ShadyGroveMusicFair

Shady Grove Music Fair was the venue of choice in the Washington area for movie stars, bands, plays and musicals during the 1960s and 1970s. It was an arena theatre, where the audience surrounded the stage. At one point the stage actually rotated. Acts such as James Brown, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Steely Dan and the Jackson 5 played at Shady Grove. Located at the intersection of 270 and Shady Grove Road, the site is now office buildings.

Name Date Comment
Jack Toomey  5/18/09 Fats Domino also appeared at Shady Grove. Traffic backed up for miles and a minor riot ensued as ticket holders could not get in and non-ticket holders tried to crash the gates. 
David Keplinger  7/21/09 My mother use to keep the books at shady grove music center when I was just a boy.  
Nancy Zanner Correll  7/29/09 My boyfriend (who later became my husband) and I had our high school (Gaithersburg High) graduation ceremony in 1974 at Shady Grove Music Fair. It was no longer a tent in 1974 but a year-round building. I saw Richard Harris--the actor and singer--there once in concert and was thrilled to be able to reach out and touch his arm.  
Karen Kesner Kendall  9/14/09 The last high school class to graduate from Shady Grove music fair was Damascus High School class of 1976  
Michael  10/19/09 I actually work in the building next to this one and had heard about the music fair from locals I work with. I've often wondered what the musical venue looked like, so it's amazing to finally get to see a picture of it. :) 
Lisa  2/20/10 I remember going there for something. I was very young. It may have been my brothers graduation from Damascus High School, in 1972.  
Michael Prokop  5/16/10 I saw Isaac Hayes and Andy Williams there and graduated there in 1975. 
Joe Brodt  5/17/10 Ahhhhh, Shady Grove Music Fair...my parents saw Johnny Carson there, my sister took me to my first concert in 1967?, the Dave Clark 5. Also saw the Temptations, Four Tops, and local bands Cream and Cocoa, and Grin with Nils Loftgren 
Mike & Ellen Prokop  5/17/10 Shady Grove Music Fair brings back many fond memories. Among many others, we saw Tony Bennett in concert and Diahann Carroll and Richard Kiley in "No Strings". Great entertainment in an intimate setting.    
JLP  5/18/10 I heard that Elvis and the Grateful Dead also played this venue. A personal friend went backstage and hung with Jerry Garcia when the Dead was there. 
Bob Shreffler  5/19/10 The Washingtonian & Shady Grove Music Fair were the 'haunts' of the time. I had drinks with Robert Goulette in the lounge along with many celebs of the time. After hours there was a 'mens lounge' downstairs. Much 'liars poker' played here! 
Merl  5/23/10 Best concert I've ever seen was James Brown 1968 at Shady Grove Theatre. Brown, his Band, the dancers and the music were fabulous and other worldly. Also I got an autograph from Sinclair; what a night.  
Michele  7/5/10 I still remember seeing Sonny and Cher here when I was very young. Great photos! 
Willamae Waters-Stanfield  9/24/10 Gaithersburg high school class of '71, graduation. I also saw my first musical there it was bye bye birdie with Robert Goulette. Later saw such acts as Nils Lofgrin, canned heat, steve miller band, temptations, aretha franklin. Was the best place Gaithersburg had to offer. What a shame that got taken away. The revolving stage was the best! 
Jimbo  10/7/10 I saw Jethro Tull there, Gladys Night and the Pips also. My high school graduation was there in 1969. 
Flo Cameron  10/10/10 I was there for the G'burg High School graduation and saw many a group there--the Temptations, 4 Tops, 4 Seasons and more! 
Hope Muller (Raitt)  10/12/10 Steve Miller Band, Aretha Franklin, the musical "Hair" (with my parents!) -- Love all the photographs - they bring back lots of great memories. 
Robin Gardner  11/5/10 What can I say? Jethro Tull, Jonathan Edwards, Steve Miller, Grin, you name them, I smoked my first you know what there. My father dropped my girlfriend and I off there when I was barely 16 and some older boys got us in. The rites of passage at the Shady Grove Music Fair. And Oh yeah. My high school graduation (1973) was there! 
MJ Singhass  11/7/10 My class, from Gaithersburg High School, was the last graduation class, 1978, to be held there. I remember seeing Sonny & Cher there numerous times. Amazing what many years does! WOW 
Eddie Jackson  11/8/10 I remember seeing the Godfather of Soul himself in that venue...and the two of the funniest four letter words in comedy, Redd Foxx. Yeah Shady Grove Music Theatre is sorely missed in G'Burg. 
Mary Ellen Goree  11/8/10 My high school graduation was at Shady Grove--Seneca Valley, 1978. I think 1978 was the last year for graduations there. 
Steven Hartgrove  11/17/10 Jackson 5ive. I can still remember the sound of them running down the aisle towards the stage. A serious experience for a then 5yr. old. Thanks, Mom 
Alan  1/28/11 I was very young when my mom took me to "Your a Good Man Charlie Brown" starring Gary Burghoff (Radar O'Riley)". I also saw the Jackson 5 there. What a great place. 
