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The recently opened outdoor music venue Lakeside Live and gourmet burger and and craft beer restaurant Jax Burgers are the newest additions to The Mall at Lexington Green.
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A new summer music venue has recently joined the festivities at The Mall at Lexington Green. Lakeside Live, which launched in mid-June and will run until Oct. 15, features local and regional musicians playing free shows every Friday and Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. on an outdoor stage by the waterfront.
Lakeside Live is a project by Langley Properties, the owners of Lexington Green. While renovating the area behind Joseph-Beth Booksellers, the owners decided that a summer music series would be an effective way to shine a light on Lexington Green and increase the amount of visitors to the shops and restaurants.
“We’ve got a saying that I think is consistent with what we’ve tried to brand, and that’s ‘shop, eat, and socialize,’ ” said Scott Davidson, the president of Langley Properties, of what he hopes patrons can get out of a trip to Lexington Green.
Part of that recent renovation included a new dock area equipped with some covered lounge seating, decorative structures and a fire pit, as well as the newest culinary addition to the development: Jax Burgers and Brews. Jax joins Palmers Fresh Grill, a seafood restaurant with patio dining, as one of the two waterfront restaurants with a prime view of the stage.
Jax, which sits just a few feet away from the stage, is a fast-casual concept that will offer table service to a portion of the seats in the deck area.
Other renovations included the removal of a large fountain in the community event space at the base of Joseph-Beth. That space will also be where bands may perform if rain inhibits them from taking to the stage.
Much of the outdoor seating is first-come-first-served, but guests are allowed to bring their own chairs and sit by the stage (no coolers or outside food or drinks are allowed). Patrons can grab drinks or food at Jax or Palmers, or beers from one of the cash-only kiosks on the deck.
While kiosks are currently only serving beer, marketing director Katie Mullen said that staff are toying with the idea of putting a permanent bar out on the dock in order to serve liquor. Mullen added that both restaurants have been averaging about 2,000 people a night during shows, not including those who bring their own chairs, and overall feedback has been positive. “It’s been amazing,” said Mullen. “Everything that I’ve seen on social media so far, people seem to really be into it and having a good time, so we’re very pleased.”
On July 3, a new fountain was installed near the dock. When live bands aren’t performing, popular music is played on speakers and the fountain, which kicks on every hour, is synced up with the sounds..
“We’ve got a list of 10 songs, and it does this little dance to the music,” said Mullen. “Lights come on with it, too, which actually looks really cool at night.”
The venue offers free valet parking as well as a trolley service that takes guests from the top of the parking lot in front of Joseph Beth to the bottom lot near the lakeside, saving them a trip through the bookstore and down the escalator.
While the music series is scheduled to end on Oct. 15, Mullen stated it’s possible for some events, such as smaller performances inside the community space, or maybe coffee tastings, to continue into the cooler months.
“The whole intention is just to shine light on Lexington Green and get people to visit the restaurants and the shops more,” said Mullen. “We figured this was a good way to get people here … We want to make Lexington Green an all-day experience.”
Booking the musical acts began back in March, and the schedule is currently full. Pets are allowed on the dock area and all acts are family-friendly. From country to folk to reggae, all genres are welcome and expected to play at Lakeside Live; recently, the venue announced that a karaoke night will take place the first Thursday of the month through October.
“We try to keep a nice variety of different types of music,” said Mullen. “We want to have something for everyone.”
Ben Lacy, Jordan English, Ray’s Music Exchange and Boogie G. and the Titanics are among the acts slated to play at Lakeside Live in August – for the full music schedule, go to lexgreenlakeside.com or visit their Facebook page.