Connect with us

Entertainment

Florida’s Ponte Vedra Concert Hall to Unveil $12.9M Upgrade This Weekend

Published

on

The Ponte Vedra Concert Hall in Florida will reopen after a 15-month renovation that saw the venue receive a new second-floor balcony and expanded seating and performance areas, along with new best-in-class audio and lighting systems. Multiple Grammy Award-winning bluegrass artist Dan Tyminski will open the venue Friday (Aug. 1) and set the stage for a new season of live performances.

Led by Gabriel Pellicer, CEO/president of SJC Cultural Events, which also manages the famed St. Augustine Amphitheater, Ponte Vedra’s reopening traces back to February 2011 when St. John’s County acquired the former church as part of a land deal. Over the years, artists including Art Garfunkel, Ziggy Marley and Ani DiFranco have played the venue.

Sphere’s Deal With Abu Dhabi Opens Door to Additional Locations in MENA Region

Post Malone performs onstage at the 2025 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival on April 20, 2025 in Indio, California.

Post Malone's Ex Drops California Custody Case Over 3-Year-Old Daughter

Billboard Live Music Summit

Billboard Live Music Summit & Awards 2025 Date Announced

The facility “was showing a lot of success for cultural impact and the greater good of our community,” over the past decade, Pellicer says. “St John’s County has a lot of people that love live music and we took this old church and built it into a venue that people came to truly love. Now, after 12 years of pilot testing and making a serious long term investment, we’re eager to unveil the next phase of this true passion project.”

Designed by the architecture and interior design firm Fisher Koppenhafer, the expanded Ponte Vedra Concert Hall includes a new second-floor wrap-around balcony and an outdoor terrace. Overall capacity will expand 25% — up from about 900 to roughly 1,100 attendees — as part of the renovation, which also includes modernized restrooms, a multi-use room for special events and meetings and expanded backstage offerings for artists.

Ponte Vedra is also getting a serious sound upgrade with the installation of a L’Acoustics L2D 50K watt audio system, providing the venue with a best-in-class large-format sound system customized for a compact performance space.

The total cost of renovation is $12.9 million, with much of it spearheaded by the non-profit Friends of the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, which was instrumental in launching the “Elevate” campaign, the driving force behind expanding the venue with the addition of a second-floor balcony. In June 2022, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners awarded $5.4 million in funding for the renovation project.

“It’s exciting because it cements our reputation as a world class music and arts presenter in the state of Florida,” says Pellicer. “We want managers and agents to know about Ponte Vedra whenever they need a date in Florida and they are looking for a place they could trust to treat the artist the right way.”

The venue now has four guest dressing rooms for traveling shows, three showers and two laundry facilities — rare amenities for a venue its size, said Pellicer.

“To be in a room for 12 years and to read every single Google review and acknowledge every single thing you want to do better and finally get the handcuffs pulled off of you and be able to sit down and design it the way you wanted it is a special experience,” Pellicer says. “We’re going to absolutely crush it once we open.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Entertainment

No ‘Good’ Deed Goes Unpunished for Ariana Grande’s Glinda in Final ‘Wicked: For Good’ Trailer

Published

on

By

In the final trailer for Wicked: For Good, Ariana Grande‘s character learns that a big price comes with being Glinda the Good.

‘Wicked: For Good’ Soundtrack Release Date & Tracklist Revealed, Featuring 2 Brand New Songs

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in "Wicked"

Everything We Know About ‘Wicked: For Good’ (So Far)

Ariana Grande at the MTV Video Music Awards 2025 held at UBS Arena on September 07, 2025 in New York, New York.

‘Wicked: For Good’ Director Jon M. Chu Previews Two New Songs From Anticipated Sequel: ‘They’re Questioning, ‘What Is Home?’

Released on Wednesday (Sept. 24) — about two months before the Wicked sequel finally premieres in theaters on Nov. 21 — the preview shows how the blonde leading lady wrestles with her new role as Oz’s spokeswoman, as Cynthia Erivo‘s Elphaba attempts to expose the Wizard’s evil agenda while living in hiding. At first, Glinda is “obsess-ulated” with the gorgeous gown, tiara and mechanical flying bubble her public-facing life affords her — but everything quickly comes crashing down when she realizes that she’s on the wrong side of history, and that she just might be too late to save her former schoolmate from the wrath of Oz’s brainwashed citizens.

“I’m a public figure now, people expect me to …,” Glinda tells Elphaba at one point, with Dorothy’s fallen house and the Yellow Brick Road visible in the background.

“Lie?” the green-skinned witch cuts in, to which Glinda says defensively, “Be encouraging.”

Grande’s character is less sure of herself when she is confronted by Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero, who accuses, “You can’t resist this.”

“Who could?” Glinda asks, to which the Winkie prince replies, “You know who could.”

Arriving one year after the first Wicked hit theaters and shattered movie-musical box-office records, For Good will serve as the film adaptation of the second act of the Broadway musical on which the live-actions are based. The soundtrack will also drop on Nov. 21, complete with two brand new songs sung by Grande and Erivo.

As revealed when the tracklist dropped a week prior to the new trailer, the title of Glinda’s bonus song is “The Girl in the Bubble,” while Elphaba’s added balled is called “No Place Like Home.”

Watch the final trailer for Wicked: For Good above.