Jim Brown  2/15/11 Worked there for 3 years in high school (usher and box office) 'Tons of memories and best job ever for a high-school kid. 
Jon Zetts, Sr  2/19/11 What a place for a concert! Under the tent as a kid I remember seeing Duke Ellington with Tony Bennett on the ticket. Not much later.. James Brown, Allman Brothers Band who were the warm up band for Rare Earth, Steve Miller, Canned Heat, Nils Lofgren, James Taylor, Argent, Looking Glass and Paul Williams. I think I saw the play Oliver there along with comics like George Carlin and Lilly Tomlin. I believe the Grove only seated 4,000 so you were always close to the action no matter where you were seated. Needless to say, I miss the place. 
tom groht  3/12/11 saw many greats..johnny carson, sony and cher, bob hope and many more great shows. brings back memories of good days. 
Laurie E  3/23/11 Went to a Gladys Knight and the Pips concert just to see the opening act- BB KIng. Will never forget it. 
Shep Burton  4/6/11 If I am not mistaken, when Steve Miller Band played there in '74; Nils Lofgren and Grin opened the show.?? 
Shady Grove  4/6/11 I remember swimming at The Washintonian Country Club and goin  to The Temptations' room to get autographs... All I ever got was one from a "TEMPS BODYGUARD"... But we thought it was great ! I completely forgot we had graduated from there... They warned us about that short term memory business... As usual--I didn't listen... No surprise huh? 
Laura Hollister  4/6/11 I remember the first time I saw it, in 1969. I thought, "what the heck?? But, even though the photo makes it look dinky, it really was a class act!  
Steve Newhouse  4/7/11 I saw 'The Association' in the late 60's and later a production of 'You're a Good Man Charlie Brown'. Joe Brodt says Cream and Cocoa. My Brother Bob was in that band!!! One of our teachers at GHS lived in the Washingtonian Towers. Quite notorious! 
Carmen Woodrum  5/16/11 I have no idea what year, but my Mother took me to see The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews! Great pic of it as it was originally; but by the time we went, the building had been remodeled to some degree; it was a permanent, year round structure. 
Andrew Odom  5/25/11 Where exactly is the new (?) building on the site located? I think I've seen this. I'm new to the area and have similar great tales. What an era for entertainment..and to have it in Gaithersburg of all places! P.S. To answer JLP, actually Elvis Presley did not play here but he did play in 1974 at the U of Md. in College Park and also Largo, Maryland , and Washington, D.C in 1956... 
Dave Nelson  6/1/11 I thought that Steve Miller was the last band that played here. I recon I'm wrong - that was a long time ago. LOL 
Kym Densel Brown  8/4/11 Saw "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown," "A Little Night Music," and "Fiddler on the Roof" here. Wootton graduate 1974 - graduation was here. 
Jay Noffsinger  8/11/11 I graduated from GHS class of '77 at SGMF. My wife did too... Damascus '77. My first job in the early '70's was at the.Washingtonian CC restaurant and many celebrities performing at SGMF dined there. Saw Rich Little perform there.  
Patty Cooper  8/13/11 I saw the Lovin' Spoonful there in 1966, the Association, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band later.  
Miriam O'Connor  9/12/11 In 1974 I saw Sonny & Cher at Shady Grove. In 2010 I attended a Cher show at Ceasars Palace, Las Vegas. I was invited to meet her afterwards. I told her, "Cher, I have loved you all my life. I saw you and Sonny at Shady Grove." She responded, "Oh my goodness, that was so long ago, in the round!" Even the world-class entertainers who performed there, remember the infamous Shady Grove.
Dave peers  9/18/11 Check out wolfgangs vault. They have a grin show from shady grove. 
Margie Fraley Hickman  9/23/11 Lived by the Music Fair for many years on the farm next door. Would listen to many of the shows by sitting in our car by the fence while the music played 
Danny Brodt  10/8/11 In the mid 60's I saw the Dave Clark 5, Spencer Davis and numerous other groups. 
Jennifer Emry  10/27/11 Where can I find photos of Shady Grove Music Fair building (the wooden dome) that was demolished? Anybody? 
Charlie Cobean  11/14/11 Anyone have the date Procol Harum played there? And did Quicksilver play there? "Shady Grove" at the Shady Grove? 
Frank Rambo  1/13/12 Saw Zero Mostel in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" there when I was at boarding school in Va. It was a long trip to Shady Grove, but we loved the shows they took us to there. 
Randy Sipley  1/23/12 I remember seeing the Jackson 5 and Sonny and Cher when I was a young kid growing up in Germantown. My mom surprised me both times for my birthday. 
Veronica  2/29/12 I saw The Temptations and James Brown at Shady Grove Music Fair and then worked in the building pictured here!! And I grew up in the Gate House on Kentlands Farm (page 7)!! I have seen some changes!! 
