The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA comes to Lowell Memorial Auditorium on April 8

The all-Swedish ABBA show plays Lowell's 2,800-seat veterans memorial, a short trip over the state line for Manchester–Nashua fans, next spring.

Every spring someone in your group chat suggests a night of "Dancing Queen." Next April, there is a good place to say yes.

The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA plays Lowell Memorial Auditorium on Thursday, April 8, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. The date was announced Oct. 30, and tickets are through the auditorium's own box office. The hall seats 2,800, and for Manchester–Nashua readers it is a short trip just over the state line.

The Concert is an all-Swedish production that has become one of the best-known ABBA tribute shows touring today, built around the songs everyone knows — "Dancing Queen," "Mamma Mia" and the rest. The show keeps a busy calendar, with recent and upcoming stops ranging from Humphreys Concerts by the Bay in San Diego to Sarasota's Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and Wolf Trap outside Washington, D.C., and more than 30 dates spread across Germany, the United States and Poland through 2026 and 2027. Reviewers have praised how closely the singers evoke the younger versions of the original members, which is exactly the trick a show like this has to pull off.

What makes the Lowell date worth circling is the building. Lowell Memorial Auditorium was proposed by the Lowell Board of Trade shortly after World War I as a monument to local veterans of all wars. The cornerstone went in in September 1920, and the hall opened on Sept. 21, 1922, with Vice President Calvin Coolidge among the dignitaries at the dedication. The Hall of Flags in the entry foyer still displays artifacts honoring Lowell's veterans, including a Civil War flag donated in 1929, and bronze tablets unveiled in 1924 name residents who died in wartime service. It remains a working civic space, too: veterans ceremonies, the Lowell High School prom and touring shows all share the same stage.

There is something nice about that mix. A pop catalog built on joy, played in a room built to remember — the auditorium has spent more than a century holding a city's big nights, happy and solemn alike. Walk through the Hall of Flags on the way in; it is worth a few minutes before the lights go down.

Practical notes: a 7:30 Thursday curtain makes this a manageable weeknight, even with the drive down from southern New Hampshire. Downtown Lowell has dinner options within walking distance of the hall, so make a night of it. Check the auditorium's box office page for seating and pricing.

April is a long way off, but it is the kind of show that is easier to plan for than to scramble for. Pick your group, pick your seats, and start practicing the harmonies on "Waterloo."

Sources: The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA (Wolf Trap) (wolftrap.org); The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA (Choose901) (choose901.com); ABBA band responds to an SOS (The Slate) (theslateonline.com); The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA tour dates (concerts50) (concerts50.com); Lowell Memorial Auditorium history (lowellauditorium.com) (lowellauditorium.com); Monuments & Memorials (lowellauditorium.com) (lowellauditorium.com); Jewel of our city (Boston Globe) (bostonglobe.com); Lowell Memorial Auditorium (Wikipedia) (en.wikipedia.org); Lowell Memorial Auditorium box office (lowellauditorium.com)