NEWPORT, Ky. — PromoWest Pavilion at Ovation, Newport’s brand-new indoor-outdoor music venue, will announce its first 10 shows on Friday. PromoWest CEO Scott Stienecker wouldn’t share the names of the acts heading to northern Kentucky — just that “you’ll be excited” when you hear them.

In the meantime, Stienecker invited local media inside Thursday for a first look at the venue, which is scheduled to officially open in September.

“It’s very exciting, especially coming out of COVID, the year off from the industry,” he said of the imminent opening. “I’ve been doing this for 40 years, and that’s the first time it’s ever been a full-time shut down.”

Concertgoers who arrive in September will find a 7,000-capacity venue with stages indoors and outdoors. There’s VIP seating, but the bulk of the space is general admission.

“It’s a great concert venue, a great place to see a show,” said Stienecker. “When we come into market we change the vibe of the whole market. You're going to get a lot more shows now coming to Cincinnati — not only because of our building, but you have a competitor that built the new building now to compete with us.

"So just the whole energy of Cincinnati is going to change."