Andy Toth  3/6/12 For one short summer in 1974 I had the privilege of working at Shady Grove Music Fair. I had been working at the sister theater, Painters Mill Music Fair in Baltimore and was asked to fill in for a manager who left without notice. The Shady Grove complex was newer and state of the art for the time. It was a wonderful place to work and a great place to see a show. The cast parties were a blast and most of the time all of the staff was invited. I met a lot of very good actors and musicians while I worked there and even got to escort the members of Steely Dan on a day trip to the Washington Zoo. I truly enjoyed my summer there and to this day I miss that place. Working there was an experience that I will always be grateful for and I will never forget it. 
Tammy  3/9/12 Big sister's Churchill graduation, 1973. They sang 'Day by Day'from Godspell. I remember it better than my own. 
Barbara  4/17/12 Graduated 1974 from Damascus High School, and had ceremony at Shady Grove Music Fair. Enjoyed performances by teen heartthrob Bobby Sherman and comedian Bob Hope, as well as "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" with Rudy Vallee and Robert Morse.  
BF Allen  4/18/12 the dome was moved in two sections out to the Gaithersburg Airpark 
Paxton "Packy" Pickrell  5/9/12 Memories of the "Greatest" town ever "back in the day" I remember taking my new bride there in early 1972 to see Lynn Anderson sing ( and sign a sealed LP) "Rose Garden"and who was her opening band ?? Kenny Rogers and the First Edition- even before they reached their fame. Nothing can replace the fun that place held !Thanks G'Burg! 
joe farley  9/5/12 gaithersburg high scool held it's class of 1978 graduation there'it was the last one held there. the ceiling was falling down then! 
Carol Ziske  9/12/12 It's great that so many people have such fabulous memories of a such a great theatre, mine included, as I was a member of cast of "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown". 
Norma (Stevens) Burke  10/20/12 I saw Tom Jones, Sonny and Cher, and Steve Martin there. Steve Martin was the opening act for Sonny and Cher. My coworker, Sherie, and I knew a couple guys who worked there, so we got to go backstage sometimes. What a thrill to see Steve Martin hanging out backstage (with his shirt off). Shady Grove was a wonderful place to be. 
Mike R  10/25/12 My sister saw Sonny and Cher there as well as Cheech and Chong! 
Jim  11/24/12 I have many great memories from SGMF--Buddy Hackett streaking his own show, from one side of the round, across stage during his opening act, and out the other--George Carlin in his druggie days, forgetting his act for several minutes and just pacing, trying to remember it. My least favorite show there was Dionne Warwick and Lou Rawls, 2 marvelous voices who sang NOT ONE duet all night. Just one, then the other, then the one, then the other.    
Jim  11/24/12 It's so ironic that, back when no one lived upcounty, this place was hot as can be, and now that hundreds of thousands are 15 minutes away, it's gone. 
Richard Frazier  12/18/12 That place was bad!! Every seat was a good seat!! The Temptations and Gladys Knight was there almost every year. War turned it out!!! That was a bad place!!!! 
Patty  12/31/12 Does anyone remember being there on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon? My now hubbie and I had our first date there that night - saw Edie Adams, I think the show was Mame, and she led the audience in song to honor the moon landing. What did she sing? 
Steve  1/28/13 I saw Cheech and Chong there. The amazing thing was that Steely Dan was "warm Up" act! 
Germaine Moore (Moone)  2/9/13 I went to many events at the Shady Grove Music Center, and saw Tom Jones for the very first time there. 
jack Sten  2/26/13 Who was the lovely actress who played Annie Oakley? 
Steve  4/6/13 I was there for these events & I can say it was the greatest time I ever had.  
Dave Hennessey  4/9/13 The Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Class of 1970 graduation ceremony was held there.  
Sally George Mattison  4/15/13 I also graduated from high school at Shady Grove in 1978. I remember going there to see Mame & Damn Yankees. 
Lynn  4/15/13 Gaithersburg High School graduation was at Shady Grove Music Fair in 1973..... I also saw Johnny Carson and the play. Annie Get Your Gun there! 
Don Essex  4/26/13 Saw The Temptations, Neil Diamond, Chicago long, long ago. 
Ron Keyser  5/14/13 Here, you can download or listen to The Steve Miller Band live from this place if you get a free membership trial. http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts/#/steve-miller/concerts/shady-grove-january-15-1974.html 
Paul Anderson  5/27/13 As a young man maybe 13 or 14, my mother took me to see Liberace at the Shady Grove Theater. Very modern white theater in the round, looked like a flying saucer on the outside. Modern chic glamourous new is what I remember. The stage revolved. Had to be summer of 76 or 77. Definitely summer maybe August. Who can tell me when Liberace played there? He was amazing and I was a young piano student in complete and udder awe. We're any of you there too?  
