SELBYVILLE —The 2023 Freeman Arts Pavilion season will include a blend of country superstars, rock legends and pop folk, as the summer concert venue announced top acts like Darius Rucker, Lady A, Styx and Jason Mraz as part of its first wave of performances.
The Freeman Arts Pavilion off Route 54 is continuing to book more diverse acts, including draws like country-pop acts in the first wave of announced acts. Last year’s concert series included headliners like Pat Benatar, Patti Labelle and Sheryl Crow.
“We are excited to present our 16th season this summer and look forward to seeing some returning favorites as well as new (to us) artists,” Freeman Arts Pavilion Marketing Manager Alyson Cunningham said. “Each year we ask our patrons who they would like to see at Freeman Arts Pavilion, so it is always exciting to be able to make that happen as well.”
As an arm of the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation, the Freeman Arts Pavilion drew in 92,060 patrons to its stage last year. The foundation also hosts an Arts Access Initiative, which provides underserved families and students between kindergarten to 12th grade access to arts experiences at no cost.
In total, Joshua M. Freeman Foundation impacted 118,000 people last year.
The venue plans on 65 diverse performances in all, but throughout the spring, more acts will be announced. Acts announced this week include:
- The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System on June 2
- Styx on June 3
- Carly Pearce on June 4
- BAM Percussion on June 8
- Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue on June 9
- Kashmir: The Live Led Zeppelin Show on June 10
- Comedian Brian Regan on June 15
- Darius Rucker on June 16
- Keb’ Mo’, on June 17
- Rebelution with Iration, The Expendables, Passafire on June 23
- Grand Funk Railroad on June 24
- 287th Army Band: “The Governor’s Own” on July 1
- The Head and The Heart and The Revivalists on July 5
- Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles on July 12
- The Mavericks on July 30
- Sons of Mystro on Aug. 3
- Jason Mraz and His SuperBand on Aug. 8
- Diana Krall on Aug. 11
- Lady A on Aug. 25
In addition to its annual concert series, the Freeman Arts Pavilion will continue to forge on with a $27 million expansion plan first outlined in 2021. This year, the venue will aim to build a new box office and a new entrance for patrons, including a new sidewalk on the west side of the venue.
Last year, the Freeman Arts Pavilion launched a Park-and-Ride option on Route 1 and plans are to finish grading and lighting the site ahead of the 2023 season. Other additions to the parking includes electric vehicle charging stations and golf cart parking.
Additional expansions that would allow seating for roughly 4,000 patrons, including 1,000 under roof, are also still in the works. Construction is expected to be limited to the off-season, ending before May, and will be completed gradually in the next four to six years.
