NEWPORT, Ky. — As things are finally starting to get back to normal, one aspect of normal life people have missed most during the pandemic, live music, is coming back in a big way in Kentucky.
What You Need To Know
- A new music venue is opening in Newport
- It’s part of a billion-dollar-plus development project
- The venue is waiting until all restrictions are lifted before opening to live musical acts
- Developers say they expect the project to be a big attraction for Northern Kentucky
That’s on full display in Northern Kentucky as a new music venue in Newport is set to welcome people back this fall to hear some of the big names in music perform.
After more than a year of pretty much everything being shut down, Debbie Gebelt said she’s ready for live concerts to make their triumphant return.
“For the folks who like to do that sort of thing, it’s great for them,” she said.
The timing is pretty good for her and others who live in the Northern Kentucky area.
The PromoWest Pavilion, a new indoor and outdoor concert venue, is just waiting on the remaining COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted.
Acts like Kip Moore, Lady A and The Struts are on the slate.
“We are 100% ready to open once we are able to do so,” said PromoWest Productions and AEG Presents Marketing Director Marissa McClellan. “We always said that we’d be the first to close and we were the last to reopen. Because people and crowds are our bread and butter. Not being able to have that has been a real tough time for all of us involved.”
Gebelt said she can’t wait.
“I think it’s great for the city of Newport. It’s great they’re trying to revitalize things down here. It’s a beautiful complex,” she said.
The Pavillion is the first piece of a project called Ovation, a billion-dollar-plus “live-work-play” development planned for the Newport waterfront just west of Taylor Southgate Bridge. It’s the third indoor/outdoor concert venue in America. It features state-of-the-art lighting, acoustical systems, and an innovative reversible, movable stage. Structurally, it's divided into three independent concert spaces: indoor music hall, indoor club, and an outdoor amphitheater.
The concert venue will offer outdoor space for up to 7,000 capacity and indoor space with room for 2,700 people. Developer Corporex said the Pavillion will eventually attract 400,000 visitors to 180 events each year.
People like Kelsey Long will be first in line.
“Oh yeah, definitely, because we stay right across the street here,” she said. “It feels pretty good. I see a lot of people out and about.”