Grind City Amp ready to open. See who’s playing Memphis music venue

A new outdoor concert venue, Grind City Amp, is opening in Uptown Memphis this month.
The venue will have a capacity of 4,500 for general admission and 3,500 for seated events.
Grammy-winning band Alabama Shakes will play the venue’s first concert on April 22.
A free grand opening festival featuring local artists is scheduled for April 25.

The Mid-South music market will welcome a new concert venue this month with the official launch of the Grind City Amp, an outdoor entertainment space located in Uptown Memphis.

On April 22, Grind City Amp will begin operations with its first concert, a performance by the Alabama Shakes, followed by a free grand opening festival on April 25.

Here’s what to know about the new venue and the shows it has planned.

What is Grind City Amp?

The development of Grind City Amp was announced in early 2025, The effort — led by concert promoter Nick Barbian and Hopper Seely, founder and president of Grind City Brewing Co. — aims to “fill a high-demand need for mid-sized music venues in the region.”

Opened in fall 2020, the brewery has become one of linchpins in the ongoing redevelopment of Memphis’ Uptown area. Sitting on 4.6 acres of land, Grind City features a 10,000-square-foot brewery and taproom, a beer garden and stage for outdoor concerts, along with a sweeping view of Downtown Memphis.

Grind City’s temporary outdoor stage has hosted events and concerts for the past few years, including the Grind City Music Festival, performances by Primus and Fourth of July celebrations.

In 2025, Grind City and Barbian announced plans to develop a permanent venue in the space called Grind City Amp. The venue will have a 4,500-maximum capacity general admission setup and will be able to accommodate 3,500 seated patrons.

Led by architecture firm UrbanArch and general contractor Zellner Construction, the development of Grind City Amp was designed to build a venue with “professional production capabilities suitable for amphitheater-level touring acts.” Improvements to the Grind City site include upgraded access roads, utility upgrades, redeveloped back-of-house facilities and an expanded brewery deck — with the goal to create a “modern layout that prioritizes audience experience while mitigating noise to minimize its impact on nearby residential areas.”

Once it’s up and running, the venue is expected to host 12 to 15 major concerts and comedy shows during its first year of operation, with plans to expand the number of shows later. In addition, the space will be available for rent by outside promoters, and use for corporate functions, private events and weddings.

When the project was announced, Grind City’s Seely noted that he wanted to make a “space where music lovers and our community can gather to celebrate what makes Memphis special,” said Seely. “This venue is for Memphians and by Memphians.”

Memphis Mayor Paul Young noted Grind City Amp would be a welcome addition to the city’s entertainment landscape. “We have a unique opportunity to honor our past by developing more venues to sustain local musicians and attract national acts to the Mid-South in the future,” he said.

Barbian, owner of Barbian Entertainment added: “Grind City Amp is about building a music community and economy that boosts Memphis musicians, attracts new shows to the region, and celebrates our city’s incredible heritage while supporting the growth and future of a vibrant live music ecosystem here in Memphis.”

Who is playing the first show at Grind City Amp?

Grammy Award-winning band Alabama Shakes will inaugurate Grind City Amp, playing the first concert at the new venue on April 22.

The trio — Brittany Howard, Heath Fogg and Zac Cockrell — has earned multiple Grammy awards for its work including with its last album, 2015’s “Sound & Color.” In August, the group put out a new single, “Another Life,” marking its first original release in more than a decade. Their third full-length album, and debut for Island Records, is expected later in 2026.

Alabama Shakes kicked off their spring tour April 16 in Richmond, Virginia, and continue with stops in Asheville, Atlanta and a two-night stand Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The Memphis date at Grind City Amp falls in the middle of their current run.

How will Grind City Amp celebrate its opening?

Grind City Amp will offer a free grand opening concert for Memphians to experience the new venue on April 25. The daytime “mini-festival” event will feature viral funk sensation MonoNeon and Memphis-born blues guitar great Eric Gales (fresh off his Oscars appearance in connection with “Sinners”), along with Cedric Burnside, Joybomb, Raneem Imam, and Frank McLallen & Extra Eyes. The event will also feature local food trucks, various vendors and a short ribbon-cutting ceremony.

What other shows are planned at Grind City Amp?

In addition to the Alabama Shakes show on April 22 and the venue’s grand opening party on April 25, Grind City Amp has confirmed a July 7 performance from acclaimed Chicago post-rock band Wilco. The venue also plans to bring back the Grind City Fest — a two-day Americana music festival — which has previously been held on the Grind City Brewing grounds. More shows are expected to be announced soon.