Continuing its opening weekend festivities, Acrisure Amphitheater opened up its doors to the Grand Rapids community for a free open house with a variety of local music acts and opportunities to tour the venue.
The Grand Rapids community showed up to see what the new venue has to offer (Photo/Holly Holtzclaw)
Acrisure Amphitheater, Grand Rapids’ newest large-scale concert venue, provided an opportunity this weekend for the community to warm up to its presence in the city and explore every corner of the new space. Largely met with skepticism amid its construction and opening, the amphitheater hosted this free Saturday festival as part of its opening weekend celebration.
Organized by the Michigan-based company OPNR Music, the event featured performances from local and regional acts all day long on four different stages. It felt less like a showcase and more like a shared moment between the city and the people shaping its sound.
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“I think it is huge,” said Dre “Superdre” Wallace, founder of OPNR Music, “We didn’t want people to feel like the venue was just happening to them, but instead be part of it.”
Wallace said the free event allows the community to experience the amphitheater up close while also putting a spotlight on artists from the area who continue to work far beyond West Michigan, “Everybody calls them local acts, which yes, they are because they live here, but they do all kinds of things all over the country and all over the world in some instances.”
The Grand Rapids Ballet took the stage for an early-afternoon performance (Photo/Adam Briggs)
Attendees were impressed by the venue and many were even surprised at how much easier it was to get downtown and park than they had expected.
“It was easy getting down here, no issues whatsoever. The venue is very impressive. I really didn’t want to like it, but it’s very impressive. We hope that Grand Rapids can support it,” said Barbara Dillon from Rockford.
“I got to see a lot of the preparation for the venue opening over the past year. I know a lot of people are worried about parking and traffic and everything, which is valid, but I think it’s cool how Grand Rapids is expanding and bringing in more stuff like this,” said Grand Rapids’ Nora Flaharty.
For some, concerns about parking on busy nights and whether or not accessibility needs will be properly met still remain.
Grand Rapids resident Lori Cool noted that “people like our cousins would love to come and see what this is like, but wouldn’t be able to because of the handicap situation. He couldn’t walk what we just did.”
EXPLORING THE VENUE AND APPRECIATING LOCAL TALENT
While the venue was never close to hitting its capacity and crowds for most sets remained relatively small, there was a steady stream of people coming and going throughout the 11-hour event including plenty of families with young children who were eager to explore.
Attendees wandered freely from stage to stage, which, in addition to the main stage, included the Market Ave Stage just outside the venue where food trucks were also parked, and the East and West Deck Stages in the back corners of the lawn area. The small, intimate Deck Stages provided opportunities for up-and-coming artists like Jamie Dionne and LVNDR to perform low-key sets to captivated audiences.
The Main Stage featured early sets from performing arts groups like the Grand Rapids Ballet and Vizions Dance, while artists like Brie Stoner and The Hacky Turtles energized the crowd during the afternoon.
“Wow. What a night this is. Such a cool venue. I’m so excited for Grand Rapids to have something like this,” said The Hacky Turtles’ guitarist Austin Spencer, “We had such a blast up there, although we felt so tiny in this amphitheater, but we felt the support of the city and can’t wait to see what it does this summer.”
From Kanin Wren’s pop-country covers, to folk and bluegrass favorite Mark Lavengood to the high-energy, danceable Latin fusion of Mexicuba, there was something for everyone to enjoy at the event.
Sonny Ski kicked off the high-energy hip-hop medley at the end of the night (Photo/Holly Holtzclaw)
The night’s live performance schedule closed with a hip-hop medley from Lady Ace Boogie, Ajax Stacks, Sonny Ski and Gwopped Up Speedy alongside guest appearances from Steven Malcolm and Callab. The set played out like a rotating showcase of Grand Rapids hip-hop, blending performances, energy shifts and collaboration into one of the most talked-about moments of the night.
For Lady Ace Boogie, the performance represented more than a set. It reflected more than a decade of investment in the Grand Rapids creative community and finally seeing it on a stage that matches its scale.
“It feels right, it feels fair, it feels honest,” she said, “It feels like it’s honoring all of the hard work that I’ve put in over the past decade and I’m just here to spread the love.”
The night wrapped with a drone show over the riverfront which included a DJ set from DJ Composition, closing out a celebration that felt as much about the city itself as it did the new venue standing at its center.
PHOTO GALLERY: Acrisure Amphitheater Community Open House
Photos by Adam Briggs
Photos by Holly Holtzclaw
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