Karey Faulkner  6/13/13 What a WONDERFUL place this was. My parents started taking me there regularly when it was just a tent and called "Shady Grove Music Fair". I saw The Dave Clark 5 there and managed to get his drum stick when he threw it into the audience. I even met comedian Alan King standing atop the aisle during intermission. Then when the tent was dismantled and they built a lavish theatre and re-named it "Shady Grove Music Theatre", I served as a paid usher there during my last year of high   school (1972 - '73). I was fortunate in seeing MANY wonderful entertainers and actors there: Robert Goulet, Carol Channing, comedian David Brenner, Jim Nabors in concert, Andy Williams, Englebert Humperdink, Bill Cosby (before he got so political), Liberace (what a concert!) ... and I even got to shake hands with Sammy Davis, Jr. All the GREATS! What a time that was! I wish we had it back again; I miss it and miss those wonderful days and times.  
Rob Yanka  7/6/13 I saw Iron Butterfly..my first concert...sometime around 1972...sat on top of the soda machine...I was like 6 years old. later I saw Paul williams and Freddie Prinze...I think same year he Prinze shot himself...1977. At that time you could actually go around backstage after the concert and was able to meet and greet the star!! No jacked up price either...simply free to do so...and shook hands with both of them. My oddball mother grabbed Paul Williams and french kissed him! Miss that place! 
Lesley K Sackville  9/4/13 I saw the Temptations, and B J Thomas at Shady Grove. Great shows. I loved that place. 
kapuka  9/13/13 Saw Dr John there in 70s. Was an interesting venue. What a loss to the area. 
Michael Smith  10/10/13 When I was a kid in the sixties I'd remember my mother taking us to se plays such as The Princess and the Pea I also graduated from there Kennedy '75 
Mike Woodward  10/19/13 I saw John Sebastian there twice and Redd Foxx with Slappy White. 
Tom Carrico  10/25/13 Saw that Sonny & Cher show with an unknown Steve Martin Martin opening. Also saw B.B. King, Chicago, Wilson Pickett with Mitch Ryder, Temptations, Mary Travers, George Carlin and others I've forgotten.  
Brian R  10/31/13 Saw Sonny and Cher there...probably my first concert ever. Had tickets to see The Spinners, but the show was canceled. Not sure I ever got over that. Anyone else remember that? 
Mike Hall  2/10/14 What a great venue. I saw John Davidson in the musical "Oklahoma" and Rock Hudson in the "Man from Lamacha" 
Steve Ross  2/16/14 How nice to read the comments and be reminded of the many times I attended shows at the Grove in the 60's. Around that time I had a great job as the pianist at the Washingtonian Motel adjacent to the tent My first exposure to all the wonderful stars from Broadway who made their way(s) to Gaithersburg. 
Syd  2/26/14 I saw Bobby Darin there on 11-25-67. John Raitt sang in the musical On A Clear Day You Can See Forever on Sun. 11-19-67. Source: my journals. 
Cameron Watson  3/11/14 Two shows I remember were Dave Mason and New Riders of the Purple Sage with Buddy cage. 
ImNotSleeping  3/25/14 I recall the Shady Grove Music Fair as a blue and white round building. It didn't look like this. Am I remember it incorrectly? 
John Cullen  4/9/14 Saw the Temptations in 1965 there for my 16th birthday. Gladys Knight and the Pips opened the show. 
Lynn(Leventhal) Silverman  4/15/14 My folks belonged to the Washingtonian Country Club in the 60's and the owner of the club was Sam Eig, for whom the highway would later be named. During the summer, Mr. Eig would treat us to matinees every Thursday. I saw every show and would get autographs of all the stars when I was at the pool. I'm now 63 but I still have the 4 autograph books that I filled over the course of 10 years. My husband and kids get such a kick out of them. Remember The Pattu Duke Show? Paul O'Keefe played her younger brother on the show. Well, he played Winthrop in The Music Man when he was about 6....and I taught him how to swim at the club's pool!! 
Sandy Fox  4/16/14 I saw probably every major musical and talent there. Mickey Rooney, Bernadette Peters when she was just starting out, Jack Benny, Robert Morse, Ann Sothern, Gordon MacRae, Jane Powell, Steve & Edie, I could go on and on. thank you mom and dad for sitting on the exit ramp on 70S (now 270) for what seemed like an eternity practically every Saturday over the summers that allowed me to see what I saw. And then of course, Peter Pan for dinner afterwards! 
Anrthony Carone  4/18/14 I was the manager of Shady Grove Music Fair early 70's. I worked with top stars of that time. Picture brings back fabulous memories. 
Sandi  4/21/14 I saw Fess Parker in "The Music Man" - one of the first shows held there. 
Barry Clompus  5/1/14 It was the best place in the world. I saw Ginger Rogers therein Coco Chanel. It must have been about 1965? Later I saw You're a Good Man Charlie Brown and several other plays, but my clearest memories are seeing Jimmie Walker opening for Dionne Warwick and David Brenner opening for Sonny & Cher. You could take a picture, waiting for them to come around the stage to face you. Every seat was great. We usually managed to be in the first five rows, but row 15 was also great. I don't think there will ever be a venue like it again. The acts are so expensive, to have someone well known in a small intimate space like that, you would most likely have to pay a thousand bucks to help the theater break even. 
