The great, wide open is the ticket these days.

Fortunately, Las Colonias Amphitheater has it.

A river-side spot with a lush green grass and plenty of (usually!) fresh air and space for social distancing make it amenable to live shows minus COVID-19 worries.

And after months of postponed shows, the amphitheater is finally getting ready to open its gates for folks eager to settle into their lawn chairs and enjoy an evening of entertainment.

First up will be the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra’s An Evening Under the Stars concert on Saturday, Aug. 29.

Then there will be two shows featuring Colorado bands: Ryan Chrys and the Rough Cuts on Sept. 4 and The Yawpers on Sept. 1.

Three different styles of Latin music will fill the amphitheater on Sept. 13 with Pancho Barraza and Perdidos de Sinaloa.

Absolute Dance & Performing Arts’ pre-professional dancers will perform a “Fall for Dance” concert on Sept. 26–27.

Yonder Mountain String Band will play Sept. 30, and then the amphitheater will break into the comedy scene with Brian Regan on Oct. 9. Tickets to see those two shows go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 21, at universe.com.

While the amphitheater’s stage finally will be filled, things will be different for the audience than in the past, said Maria Rainsdon, general manager for the venue operated by Oak View Group.

For starters, these will be limited capacity events with up to 1,200 tickets available.

For each ticket purchased, there will be a secure registration process asking for basic information that will be shared with the Mesa County Health Department should the need for contact tracing arise, Rainsdon said.

In addition, only residents from Mesa, Montrose, Delta, Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, Gunnison, Ouray and Eagle counties may purchase tickets. This guideline could change depending on the COVID-19 activity in any of those counties, Rainsdon said.

There are now three entrances to the amphitheater, a change intended to allow for social distancing as people arrive at events. The entrance to be used will be included with ticket information.

Those attending an event should bring lawn chairs, and sealed water bottles will be permitted, Rainsdon said.

People will be seated with other members of their group — a group is defined as people from the same household or from similar personal relationships — in boxes spray painted on the amphitheater’s grass at socially-distanced intervals.

There will be two sizes of boxes: 6 feet by 6 feet for groups of four or fewer, 10 feet by 10 feet for groups of 10 or fewer.

Mask are to be worn while entering, exiting and moving around the venue, but may be taken off when a person is seated.

Food and beverages will be available to purchase and have been modified slightly so people won’t needed to move through the amphitheater to get additional drinks, Rainsdon said.

And when a show wraps up, members of the audience will be dismissed by staff or security members to decrease congestion at the exits.

“Hopefully, we get good attendance and everybody follows the rules,” Rainsdon said.

For information about the shows or COVID-19 guidelines and links to purchase tickets, go to theampgj.com.