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- Two new concert venues, Grind City Amp and Satellite Music Hall, are under construction in Memphis and set to open in 2026.
- Grind City Amp will be a 4,500-capacity outdoor venue at the Grind City Brewing site, aiming for an April 2026 opening.
- Live Nation’s Satellite Music Hall will be a 1,300-capacity indoor venue near Crosstown, with a projected fall 2026 opening.
Construction of two new Memphis concert venues has begun, as Grind City Amp and Live Nation’s Satellite Music Hall both look toward 2026 openings.
In January, Grind City Brewing confirmed plans for a permanent outdoor venue at 76 Waterworks Ave. Opened in fall 2020, the brewery — owned by Bill and Hopper Seely — has become one of the 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 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.
The new Grind City Amp will have a 4,500-capacity general admission setup, with seated and general admission options. Plans call for the venue to host eight to 12 major concerts and comedy shows during its first year of operation, with expectations 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.
Construction on the venue, which is being developed with its longtime promoter Nick Barbian, is underway. The bulk of the work to-date has been focused on the redevelopment of an existing Quonset hut space, which will serve as the venue’s dressing rooms, production offices and back-of-house facilities. Site and utility improvements are also underway.
Further work is expected to ramp up in early November, with general site improvements (including drainage and grading the lawn), the pouring of cement pads and installation footers for the stage, as well as work on loading areas.
Grind City is also taking the opportunity to evolve its brewery space, with plans for a taproom deck and the development of an onsite restaurant space, a container kitchen that will be located on the west side of the existing building.
The expected opening of the Grind City Amp is April 2026. Barbian confirmed he’s already booking shows and that the first announcements of concerts are expected before the end of this year.
“We’re all looking forward to the future,” said Barbian. “If this goes right, this is going to be phase one of a bigger, long-term plan here. From my perspective, I’m just incredibly impressed with Grind City Brewing and the Seely family’s dedication to continuously investing in Memphis and specifically the Uptown area. We feel like this is a very exciting time for us and for the city.”
Live Nation’s Satellite Music Hall ‘on track’ for fall 2026 opening
Work is also progressing on Live Nation’s Crosstown area venue, the Satellite Music Hall.
Announced in November 2024, and followed by a groundbreaking ceremony in February, construction on the project began in September on the property located at 1291 Autumn Ave.
Satellite Music Hall is expected to host about 100 events every year and hire a staff of more than 150 people. When complete, the 35,000-square-foot indoor venue will be able to host a 1,300-person capacity. The venue will host concerts and comedy shows, as well as community gatherings, corporate meetings and more.
Earlier this year, Live Nation’s Southeast’s VP Ted Heinig offered the company’s vision for the venue and how it would elevate bookings in the area.
“The key to a market is to have that cornerstone venue that’s doing all the national touring acts,” said Heinig. “Once those artists come and invest in Memphis and realize how incredible it is, they’re going to come back. That’s really what the impetus for the room is. The reason that some artists haven’t played before is because the right venue wasn’t here. It’s like the field of dreams: If you build it, they will come.”
Reached for comment on the status of construction, Live Nation’s Global VP of Venue Development Communications Stephanie Corzett said announcements on the development of Satellite Music Hall would be forthcoming. Corzett did confirm that the venue was still “on track” for a fall 2026 opening.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.commercialappeal.com ’
