The Acrisure Amphitheater is a little over a month away, and the excitement for the new 10,000-capacity venue is quickly building. Opening night is on May 15th, with the inaugural concert headlined by none other than Lionel Richie, with Michiganders The War & Treaty and Brian Vander Ark from the Verge Pipe opening the show.
In honor of this huge event, we’re looking back at the other venues around Grand Rapids that have helped build Grand Rapids’ incredible music scene. From the Van Andel Arena to the Orbit Room, we’re looking at the legendary concerts from big bands (some from before they were big) that happened at these venues.
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Today, we’re looking at a venue that ran from 1988 to 2017 before being unceremoniously demolished a few years later. It may not be around anymore, but it lives on in people’s memories: the Orbit Room.
The Orbit Room: A Brief History
We’ve already written about the history of the Orbit Room (which you can read here), so we’ll briefly recap things before getting into some of the shows that happened here.
The Orbit Room, originally dubbed Club Eastbrook, opened in 1988 and was renamed in 1993. It was located at 2525 Lake Eastbrook Blvd SE for 30 years before things took a noticeable turn in 2013. After struggling to compete with other venues in the area and having multiple violations with the Grand Rapids Fire Department, it closed in 2017…