LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — In less than two months – before the summer ends – Gatton Park will celebrate its grand opening. There will be plenty of opportunities to visit the park, but one special event will definitely bring some good vibrations.
“Being able to have The Beach Boys essentially open up this stage is incredible,” said Lauren Layman, director of marketing for Oak View Group. “They are icons in the music scene.”
Singer Mike Love and The Beach Boys are bringing the “Sounds of Summer” tour to the CommonSpirit Health Stage at Gatton Park. It will be the first national touring act to take the stage at the park.
“They really provoke a sense of joy, nostalgia, and community, and that really just sets the tone for what we're wanting this stage to be for the community,” Layman said.
While the stage is finished, there are a few final details coming together at the park.
“Things are really coming together at the park,” said Allison Lankford, CEO of Gatton Park. “A lot of plantings going in that are making it feel more like that park green environment.”
The green plants are popping out while work on the play area is progressing. It’s all set to be done by the park’s grand opening on Aug. 23.
“I can't wait to hear voices in the park instead of construction;” Lankford said with a smile; “see children playing, hear music on the stage.”
Partnering with Gatton Park, Oak View Group is hoping to have up to 20 shows each season at the CommonSpirit Health Stage. The park wants to keep an open feel to the grassy areas around the stage, but they will bring in temporary seating for ticketed events like The Beach Boys’ concert.
“We wanted to have a balance of kind of seated ticketed events, but also allow for more casual types of events where people might throw down a blanket or bring their own chairs,” Lankford said. “For the Oakview Group concert series we will have seats that we bring in. We have 4,000 chairs about to arrive in Lexington that are going to be stored until the first concert.”
“Those will be placed for those types of events, but then we'll take them away because we really want it to stay green and open and people to be able to use this space in non-ticketed events, and so not having permanent seats allows us to really have a more flexible space for everyday use.
Tickets to see The Beach Boys are now on sale. You can find them on ticketmaster.com. The concert is on Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
