Today’s announcement of three amphitheater shows serves as an early teaser for concertgoers, with tickets going on sale to Meijer Gardens members in late April. Check out the videos.
Meijer Gardens-Bound: Ian Anderson’s “Jethro Tull” will play the outdoor amphitheater in August. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
In a sneak peek into its summer amphitheater series, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park today revealed three concerts to help whet the appetite of fans looking ahead to the 2017 season of shows at the outdoor amphitheater in Grand Rapids Township.
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St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Alabama-based soul group St. Paul & The Broken Bones – which released its second full-length album last September – will play Meijer Gardens on June 9, followed on June 12 by the “Four Voices” tour featuring legendary folk artists Joan Baez and Mary Chapin Carpenter performing with The Indigo Girls (Amy Ray and Emily Saliers).
Later in the summer, flute-playing classic rock icon Ian Anderson, frontman for Jethro Tull, will bring his “Jethro Tull by Ian Anderson” tour to the outdoor amphitheater on Aug. 18.
The rest of the lineup for 2017 will be announced in mid-April, with tickets going on sale to Meijer Gardens members on April 29 and to the general public on May 13. Ticket prices haven’t yet been announced.
Joan Baez
John VanderHaagen, public relations manager, said Meijer Gardens is shooting to schedule 30 concerts for 2017, but “offers are being extended and tours are being routed” at this time, so it’s possible that number “might go up or down slightly.”
Last year’s 14th edition of the summer series marked the most successful season of concerts in Meijer Gardens’ history, with 27 of 30 concerts selling out and 54,420 tickets sold. Indeed, two dozen concerts sold out to members before tickets even went on sale to the public (although a handful of tickets for certain sold-out shows later were released for sale).
The mix of shows announced as a teaser today “reflects our commitment to bringing in a wide variety of groups, from newer acts like St. Paul & The Broken Bones to legendary names like Joan Baez and Jethro Tull,” said VanderHaagen.
The Indigo Girls (Photo/Anna Sink)
“The 2017 lineup will once again appeal to a wide variety of musical tastes.”
The “Jethro Tull” show led by Anderson played Grand Rapids’ DeVos Performance Hall last April.
Mary Chapin Carpenter last played Grand Rapids as part of a duo show with Shawn Colvin at Forest Hills Fine Arts Center in 2013.
The Indigo Girls last played Meijer Gardens in 2015, followed by a March 2016 appearance at Forest Hills Fine Arts Center.
VIDEO: St. Paul & The Broken Bones, “All I Ever Wonder”
VIDEO: Joan Baez, “75th Birthday Celebration”
VIDEO: Jethro Tull by Ian Anderson, “Locomotive Breath”
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