This Weekend: Chris Young Fills SKyPAC, and the Free Show's Right Down the Block
The biggest name of the summer rolls into the downtown theater tomorrow, and the smartest move in town is to make a whole night of it — because for once, the marquee show and the free show are a five-minute walk apart.
Friday — Chris Young at SKyPAC (Fri, Aug 14, 7:30 p.m.). The platinum-selling country star headlines the downtown house, and it's a genuine get for a room this size — the kind of booking that reminds you SKyPAC punches well above the city's weight class. Young's a big-voiced, radio-hardened headliner, and a seated theater will put that baritone right in your chest. Move fast on seats; box office is 270.904.1880.
Also Friday — Concerts in the Park: Peter The Freshman at Fountain Square (Fri, Aug 14, 7 p.m.). The free downtown series rolls on, and it makes for a perfect pre-show or an entire night on its own if the SKyPAC tickets got away from you. Bring a chair, catch a local set on the green, and you're a short walk from the theater doors.
Also Friday — The Filthy Heathens at The Grove (Fri, Aug 14, 7 p.m.). For the stand-up-and-sweat crowd, the open-air room offers a louder counter-program.
That's three shows in one Friday — a genuine embarrassment of options for the second weekend of August. The move, if you can swing it: catch Peter The Freshman's early set at Fountain Square, then walk over and let Chris Young close the night at SKyPAC. Free music and a marquee headliner, same evening, same downtown, no highway required.
And don't put the calendar away Sunday night, because the back half of August keeps coming. Looking ahead: BlackHawk at SKyPAC on Thu, Aug 20 (7:30 p.m.); Concerts in the Park: Andy & The Rockers at Fountain Square on Fri, Aug 21; and Orchestra Kentucky's "A Magical, Musical & Aerial Extravaganza with Janice Martin" at SKyPAC on Sat, Aug 22 (7:30 p.m.) — yes, an aerialist-violinist, exactly as wild as it sounds.
Then, the one hometown crowds should already be planning around: Sam Bush at The Grove on Sat, Aug 29. The father of newgrass is Bowling Green's own — born and raised here before he rewired bluegrass for good — and a hometown show from a living Kentucky legend is not a thing you skip.
For now, though, keep your eyes on Friday. A platinum headliner in the theater, a free set on the square, and a rowdy option under the open sky — all inside the same few downtown blocks. Most cities our size would kill for one of those. We've got all three on one night.
Bowling Green builds the Corvette. This weekend, it's also building one heck of a Friday.
Sources: SKyPAC — Tickets & Events; Bandsintown — Bowling Green, KY