"This year's schedule mixes Fridays and Saturdays to work around football." That line comes from the Ledger-Enquirer's August preview of the Midland Commons Fall Concert Series. It explains why the fall calendar on the east side of Columbus looks the way it does.
The series takes place at 6835 Midland Commons Boulevard. Food trucks arrive at 6 p.m. and music starts at 6:30. Shows are free and pets are welcome, and the organizers ask people to bring their own lawn chairs. Two shows have already happened. Five are left, and they jump between Fridays and Saturdays, so the order changes from week to week.
That calendar is half of the story. The other half is what changed nearby this summer. Since June, a new Mexican gastrobar and a late-night drive-thru have opened on Veterans Parkway, and one more tenant is listed as coming soon at Midland Commons. Together, they make an entire fall evening possible without driving to Uptown.
The Five Dates Still on the Calendar
The series opened with The Parker House Band on September 12, and DNR Band played September 26. Both of those dates were Saturdays. Here is the rest of the lineup, with the day of the week added. The preview lists only dates, so the day is easy to miss.
| Date | Day | Performer |
|---|---|---|
| October 9 | Friday | Dixie Red |
| October 16 | Friday | AJ Robinson Music |
| October 24 | Saturday | The Fortunate |
| November 6 | Friday | Tim O'Brien Project |
| November 14 | Saturday | Groove Monkey |
Three of the remaining five shows are on Fridays. The two Saturdays are October 24 and November 14. The organizers have made the reason public, so the switching is deliberate. Before you put a show on the family calendar, check it against whatever games your household follows. Under this setup, a Friday night show and a Saturday afternoon game can usually share the same weekend.
The series runs into mid-November. By the November 14 finale, the 6:30 start will be after dark, so it's a good idea to bring a jacket along with your chairs.
Dinner Before the Lawn Fills Up
The food trucks take care of dinner if you get there at 6. The Ledger-Enquirer preview doesn't name the vendors, though, so the only way to know who is serving is to show up. If you'd like a sit-down meal first, the biggest change this year is at 8186 Veterans Parkway.
Santo Corazón Mexican Gastrobar opened there in June, in Building 1. That's the space Pure Taqueria occupied until it closed on September 7, 2025. According to the Ledger-Enquirer, the restaurant drew months of curiosity before opening, largely because of the bold new mural on the building. The owners are Sergio Mendoza and Alejandro Hernandez. They also run Sapo's Mexican Cocina and Me Encanta Modern Mexican Cuisine, so the people behind the new place already have a track record in Columbus.
The restaurant's website calls its food a modern interpretation of Mexican cooking, served with handcrafted cocktails in an elegant, vintage-inspired room. The online menu shows what that looks like in practice:
- Birria pizza
- Carne asada fries
- Premium ribeye tacos with roasted bone marrow
- Surf-and-turf sushi tacos
Some of those dishes are built for sharing, and that suits a pre-show dinner. A table of four can split a few plates and still reach the lawn before the band starts. We haven't confirmed the restaurant's full weekly hours, so call ahead or check its site before you plan around a specific time.
After the Encore
The music starts at 6:30. Most shows will probably end well before 10 p.m., but the preview doesn't list end times. On a Friday or Saturday, that leaves room for one more stop.
The 7 Brew at 8133 Veterans Parkway is the first Columbus location of the drive-thru coffee chain. It announced June 8 as its opening date. Ledger-Enquirer reporters stopped by on June 11 to try the drinks. According to its location page, it's open 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The menu covers coffee, tea, smoothies, and energy drinks, so kids who aren't drinking coffee have options too.
The late weekend closing matters for this calendar. Every remaining concert falls on a Friday or a Saturday, and those are the two nights 7 Brew stays open an extra hour.
Here is a sample Friday on October 9 or October 16, using the published times:
- An early dinner at Santo Corazón, or wait for the food trucks to arrive at Midland Commons at 6 p.m.
- Chairs on the lawn before the music starts at 6:30.
- A drink from the 7 Brew drive-thru on the way home. On Fridays it's open until 11.
What's Still Coming to This Stretch
Beyond the summer openings, the area is still filling in. The Midland Commons directory lists 14 restaurant and dining tenants, plus one entry under "Coming Soon": Polanco, in Suites K and L. The directory says future tenants are added once their locations and opening plans are confirmed. Beyond that, the listing doesn't give an operator, a concept, or an opening date. We couldn't find any local news coverage that adds more. Expect a sign on the storefront before anything firm is announced.
A little farther out, WTVM reported in May that Dutch Bros plans its first Columbus shop at 2515 Whittlesey Boulevard, near Veterans Parkway. The company said the project was in very early stages and had no opening timeline.
That gives the Veterans Parkway corridor two opened places and two announced ones in the same year. The concert series, meanwhile, gives people a free reason to spend an evening at Midland Commons twice a month.
The Drive In, While the Interchange Is Still Torn Up
Coming from the west on J.R. Allen Parkway means passing the Bradley Park Drive interchange, which is being rebuilt as a diverging diamond. The project is funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation with a budget of $21,563,338. The city's infrastructure table shows construction as "In Process," with estimated completion in Winter 2026. That table was last updated July 14, 2026.
So the interchange should still be under construction for every remaining show, including the November 14 finale. On a concert night, leave a few extra minutes, especially if you want to be there when the food trucks open at 6. A seasonal estimate like "Winter 2026" can slip, so check for updated traffic notices on the evening you go.
A Daytime Option for the Same Weekends
The concerts take up the evening, which leaves the daytime free. Pumpkins at Callaway runs through November 1 at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain. The Robin Lake Beach entrance is at 17800 US-27. This year's event adds new themed scenes and an indoor experience, and it expands the glowing trails. It also has a corn maze, mini golf, and dance parties.
Pumpkins at Callaway overlaps with three of the remaining concerts: October 9, October 16, and October 24. If you have visitors in town for one of those weekends, you could spend the afternoon in Pine Mountain and still be back at Midland Commons with your chairs by 6:30. After November 1, the November 6 and November 14 shows are the last of the series' free live music for the season.
The Fortunate play on Saturday, October 24, the last show before Callaway's pumpkin event closes. Groove Monkey finishes the season on Saturday, November 14.
If one of these fall evenings on the lawn makes you think about living closer to Midland Commons and the shops along Veterans Parkway, I'd be glad to talk it through. I'm Tiffiney Graham, and I can walk you through how the Midland side of Columbus fits your daily routine, from the drive along J.R. Allen to the places you'd stop on a Friday night. Let's Connect.
