McCain Auditorium officials planning to host live shows this fall

May 4—The executive director of McCain Auditorium at K-State says he's making plans to bring a few live events back to the calendar this fall.

Executive director Todd Holmberg said he and his staff anticipate having some live events for the fall season, as long as the university continues with its plan to lift coronavirus-related restrictions in August. He said his team likely will make a public announcement on any fall shows this summer.

The auditorium has been closed to live events since the start of the pandemic last March. To compensate for the abrupt changes, McCain staff created the "McCain Connected" series of curated shows only available online.

The next McCain Connected virtual concert features Grammy Award-winning blues and Americana musician Keb' Mo' performing live from New York City. His performances will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday and 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are available on the McCain Auditorium website.

Construction continues at the auditorium while it's inactive. K-State is making updates to the building's lobby that will improve accessibility while adding more multipurpose rooms. The building refresh also will include a new outdoor plaza. Construction began last August and is set to be completed by August of this year. The $6 million project is funded partly by benefactors of the KSU Foundation, who contributed $5.5 million, while the remaining $500,000 was allocated from the Friends of McCain.

K-State completed the auditorium in 1970. McCain hosted its first show, a performance of the Broadway musical "George M," in October 1970.