Debbie Parish  5/7/14 I saw Sonny and Cher, Steve Martin and best of all, Richard Chamberlain in West Side Story. He touched my arm as he ran down the aisle! What a treasured memory.  
janet Fordyce (Nelson)  5/14/14 I saw cheech and chong there and the Harlem globe trotters! 
William Bloomquist  5/18/14 The class of '71 from BCC had our graduation there. I also saw Sonny and Cher, George Carlin (and the Seven Words You Can't Say on TV) Jim Nabors, Andy Williams, and Oklahoma! 
MIKE VASZKO  5/23/14 I SAW PETE SEEGER THERE WHEN I WAS 8 YEARS OLD, IN 1974. 
jerry hart  6/1/14 i had the program concession at shady grove for several years during the late sixties, early seventies. what fun meeting the entertainers backstage and sitting in at rehearsals. over the years i have enjoyed sharing the stories of shady grove with friends and relatives. one quick one, rudee vallee and robert morse were there one week in "how to succeed in business without really trying" and each night before the show started the theater manager had to go backstage and give rudee vallee an envelope containing $200 cash before he would go on stage, it was in his contract. great days, wonderful memories.... 
B Anderson   6/9/14 I saw Cheech & Chong, Sonny & Cher and Peggy Fleming.    
Anthony Carone  6/11/14 Stage hands went on strike before Peggy Fleming show and I , as theatre manager, had to get ushers to help Fleming crew put in ice rink on the stage. Remember that all night job like it was yesterday. 
Janet Salzman  9/4/14 Joan Rivers just died about three hours ago and I can't help but remember her show here at the Shady Grove Music Fair back in August of 1974. John Davidson was the opening act. This was a fabulous and pleasantly  intimate venue. Never a problem with viewing the stage either. It's depressing to have lost both this venue long ago and Joan just today. 
Marta Tomlinson  9/21/14 Sonny and Cher - 1967! After the concert, my dad took us to the Washingtonian for dinner. Sitting at the table next to us—Sonny and Cher! My brother, sister, and I were too shy to ask for autographs. 
jeff landron  10/12/14 doors busted open for easy access to steve miller band.johnny bean gets away in police handcuffs.pharmaceuticals involved. 
Mike Wedding  11/15/14 Saw Barbara Eden in "Annie Get Your Gun" in '73 or '74. Theater in the round was phenomenal. Through most of the show she was in calf-length buckskin, but for one song she appeared in a full length black velvet cape covering what could best be described as a black Playboy Bunny costume. Think of "Jeannie" in a Bunny outfit. As she sang on the slowly revolving stage, you could hear the breathtaking gasps of the men in the audience as they beheld that glorious sight as her tremendous figure and beautiful blonde hair, framed in black velvet, came into view. 
Tad Dynakowski   12/8/14 Assistant Manager @ THE GROVE in 1973/74. Still a theatre pro @ Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Learned a lot in Gaithersburg. 
Ryan Lindsay  1/7/15 Does anyboy know when they opened and when they shut down? It seems like Painters Mill Music Fair gets more recognition than Shady Grove. 
rob  1/22/15 I saw YES there in 1973  
John Leary  1/26/15 My parents took me and my first girlfriend Cindy to see Sonny and Cher before I could even drive. Later I saw Rowan and Martin from the old Laugh In days. Never been to another venue like it except perhaps the Cellar Door - also gone now.  
Mike Rosenblatt  1/26/15 Now this area is a high-density mess with office buildings, restaurants, businesses, bumper to bumper traffic in the name of "progress". What a shame.  
John T  3/10/15 So many wonderful shows at this marvelous theater: Damn Yankees (Gwen Verdon); Debbie Reynolds, Las Vegas show, Jane Powell, My Fair Lady; Ethel Merman (w/Carol O'connor; Howard Keel, Man of Lamancha; Lana Turner, 40 Carats; Edie Adams, Mame; How to Sujceed in Busines, Rudy Valee, Robert Morse; too many to recount in the permanent building. So sad to see it gone ! 
Kevin janet  4/10/15 Some of the best shows ever. saw springstein there also rod Stewart and the faces, Chuck Berry in 71. Right After the chuck berry concert me and a buddy from Springbrook stuck our thumbs out and hitchiked to cali. Believe I saw Fleetwood Mach and black sabbath together on Halloween. Memory just a little hazy :-) 
Karen Stahl  5/7/15 I graduated at Shady Grove in June 1978 from Wootton High School. It looked exactly like the photo, blue and white. I work in the office building that took it's place. My how things change! 
Barry Van Riper  6/19/15 My parents took my sister and I their to see the Jackson 5 when I was little, probably early 70's. Michael & Janet Jackson were a hit and were about 10 years old. 
