Merry Christmas! At No. 7 in our countdown of Local Spins’ most-read stories of the year is our coverage of first-day sales for the popular Meijer Gardens concert series. Plus, get a link to concert reviews.
Fastest Sellout: Norah Jones at Meijer Gardens in July, after tickets to the show sold out quickly in April. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)
EDITOR’S NOTE: The countdown of Local Spins’ most-read stories of the year hits No. 7 on Christmas Day with our story about brisk first-day sales in April for the 2022 Meijer Gardens concert series. Scroll down for a link to reviews and photo galleries from concerts that pumped up the amphitheater throughout the summer.
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The busiest — and priciest — concert season in Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park history sparked a robust response from ticket buyers on the first day of sales to Meijer Gardens members in April.
The opening salvo of online ticket sales produced 11 sellouts of summer 2022 shows within two hours, with tickets for Norah Jones’ July 17 appearance gone shortly after 9 a.m., followed by the Goo Goo Dolls (Sept. 15) and Foreigner (Sept. 18).
Also selling out the first morning: Fitz & The Tantrums/St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Sheryl Crow/Allison Russell, O.A.R./Chris Trapper, Michael Franti & Spearhead/Tropidelic, America, Lake Street Dive/Madison Cunningham, The Beach Boys and Boz Scaggs/Robert Cray Band.
Indeed, Meijer Gardens sold more than 44,000 tickets — or 70 percent of those available for the series — in the first hour alone, signaling pent-up demand for the outdoor shows.
Mid-September Spectacle: The Goo Goo Dolls on stage at Meijer Gardens. (Photo/Jamie Geybeek)
“We’re once again overwhelmed at the support of members of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park and very happy with how sales went this morning,” said communications director John VanderHaagen.
“We understand that some people are disappointed that they weren’t able to purchase tickets to all of the shows that they might have wanted to attend, but that is one of the drawbacks of having such an intimate venue. Supply is low while demand is high.”
Indeed, within two days of the sales kickoff, four more concerts — ZZ Top, Five for Fighting with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Andrew Bird/Iron & Wine/Meshell Ndegeocello and Emmylou Harris/Mary Chapin Carpenter — had also sold out.
The 2022 series featured a record 33 concerts, kicking off June 12 with Marc Cohn and Blind Boys of Alabama and wrapping up with Foreigner on Sept. 18.
The sellouts came in spite of higher price tags for 2022 tickets. Eight concerts are priced at $90 or more, and the average public ticket price for 2022 is $73.91, a 22 percent increase from 2021. As with many venues, post-COVID cost increases have pushed prices higher, with VanderHaagen noting that the prices “are a direct reflection of our costs associated with bringing these high-quality acts to Grand Rapids; artist fees are on the rise.”
The amphitheater also hosted an expanded edition of the Tuesday Evening Music Club series for 2022, featuring local and regional acts, adding June shows to the usual July-August schedule.
Check out Local Spins reviews and photo galleries from Meijer Gardens 2022 summer series online here.
By the way, this was the 2022 schedule, with ticket prices listed.
MEIJER GARDENS’ FIFTH THIRD BANK SUMMER CONCERTS 2022
June 12 – Marc Cohn + Blind Boys of Alabama, $47 presale | $50 member | $52 public
June 17 – Amos Lee w/ Neal Francis, $55 presale | $58 member | $60 public
June 19 – Fitz & The Tantrums + St. Paul & The Broken Bones, $70 presale | $73 member | $75 public
June 20 – An Acoustic Evening with Trey Anastasio, $70 presale | $73 member | $75 public
June 23 – Old Crow Medicine Show, $52 presale | $55 member | $57 public
June 24 – Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown featuring Tank and The Bangas, Big Freedia, Cyril Neville: The Uptown Ruler, George Porter Jr. and Dumpstaphunk (performing the music of The Meters and The Soul Rebels), $90 presale | $93 member | $95 public
June 26 – The Temptations w/ Kimmie Horne, $55 presale | $58 member | $60 public
June 27 – Bluegrass Happening featuring Bela Fleck & My Bluegrass Heart, Sam Bush & The Jerry Douglas Band, $62 presale | $65 member | $67 public
July 3 – Sheryl Crow w/ Allison Russell, $94 presale | $97 member | $99 public
July 6 – Corinne Bailey Rae w/ The War & Treaty, $50 presale | $53 member | $55 public
July 7 – ZZ Top, $95 presale | $98 member | $100 public
July 8 – O.A.R., $77 presale | $80 member | $82 public
July 13 – Five for Fighting with the Grand Rapids Symphony, $58 presale | $61 member | $63 public
July 14 – Michael Franti & Spearhead w/ The New Respects, $54 presale | $57 member | $59 public
July 15 – Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, $65 presale | $68 member | $70 public
July 17 – Norah Jones, $95 presale | $98 member | $100 public
July 20 – Rick Springfield with the Grand Rapids Symphony, $72 presale | $75 member | $77 public
July 21 – Buddy Guy + John Hiatt, $77 presale | $80 member | $82 public
July 27 – America, $62 presale | $65 member | $67 public
July 28 – Arturo Sandoval with the Grand Rapids Symphony, $50 presale | $53 member | $55 public
Aug. 4 – Elvis Costello & The Imposters w/ Nicole Atkins, $99 presale | $102 member | $104 public
Aug. 5 – Andrew Bird + Iron & Wine w/ Meshell Ndegeocello, $68 presale | $71 member | $73 public
Aug. 10 – The Dead South w/ Tejon Street Corner Thieves, $48 presale | $51 member | $53 public
Aug. 12 – Lake Street Dive w/ Madison Cunningham, $59 presale | $62 member | $64 public
Aug. 15 – The Beach Boys, $70 presale | $73 member | $75 public
Aug. 17 – The Decemberists, $56 presale | $59 member | $61 public
Aug. 22 – Boz Scaggs w/ Robert Cray Band, August 22, $69 presale | $72 member | $74 public
Aug. 24 – Umphrey’s McGee, $48 presale | $51 member | $53 public
Sept. 1 – Emmylou Harris + Mary Chapin Carpenter, $90 presale | $93 member | $95 public
Sept. 12 – Australian Pink Floyd, $58 presale | $61 member | $63 public
Sept. 15 – Goo Goo Dolls w/ Blue October, $97 presale | $100 member | $102 public
Sept. 16 – She & Him, $72 presale | $75 member | $77 public
Sept. 18 – Foreigner: The Greatest Hits Tour, $90 presale | $93 member | $95 public
Copyright 2022, Spins on Music LLC
