Frederik Meijer Gardens Amphitheater — Attraction in Grand Rapids Charter Township

The acoustics of this venue were insane, we saw Jason Mraz last night my overall experience was great except for the staff in the white shirts. I don’t know if they were told to be rude or if they take their job too seriously. It was my first time coming here and we had absolutely no idea where to go. We brought our own chairs and everyone on the lawn were packed like sardines or positioned in a way that no one else would fit near them which is fine but finding an area was incredibly difficult. A really nice staff member in yellow was directing people and she tapped the person I was with on the shoulder and said we can cut through this area and she pointed where to go. Walking to where we were directed this woman in a white shirt put her arms out physically touching and blocking us and shouted “you can’t come here reserved only” we told her we were told to go this way and she said “reserved only.” And kept her arm out. We walked away and had to hop over people and their things on the lawn to get to a spot. It was 6 pm. When we finally found a spot it was in the white chair section we saw the white lines and the person I was with said for me to wait here while they go get the chairs. As we were setting our bags down another lady in white shirt came up and yelled “this section is for chair rentals only you can’t sit here unless you have one so you have to leave” the person I was with explained that he knew it was that section but we had a hard time even coming to this area so he was going to get the chairs while I waited and she allowed it after some going back and forth. She ended up being pleasant. I needed to go to the rest room at one point and again it’s my first time here so I have no idea where to go. I saw rest rooms where we entered so I went back up that way and was once again side armed by another woman in white yelling at me that I can’t access the reserved seating to go to the bathroom. Someone in yellow ended helping me find my way. I was just so shocked by these white shirt ladies and how they thought rude manners and physical contact was okay. Now I know for the future I’ll definitely come back but I wasn’t the only one experiencing this. A lot of people who were there for the first time complained about the whole thing. A map on the website showing where you can and can’t go would be helpful. And reserved seating or not people should be able to walk by. It’s not like it’s a red rope...

I am not one to leave negative reviews, however we had a horrible experience here. This is by far the worst concert venue I've ever been to, and the most confused I've ever been attending a venue. We attended the Black Pumas on 6/23/24. The tickets were (supposedly, according to their website) supposed to go on sale on 4/20 for the Member Presale and 4/27 for Public sale. The show was SOLD OUT on their website before the Member Presale date, which doesn't make sense. We are genuine fans of the Black Pumas and decided to pay 3x the original price on Vivid Seats for secondhand tickets (plus $100+ ticket fee per ticket), which was the cheapest we could find them. I called Frederik Meijer Gardens on 6/19 at 11:08am to ask if the concert tickets included admission to the Gardens, and whoever I spoke to at this time gave me a resounding YES. On the day of the concert, we arrived at 4pm hoping to wander around the Gardens for an hour before they closed at 5pm. We were told by the ticketing person that the concert tickets actually did NOT include admission to the Gardens and we would have to pay another $40 for admission. Additionally, the email from Frederik Meijer with concert details gave the wrong gate & start times. The email said the gates would open at 5:15, but they opened at 5:45. The email said the show would start at 6:30, but it started at 7. They also require you to dump all unsealed liquids and promised a "filling station" inside. This would be fine, however the "filling station" is a drinking fountain with 1 singular water bottle filling station attached (for the whole venue) with broken motion sensors and lukewarm water. It is apparent that this is NOT a venue for genuine fans of the artists that are playing, but rather a picnic spot for rich people with nothing better to do and who could care less who is playing. I'm writing this review in hopes that any artist considering booking with this venue will reconsider, and book a more inclusive and affordable venue that provides accurate information to its guests. Grand Rapids is full of wonderful venues like The Intersection...

Was my first time at the amphitheater and I do not want to go to another show here. They are VERY strict on their chair policy, the staff measure every chair to make sure that it meets their stringent regulations. You may think your chair that is within height in the back but 1/4 of an inch too tall in the front is close enough, think again. They'll make you walk it back to your car. You are able to bring a soft sided cooler with your own food and sealed nonalcoholic beverages. Be prepared for security to roughly rummage through it looking for contraband before you enter the venue. We had people behind us that did not care about/respect the show and loudly talked for most of it. I would rather drive the two hours to Pine Knob or Michigan Lottery Amphitheater on the east side of the state than come back to Frederik Meijer...