The Grove at GPAC announces fall season
The Grove at Germantown Performing Arts Center has announced its inaugural season of programming.
The outdoor venue will host a mix of concerts, film screenings, food-themed events and family entertainment each Wednesday through Sunday, starting Sept. 16 and running through Oct. 18. Tickets for all events go on sale Friday.
Opened unofficially earlier this summer, the $7.5 million venue — funded with $2.5 million from private donors and foundations, a matching grant from the city of Germantown and a $2.5 million state grant — was designed to be a functional and versatile twin of the indoor stage at GPAC, which opened in 1994.
Since June, The Grove has offered a series of limited-capacity film screenings and concert performances as a trial for the new venue amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The events, which have continued through the summer, were deemed both safe and successful enough to proceed with a full season of programming.
The Grove boasts a covered 70-footwide Duncan Williams Asset Management Stage constructed in the woodsy area just north of the performing arts center, and a First Horizon Foundation Plaza with a covered bar area with seats, room for food trucks and a performance space for small combos.
Under normal conditions, the venue’s Trugreen Lawn capacity would be 1,200. The capacity for The Grove’s summer events was heavily restricted, however, starting at just a dozen patrons and slowly expanding to several hundred per event. GPAC officials chose to take a conservative approach to social distancing guidelines initially.
“We wanted to be extra cautious as we were working on our protocols and figuring things out,” said GPAC Executive Director Paul Chandler.
The venue has settled on a Shelby County Health Department-approved capacity of 300 patrons for all events moving forward. The Grove’s most recent events in August all sold out, and Chandler expects the fall season to sell out quickly as well.
The venue’s fall programming will have “Music & Movies” on Wednesdays, with screenings of music-themed films, including the Memphis R&b/hiphop doc “Take Me to the River” and the Oscar-nominated “La La Land.” On Thursdays, “Dine Out at The Grove” will feature “movies for foodies” hosted by a variety of local chefs and restaurateurs. Friday nights will be devoted to “Family Night in The Grove,” with films for kids accompanied by live family-friendly entertainment.
Saturdays will be “Concerts in The Grove” with performances by the Memphis Ukulele Band and acclaimed Nashville Americana artists Molly Tuttle and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor. Sundays will feature “Jazz in The Grove” with performers including Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum and veteran singer Joyce Cobb.
Tickets for the Saturday and Sunday concerts range from $15 to $35, depending on the show. All other events are $10 for adults and $5 for kids. Gates open at 5 p.m. The plaza will be open for drinks, and food trucks will be on site nightly.