Billboard VIP Pass

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Priscilla Presley Says That Leaving Elvis Presley Was ‘The Only Way to Survive’ in New Memoir ‘Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis’

Published

on

By

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Priscilla Presley was with Elvis Presley for around 14 years before they split; however, the pair had known each other for years before they wed in 1967.

The time in between and following Priscilla and Elvis’ divorce was a tough spot for Priscilla, and one she wasn’t super open about — that is, until now. In her new memoir Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, the actress shares the difficult but inspiring journey beyond the walls of Graceland post-split with the King, choosing to put herself and her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, first.

A hardcover version of the book is now on sale and can be purchased now on Amazon for $22.38, while paperback will run you $32. A Kindle version retails for $15.99. If you’re a superfan of Priscilla and the Presley family, you can also snag a signed version of the memoir via Barnes & Noble for $32. The piece makes a great gift for the avid Elvis collector in your life. If you’d rather listen to the memoir, we won’t judge, you can do so with Audible via a subscription which costs $7.95 a month, a price tag less than a physical copy.

Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis

Buy Now on amazon $22.38 $22.38
Buy Now at Barnes & noble $32 $32
Buy Now on audible $7.95 a month $7.95 a month

A new memoir by Priscilla Presley.


If you didn’t know, Priscilla met Elvis when she was just 14 and he was 24. The singer was serving in the U.S. Army in 1959 in Germany. The pair remained romantically connected for years, even with distance between them and in 1967, they were wed in a simple and very secret ceremony in Las Vegas. While their separation in 1973 was painful for Priscilla, this novel highlights why it was so important for the Naked Gun star to leave.

It seems that Priscilla lost touch with herself throughout her relationship with Elvis. Leaving allowed her to find herself again. Through the book, we are treated to snippets of Priscilla’s life pre- and post-Elvis and how she had to reinvent herself a second time as the single mother after the performer’s death in 1977.

Today, we are taken through how Priscilla was able to transform Graceland into an international destination and helped guide the development of Elvis Presley Enterprises, turning the King’s legacy into a full-on business. If you are an Elvis fan, this gives readers a unique perspective on his life, as told by his ex-wife. It also gives Priscilla’s story more context for those who aren’t too familiar with her life and career.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Calvin Harris’ Ex-Business Manager Denies $22M Fraud Claims: ‘Categorically False’

Published

on

By

Calvin Harris‘ former longtime business manager is firing back against bombshell fraud claims, saying he never stole from anybody and that the Scottish DJ willingly agreed to invest in his Los Angeles real estate development project.

Thomas St. John, an entertainment industry-focused accountant who runs the eponymous firm Thomas St. John Group, is currently wrapped up in thorny arbitration proceedings with his former client Harris (Adam Wiles). He’s accused of abusing his access to Harris’ accounts in order to fund his side venture: the construction of a recording studio and office space complex in Hollywood.

Calvin Harris

Calvin Harris Accuses His Financial Adviser of $22M Theft: ‘Absolutely Breached That Trust’

BLOND:ISH

How Blond:ish Plans to Eliminate 42 Tons of Waste From NYC Nightlife Every Year: 'This Is My Passion'

Beyoncé

Suspect Arrested in Theft of Beyoncé's Unreleased Music

Harris claims that St. John tricked him into investing $22.5 million in the project, known as CMNTY Culture Campus, which he says turned out to be a “complete boondoggle” that he “has not received a single penny in return for” — while suggesting that St. John pocketed much of the money for himself.

However, a representative for St. John says in a new statement that the allegations are “categorically false.” The rep denies that St. John engaged in any self-dealing, adding that Harris is one of nine above-board investors who “knowingly signed investment agreements” to get involved in CMNTY Culture.

“Not a single dollar has been misappropriated, all investor entitlements remain intact, and the project continues to advance within the normal entitlement timeline,” says St. John’s rep in the Tuesday (Sept. 23) statement. “We will continue to take every necessary step to set the record straight and to ensure that these malicious, bad-faith attacks are recognized for what they are: entirely without merit.”

While CMNTY Culture was initially designed to house a recording studio and office space, St. John has since shifted the plans and is now developing a residential apartment complex on the same tract of land in Hollywood. According to his rep, the project is proceeding apace and “is expected to approach a $1 billion valuation” upon completion.

Related

Rear view of a concert crowd with parts of the stage visible. Psychedelic colors.

Insomniac CEO Called ‘Insufferable to Work With’ in Counter-Lawsuit Over Miami’s Factory Town Venue

“While the entitlement process has naturally taken longer than initially projected due to unprecedented interest, macroeconomic conditions and significant city red tape, it remains firmly within its promised schedule and is now on the verge of securing final entitlements, an important milestone that will unlock substantial value,” adds St. John’s rep.

Thomas St. John Group has offices in Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam and Stockholm. The management firm’s U.S. arm recently filed for bankruptcy, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent in L.A. and multiple pending legal actions.

One creditor listed in the firm’s bankruptcy papers is Philip Lawrence, a songwriter and producer who made his name collaborating with Bruno Mars. Lawrence used to be a client of St. John’s and at one point invested $10 million from the sale of his catalog into CMNTY Culture Campus, according to court filings in Lawrence’s own personal bankruptcy case.

Continue Reading

Trending