The Mill Group today confirmed its plans to pursue outdoor concerts next summer in the courtyard of its signature property, The Mill at Vicksburg. The company is making its intentions public after a recent Vicksburg Planning Commission meeting where Village leadership announced initial plans.
Titled “The Summer Concert Series at The Mill,” the concerts will feature some of the nation’s most well-known artists performing in the Mill courtyard between the East and West buildings on the sprawling campus just West of downtown Vicksburg. Capacity is set for 9,999 people. Concert dates and performers will be announced following approvals from the Village Council. The Mill Group aims to host four weekend concerts in July and August.
In 2018, the Village Council unanimously approved event uses such as outdoor concerts at The Mill as part of its Planned Unit Development (PUD) approval. The PUD agreement, a legally binding contract between a property developer and the local municipality, allows The Mill Group to hold outdoor concerts. The current Event Plan review and approval process simply addresses how those events will operate, including parking, traffic, and public safety.
The next step is to seek Village Council approval of the Event Plan in November, as this approval must happen in November to meet the deadlines and scheduling constraints of the national promoters and performing artists that have expressed interest in coming to Vicksburg next summer. Without approval in November, the Summer Concert Series at The Mill will not be able to proceed.
The Mill Group founder, Vicksburg native Chris Moore, is the brainchild behind the outdoor concept. To date, Moore has invested more than $54 million of his own money in historic building restoration projects and establishing local businesses, museums, and cultural programs in Vicksburg.
The Summer Concert Series marks the first chapter of the next century for Mill and, more practically, tests whether the Mill venue and Village can draw visitors from outside the region.
“The Summer Concert Series does not replace the long-term vision for The Mill,” said The Mill Group founder Chris Moore. “Opening The Mill to the public has been the goal from the beginning, and that has not changed. The Summer Concert Series is simply the first opportunity to welcome people back to the site. As events bring visitors to Vicksburg, they build the commercial foundation that lets The Mill Group keep investing in the spaces inside The Mill. Events at The Mill will bring commerce to the whole village, not just one property.”
The Summer Concert Series is led by Creative Director and Executive Producer Nick Whitehouse of LiteFlair, working in close partnership with Chris and The Mill Group. Nick brings 30 years of experience creating major tours, broadcasts, festivals and live events for artists including Justin Timberlake, Jay Z, Carrie Underwood, Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Post Malone and Alicia Keys, with credits spanning the Super Bowl Halftime Show, Coachella and Glastonbury Festivals, The Oscars, the Grammys, thousands of arena and stadium shows, the VMAs and Saturday Night Live.
Supporting the project is a genuine who’s who of the live-event, venue-design, and entertainment industries, including:
Gensler – Master Planning and Site Design
Gensler’s portfolio includes the Moody Center, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and the new Irvine Amphitheater.
Metropolis – Traffic and Parking Engineering and Management
Metropolis brings transportation experience from the FIFA World Cup and more than two decades of Super Bowl operations.
Concert Stuff Group – Staging
Upstaging – Lighting and Video
Concert Stuff Group and Upstaging have supported artists and events including Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Post Malone, Luke Combs, Zach Bryan, Oasis, and Lollapalooza.
Theory One Productions – Acoustic Design
Theory One Productions brings credits spanning Justin Timberlake, Drake, John Legend, The Roots, The Tonight Show, the Oscars, and the Super Bowl.
They are joined by leading specialists in landscape architecture, event production, crowd safety, acoustics, security, medical services, and fire and life safety. Together, this world-class team is assembled to ensure the series meets industry standards and reflects the highest standards of safety, production, and guest experience.
“Chris’s vision to bring premium music and events to Vicksburg, along with new retail and places to stay, is amazing for this community,” said Nick Whitehouse of LiteFlair. “I’ve worked on events all over the world, and there’s a unique opportunity here. Not just for music, but for new businesses at The Mill and in downtown Vicksburg.”
This team has worked collaboratively with The Mill Group, Village of Vicksburg leadership, responding agencies, emergency and public safety officials, and the State of Michigan for over six months to plan and review every aspect of the event to the same standard of care.
The effort to revitalize The Mill and restore historic downtown Vicksburg is deeply personal for Moore and his family, whose roots run deep.
“Small towns across the nation are struggling to bring commerce to their buildings,” Moore said. “We aim to reverse that trend in Vicksburg. My family has been in Vicksburg for over 180 years, and in the area since my ancestor, Jerome Clark, settled on a lot next to Bazel Harrison in 1830 in Schoolcraft. Vicksburg has lived through hard times, including when The Mill closed. This village is going to show people that small towns matter, and that we can bring world-class arts, retail and business to Southwest Michigan.”
The cornerstone of The Mill Group’s properties is The Mill at Vicksburg, where Moore has invested tens of millions in environmental cleanup and stabilization of the 420,000-square-foot campus. That work included removing up to eight layers of lead paint across the building, handling 3.2 million bricks in restoration, and rebuilding the historic East Wing. Today the building stands clean, stable, and ready for its next chapter.
Beyond The Mill, Moore has invested nearly $20 million in downtown Vicksburg with historic building restoration projects and establishing local businesses, museums, and cultural programs, including the Prairie Ronde Artist Residency, Mackenzies Bakery, and the Doris Lee and Hills Buildings, now home to the Cone Top Brewery Museum.
The group will announce additional plans for Moore’s downtown properties in the coming months. For now, The Mill Group is focused on the Summer Concert Series and on showing that Vicksburg is a small town defying the odds.
“For more than a century, The Mill stood at the heart of Vicksburg’s story,” Moore adds. “What was once a place of industry is now being imagined as a destination for people to gather, celebrate, and create memories together. The Summer Concert Series is the first step forward for The Mill’s next century.”
