LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The lawn in front of CommonSpirit Health Stage at Gatton Park on the Town Branch underwent a transformation ahead of The Beach Boys concert on Wednesday night. This is the first major concert for the venue, and many are curious to see how everything works.
Lauren Layman, marketing director for Oak View Group, said, “One of the largest questions that we're receiving is, ‘Are there chairs for us to sit in?' The answer is yes."
There are 5,000 chairs, to be exact. These concerts, programmed by Oak View Group, are ticketed events. Once the chairs are in place, workers stick row markers in the ground, wrap wristbands around chairs, and number the chairs for concertgoers to match their ticket with the seat.
Along with the temporary seating, there are still some green spaces at the back of the lawn for certain concertgoers as well.
“If you have purchased a lawn ticket, you cannot bring chairs, but you can bring a blanket as long as it does not exceed four by eight,” Layman said.
She also shared a little more about the overall process.
“We started setting up yesterday evening. We started with the fencing, bringing in the chairs, and today we're really focused on bringing in the proper equipment for sound and lights," Layman said. "We're going to be bringing in 3 food trucks.”
Partnering with Gatton Park, Oak View Group is putting on larger concerts like this throughout the year at the venue. Since the park opened less than a month ago, this year’s schedule is limited to The Beach Boys on Sept. 17 and Kansas with Jefferson Starship and Molly Hatchet on Oct. 9.
“We're really ramping up for next year, so our goal is to have at least 20 shows on the books,” Layman said.
If you do plan on attending either of these concerts, you can park at the Main Street Baptist Church lot or the High Street lot just across from the Central Bank Center. You must enter through either the Mary Todd Lincoln entrance or the tunnel entrance. That's where tickets will be scanned.
