Sawgrass Gove Box Car Stage
 

According to Facebook, the entertainment begins at Sawgrass today. It looks like there are tables under the canopies.

If anyone goes, please give an update.

After walking around Hogeye and resting at Edna's, we went to Sawgrass to see how it is.

It was crowded and very noisy and a lot of people seemed to be having a good time outside drinking. Inside, there were even more people happily drinking. McGrady's appeared to be crowded with a lot of people drinking. So if that is your idea of having a good time, you should be very happy there.

As for us, we got back in our car and drove home.

Sawgrass
 

There is nothing on the TV app referencing the opening of entertainment in Sawgrass.
We happened to be there yesterday and I asked someone and they said it starts tonight but I can find any info on who is playing or any details.

Entertainment set for Sawgrass Grove debut | News | The Villages Daily Sun | thevillagesdailysun.com

We are there now. Great turnout. Band is really good, but the acoustics are terrible! They need to hire professional mixing engineers or get new speakers, or both.
Bass is bloated, can’t hear the guitar, can’t hear the organ or the singer.
The mixing is much better at the other squares.
There are guys up in the engineer room but are just talking to each other.

Update: we were sitting to the left of the stage near the market place opening. We left early and when we were walking out, the acoustics were much better, much better. You could hear the guitar, the organ, and the singers.
I would suggest that the sound engineers walk around the “whole” place to see if there are any holes in the sound and make the necessary speaker adjustments.
Really good band, just wish the sound was better up front and to the side

The weather is spectacular for outdoor entertainment today.

Johnny Wild and the Delights (full band) is scheduled to play Sawgrass on Oct. 22. Here is his schedule through October........

Johnny Wild and the Delights |- SHOWS

We went there today and left after 15 minutes. The acoustics are worse than awful. I would absolutely refuse to play that venue. The price of wine was outrageous. It was $6.96 for a 4 oz pour. So, with $1.00 tip, was $8.00!!!! Happy hour is 3-5. Due to poor acoustics it was very loud; I could hardly hear my wife speaking with me. For now, I don’t believe we will be going back. It is far from fun and very expensive. I suggest it’s a big failure for now.

I have a golfing buddy who went last night. He had a great time and said it was packed, even with the cold weather...

AFA the "acoustics" go, it's an outside venue. The acoustics aren't the problem. Its whomever is running the sound board. Give it a minute. They'll figure it out...

You never know how it will sound until you get there, with a crowd of people...

OMG people drinking and having a great happy time , HOW DARE THEY??

We have no interest in alcohol.. So, it's probably not for us.

Is there enough seating to handle a decent sized crowd?

I’m an audiophile and have been to dozens of outside concerts with thousands of people that sounded fantastic, and they can sound much better than an inside concert.

Read my update on the sound as I was leaving

Got there at 5 - just after happy hour ended. I think the other squares happy hour is during the first hour of music. All of the tables were taken.

First song started at 5:10 but then they took a break until 6 - which apparently was the start time. About 150 were sitting around the perimeter in chairs they brought with them. Acoustics were bad and if you were near the back, you couldn’t see the stage. Amphitheater seating - like the Romans used 2000 years ago is a great idea. It allows everyone to see.

People were drinking and the parking lot was pretty full. Steady stream of people arriving as I left. Nice weather and beautiful sunset.

We don't drink at all and had a great time.

They certainly need to do something about crowd control. If the fire marshall saw that place tonight it would have been shut down. They didn't have anyone keeping isles clear for ingress/egress like they do at the squares. I'm sure that will change now that they can see what it will be like.

As noted the sound wasn't great but got surprising better in the parking lot. lol

Good luck, been there done that as a younger person. I've had enough nightclubs, bands and booze to last a lifetime. I have 2 pennies that would bet some of those drinkers probably shouldn't be drinking.

There is no rule that says you have to have alcohol

Didn't read the rules that alcoholic beverages were mandatory....

Is that the case at all the music venues in TV. Cause guessing those with a chip in their pocket can and will enjoy a night out no matter what soda is in their glass

Totally agree. Equipment is fine. Mixers aren’t all equal.

The information was all in The Villages Sun on Thursday

We went with a group of friends to check out the grand opening. The band Penta was playing, and they are very good...in spite of the challenges with the sound "engineers." The crowd was large, as anticipated.

They had done sound checks a couple of days prior to the opening, but in fairness, it is not the same as when you have a capacity crowd. I'm sure some tweaks will be made, and everything will work out in time.

I'm glad Sawgrass is finally open. It's a fun venue, and everyone there was having a good time. Isn't that what it's all about?

It was on their website yesterday morning:

Front Page - The Villages Entertainment

Is there a web cam at Sawgrass like at the three squares? If so does anyone know the link?

go to villages-net.com for information

A lot of people don’t get the Sun and use the app instead. I just went to the app and clicked on calendar for activities and I could not find anything relating to entertainment at Sawgrass.

They should put it in the Sun and the app.

Do you mean

thevillages.net

So sad! Alcohol is not a mandate for having fun and enjoying musical entertainment with friends. Try it sometime, you may find it works for you!

We went and had a great time. And we didn’t drink! SMH. It was packed! The tables and lounge chairs make it a cute place but they are not practical for the crowd this place will draw. They waste a lot of space so people were trying to get their chairs to fit in odd places. The walkways were packed with people and chairs. The chair police from the other squares would have been busy. The dance area was fairly small because of the people putting their chairs up there. They need a different solution for this place. Penta was great!

Funny that drinkers get so offended by non drinkers. Touching a sensitive spot no doubt.

I read the comments. No one was offended. Just questioning why someone would avoid a place because they serve drinks with the food and entertainment.

Yes, a big failure because there were too many people there.

Quite the opposite is happening in this thread. #readingcomprehension

Sawgrass Grove
 

[QUOTE=Papa_lecki;2149140]According to Facebook, the entertainment begins at Sawgrass today. It looks like there are tables under the canopies.

I have friends that went last night and it was open and there was a band playing. It was crowded. I’m going tonight.

It was great. We don’t drink either but it was great to see everyone having a blast. Better than sitting inside for a couple of years waiting to go outside to see some entertainment.

Mark us down as very happy for the entertainment.

Good band, good weather, friendly crowd, life was good at Sawgrass Grove last night. I only saw one Villages Security person; more is needed to keep a path open along the walkways and for some general crowd control. Also, they need more trash receptacles.

[QUOTE=B-flat;2149249]Good luck, been there done that as a younger person. I've had enough nightclubs, bands and booze to last a lifetime. I have 2 pennies that would bet some of those drinkers probably shouldn't be drinking.[/QUOTE/////

The Villages official Instagram account, @thevillages, went live there last night. You mostly just saw the stage, but it would occasionally pan back to where people were sitting. The 11 minute clip is on their Instagram page, if you're interested.

It's a nice addition to have an entertainment venue like that south of 44. And a larger one to come.

No one will ever go to Sawgrass Grove - it’s too crowded.

I gotta say, this is the attitude. A beautiful night in Florida, music, friendly people, etc.