Mary Endres  7/24/15 Does anyone have a listing of all performances? 
Robin Talbott Swope  8/30/15 watched the Temptations there and so my high school graduation 1970 
guio jordan  9/11/15 A Great Venue: My wife and I saw BB King,Gladys Knight & the Pips,Jerry Butler,Nancy Wilson,Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and The 5TH Dimension! 
Doug H.  9/27/15 So many memories. Went there with my parents a dozen times. So sad we can't go back in time. :) 
John G  9/29/15 I remember seeing a lot of musicals here as a kid, including Fiddler on the Roof with Jan Peerce, Annie Get Your Gun with Barbara Eden, and Oklahoma with Jon Davidson among others. During the last there was a power outage that stopped the show for a while. Davidson did some impromptu jokes and story telling with the audience until the power came back.  
Tom Hughes  10/4/15 My mom and dad took me to see Jimmy "JJ" Walker open up for Dionne Warwick in 1975, back when "Good Times" was a hit TV show. 
Robert A, Daniel  10/7/15 Bob Park and I saw Hair there in 1974 or 75. Nice place to see a show. 
Ruby  10/25/15 I was 16 years old in the summer of 1974. I worked as the night cleaning manager. I supervised the cleaning crew and cleaned the backstage area. Being backstage I was able to meet all of the acts that came that summer. 
Agnes Paterson  11/3/15 Had a wonderful evening at the Jim Nabors show in the early seventies. "WOW" what a singer. 
Albert Palmer Short  11/11/15 I remember seeing Mr Roberts with Hugh O'Brien and Will Hutchins but can't remember who played the captain. Was it Archie Bunker? Carrol ???? 
Mark Marlow  1/6/16 I think I saw everyone in show business old and new theter. Sonny and Cher, Sammy Davis jr., Robert Goulet, Steve Lawrence and Eddie Gormet, Joan Rivers, Barbara Eden, a bunch of big stars in Broadway shows, then a bunch of country stars, Lynn Anderson (she had green shoes with holes in them I was in the front row with inner circle tickets, Buck Owens, Johnny Cash with June Carter and the kids, Roy Clarke on and on. I think it closed shortly after the country stars. Loved that place.  
marie blenson  1/21/16 Went there in late 60s and 1970, 1971 in school field trips and then to a few ballet shows (amateur at best in early days with dancers falling and wobbly but ever so thrilling for a ten year old!). I remember meeting a famous psychic lady once and seeing a few musicals in the tent. Nothing was there, no traffic, just hills and prettiness and hills to have outdoor picnics like 4th of July fireworks. Now, uggh! Too many people, too much congestion and will only get worse. Makes me sad but at least I have wonderful memories. 
Vee Beall  1/23/16 I saw Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence in I Do,I Do, Howard Keel in Kismet, a dozen others there. It was a really great place! 
Jan Underwood  1/25/16 My husband and I enjoyed one of the finest evenings of entertainment I can remember sometime in the '70s. We had the pleasure of hearing Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie with the fabulous Butch Miles, Oscar Peterson and Eddie Jefferson. What a night!  
Diana Wailes Good  1/31/16 Our graduation was held here, GHS class of '74, great memories. Seen the musical Jesus Christ Superstar here also. 
Tim Evans  2/13/16 My fondest memories are working there as an usher when I was 17, 18 yrs. old in 1972 & 1973. I saw many shows, met stars including Robert Goulet, Ginger Rodgers, Bobby Sherman, Theodore Bikel and many others. I cherish my autographed program books and hope their buried with me!! 
Donnie Hottinger  2/14/16 I graduated from there in 1969 and saw Lynn Anderson and Conway Twitty there. 
Roy Bender  3/25/16 My then wife worked for Jack Krockmal (sp) printing, who did the tickets for the Fair. They were $5.95 each. We saw Debbie Reynolds and her young daughter who would later gain fame as Princess Leah in Saw Wars. 
Brian Forsman  4/8/16 When I was young my mother took me to see Rowan & Martin and Jerry Van Dyke, also Merle Haggard. Great fun! This was in the early 70's 
Lawrence Isenburg  5/7/16 My brother's graduation was held there, Rockville High class of 1977. 
Roger Curnock  6/17/16 To this day, one of the best nights in the theater was seeing Angela Lansbury in Mame at Shady Grove many years ago. A magical night! 
Michael Tutko  9/1/16 Does anyone know if the Beatles stayed or played there? My father was friends with Sam Eig and I was privileged to have seen many old acts and go back stage and meet stars. Remember seeing the show Laugh In with all the characters. Sam took us back stage and met Dan and Dick and many others. I also loved the Sunday buffet. Thank you Sam.  
Randy Smith  9/20/16 During the summer of 1975, my grandmother and I saw Angela Lansbury in Gypsy, and Alice Faye and Don Ameche at Shady Grove. I had never heard of Lansbury and asked my g'ma if she was famous. Grandma said yes and that was all I needed to know. I have been a huge fan of Dame Lansbury ever since. 
