venue, and Cherry Street, north of the venue, for the community event. Several local food trucks lined the street, offering a diverse selection in addition to the half-price concessions inside the amphitheater.

A small stage stood in front of 234 Market Apartments along Market Avenue SW, where local students in the School of Rock House Band performed in a street party setting. Inside the amphitheater, the Grand Rapids Ballet, Girls Choral Academy and other artists like Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys performed on three stages.

The Grand Rapids Children’s Museum also set up activities on the lawn for families to play to their hearts’ content with a colorful parachute, bubbles, chalk-water play, and other items from the museum. Giant bubbles floated onto the downtown streets and across the Grand River, inviting commuters driving on U.S. 131 to stop in and stay a while.

“Everybody’s having an amazing time. They jumped right in, just as soon as we set up the bubbles,” said Megan Geiken, director of marketing and events at Grand Rapids Children’s Museum. “Play just happens; we set up an invitation, and they just dug in. It’s really exciting to see our city growing, and we’re really excited to be playing and growing alongside it.”

Chivonne Townsend of Grand Rapids, whose daughter performed in Vizions Dance on the main stage, said her daughter was overjoyed.

“Just walking up, getting her here, we passed a smaller stage that she’s used to being on,” Townsend said. “She was like, ‘Mom, look, I went from this to that,’ and it was just awesome to see her just being excited about being able to be on a big stage and be able to be seen throughout the community.”

Admission is free, although the amphitheater is asking attendees to download tickets from the Acrisure Amphitheater website. The venue is a key part of a plan to create a vibrant commercial, entertainment and recreational corridor along a 31-acre stretch of Market Avenue between Fulton and Wealthy streets.

“I’m just surprised they invested in something like this, and then, already, opening and giving back to the community,” Townsend said. “I’m proud of Grand Rapids. This is definitely the way to go with the community event.”

The new amphitheater officially opened May 15 with its very first performance by Lionel Richie, a Grammy Award-winning artist and judge on “American Idol.”

The publicly owned venue is financed through $114 million in taxpayer dollars and $70 million in private donations and is overseen and operated by the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority.

Since announcing its first artists last year, the venue has released a packed schedule with performances by national artists, including Pitbull, Lil Wayne, Dave Matthews Band and Kid Cudi.

Ada resident Josh Paciorek, who attended Saturday’s free community day event and Friday’s Lionel Richie concert, said there had been a lot of hard work put into the amphitheater.

“It feels like an unofficial kickoff to the summer season in Grand Rapids,” Paciorek said.