Gerry Schwam  11/23/16 I was the architect for Shady Grove, for both the tent and the permanent structure. I also did all the other Music Fairs all over the country for Shelly Gross and Lee Gubern who were the founders, partners and producers. Those projects were the most fun and craziest I had in an architectural career that has spanned 50 years. architecture 
Fred Eversole  11/29/16 My wife and I saw Liberace there in the late '70s. We may have been the youngest in the audience. It was a wonderful show. We liked the venue.  
ANNE RYAN  12/27/16 I took my three daughters to see Debbie Reynold there, Carrie was 15 and sang one song. We took the boys to see Grease. We took all 7 children to see George Carlin. We went a lot. I still miss it. 
Lisa Korn Shea henig  12/29/16 I worked there from Summer of 1972 through August of 1971 and again in summer of 1972 first as an usher and eventually as a member of the stage crew. It was incredible fun, saw all the concerts, musicals, comics and variety. Debbie Reynolds and daughter Carrie fisher. 
Ed Miller  1/19/17 My sister and I saw The Byrds and Eric Andersen at Shady Grove in the early 1970s. It was right around the time when Eric's "Blue River" album was released. I still have great memories of that show. 
Erick Sandoval   2/5/17 In 1974 my girlfriend Liz then, now my wife for 41 years went to see Engelbert Humperdinck. It was great! 
Andrew Williams  3/1/17 My parents took my brother and me to see Bill Cosby there. Not sure what year--1969? 1970? My Mom insisted we leave midway through the performance because she found Mr. Cosby's language too dirty. Oh, if she had known... 
Doug  3/9/17 Saw Steely Dan there in the early to mid-'70, when they had just gotten big. I remember the revolving stage. Drove past where I thought it used to be, but, I hadn't been out that way in 40+ years, so, couldn't recall exactly where it was 
Melissa Young  3/15/17 I remember watching an orchestra perform Peter and the Wolf; I think I was in middle school? I also remember seeing a play about Gypsy Rose Lee with my mother and youngest sister. So many, many good memories of Shady Grove. I'm sorry it's no longer there!  
Cindy  3/16/17 I saw Sonny and Cher there when I was 12 y.o. The stage rotated. 
Theresa Rader  3/27/17 I saw Sonny & Cher with my friend ,Susie Edmonds & her mother, Barbara. We were sitting in the row right behind the orchestra pit & Cher commented on Susie & their matching dresses. Sonny noted that I didn't match them!  
Jeryll Dorsey  3/29/17 Graduated from there (GHS '69). Saw the Temptations in '68 or '69. But the real crazy thing was that I took a "short cut" off of Muddy Branch Rd which turned out to be nothing more than a muddy single lane mess. It was a wonder we got there! 
Nancy A Hansen  5/6/17 I remember seeing Temptations, Red Foxx, Sly and family stone & many others. I found a venue for 4/13/71. Tickets to Wayne Newton, Aretha Franklin, etc were $2.75-$7.25 
Kim T.   5/16/17 Some shows I remember seeing were You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Fiddler on the Roof, Barbara Eden in Annie Get Your Gun and Jerry Lewis; where I remember my parents handing me a dollar bill to walk up to the stage and hand it to Jerry Lewis for Muscular Dystrophy. My younger brother followed. And then all of the sudden the whole audience started following suit. So, without intention, we changed the show.  
Kym  5/19/17 I remember Shady Grove...my class of 1974 graduation from Paint Branch High was there. Saw many music acts there: soul, rock, plays, including the outrageous Bette Midler! Good times, wonderful memories! 
Tom Rees  5/22/17 As a child of about 10 I was in a play there. It was "The Front Page" and had stars such as Robert Alda, Butterfly McQueen, Dodie Goodman, Bert Convy in it. It was a three week run and i got my first earned money (besides my paper route).  I earned 150 USD for the three weeks and my dad made me put 125 of it in mutual funds. I found this site by trying to find the exact dates it played there. 
JOHN  7/21/17 does anyone know if porgy and bess was played there and if so who were the stars thanks 
Bob Kronemyer  7/23/17 John, I believe John Bubbles starred in a production of "Porky and Bess." 
Ben Cheseldine  8/10/17 I was never old enough to go in but my oldest brother told me about Joe Cocker telling them to stop spinning the stage or he would get sick. I got pictures when it was being torn down, shame. 
Al Romeo  8/14/17 Was there for the Temptations! 
Mary Federline Jackson  8/19/17 I remember seeing Sonny and Cher there. My brother graduated from St.John's Military School at the Shady Grove. 
R Waller  9/2/17 Duke Ellington's band with Tony Bennett were there for a week in 1965. I went three times. Duke had six trumpet players then. Mercer Ellington, his son, played trumpet. I wish I could buy a CD of the concerts. 
gail johnson  9/12/17 I graduated from Seneca Valley high school at Shady Grove Amphitheater in 1977 
DONITA STOWE  1/20/19 My Mom took my sister and me to see the Jackson 5 there in 1975 or 1976. Thanks Mom, in heaven. Love you. 
Neil  4/9/19 My sister and I saw the Jackson Five. As a kid, this place looked really HUGE. I just knew I was "The Guy" with my Denim patchwork outfit..LOL..Great Times!  
Karen Dyson-Taylor  5/20/19 My sister and brother-in law took me there every year to see the Temptations. My last visit was to see WAR! 1978. Such a great memory! 
Chuck  7/14/19 I saw the 5th Dimension here in the late 60’s. We went the night of July 20, 1969, the night Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. Auntie Mame was playing. I had a transistor radio plugged into my ear and when the astronauts opened the landing module door, we boogied to my friend’s house nearby. Turned on the TV to, “That’s one small step...” 
Laura Rathbun  8/21/19 GHS graduations were here, and in the early 70's I saw Sly & The Family Stone (he could barely stand up), Rod Stewart, Godspell, Seals & Crofts, Aretha Franklin and many other. It was a fantastic venue where there wasn't a bad seat in the house. Here in Connecticut the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford used to have that same circular stage. Such great memories!! 
Mary K Winslow  12/28/19 Saw the play Kismet when it was still a tent. Graduated from Churchill there in ‘71. Saw Bill Cosby, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Steely Dan, Cheech and Chong.... great place! 
Tom Riley  3/29/20 I worked as an usher there in 1964. First show that season was "I married an angel" with Don Ameche and Tanya Elg. Still have the program somewhere. Came back summer of '65 as house Manager-'66.New theatre was erected in '67 worked there and Off and on thru '69. Mr Tom Fess was the General manager 64 on.He taught at Weaton HS until the permanent theatre was built then he worked there all year as Manager. I remember Jim McGregar as Assit Manager. Great place to work. I still have a piece of canvas from the original tent.  
Bobby Graham   3/31/20 My mom worked here for a short time. We lived in Shady Grove Village. I received a whole new appreciation for music here! Being able to see acts I probably never would have gon to if not for my mom getting us tickets. 
Bobby Graham   3/31/20 I used to live in Shady Grove village right down the road from the music hall. My mom worked there for a short time. We were able to go and see many artists I wouldn’t have seen on my own! It gave me a great appreciation for all kinds of music! 
Linda Layman  5/1/20 I saw my one and only burlesque show there. It seems to me it was a little further down Shady Grove Rd.  
Alan  7/4/20 Steppenwolf Aug 18, 1975. Catfish Hodge opened. $7.00 ticket. Added to setlist,fm today. 
Greg S  7/11/20 Worked at the Washingtonian Motel & Country Club during the summer of 1966. Many, if not all, the performers stayed at the motel and often had cast parties there as well. I remember working some of the parties and meeting Jayne Mansfield, Howard Keel, Van Johnson among others that summer. What memories.  
Missy  9/2/20 Tina Turner's one woman show when she was first starting as a solo act. Hardly anyone there, but it didn't decrease Tina's professionalism. Fifty years later, still remember it as incredibly electrifying! Nutbush, TN, as well as Gaithersburg missed out. 
Tim Coleman  9/20/20 BCC Class of 1976 Graduated there and a few years earlier I rocked out with Sly and The Family Stone! What a time. 
Steven Ross  9/27/20 many happy memories for me as well. I'm a pianist and played at the lounge of the Washingtonian Inn where all the stars stayed - thriling for me to have them in my audience. 
Marlene Patterson  11/21/20 In the 80's Tom Jones Show use to come on TV weekly. My 90 some year old Grandmother would call me and say when is Tom coming on, she loved him. A friend of mine loved Tom, so I purchased tickets for she and her daughter and my daughter and I and she threw my keys on the stage. Tom said who do they belong to? She jumped and ran around and went down the steps to the side of the stage, and Tom invited her up on the stage. I was running right behind her and she had said that the keys belonged to her mother, then I went on the stage with him. He hugged and kissed us both and was so nice, and he was so handsome. Thinking about that my heart beats. My other time going there was to see Sonny and Cher. I really missed going there and very sorry they closed it. A very good memory.  
Steve Libera  1/23/21 Today a friend sent me something on the life of James Taylor (yes, this song is about you), who at age 72 will be touring with Jackson Browne this summer (Hopefully the Covid 19 plandemic will have abated and things will have returned to normal). This prompted me to remember buying his first album, “Sweet Baby James” and attending his DC area concert at Shady Grove playing the songs from that album. It was just him playing solo, but if I remember correctly besides carrying his guitar, he carried a watermelon 🍉 out with him and set it on the stage next to his chair. It evoked feelings of relaxed summer easy living in the country along with his gentle original music. The other thing that stands out is the stage in the center, so that there was a feeling of being close to the performer. My church is octangular with the sanctuary, altar and tabernacle in the center, so that you always feel close to the Lord.