Zanesville's Secrest Auditorium is in the middle of a major renovation, and that construction is reshaping how the Zanesville Concert Association rolls out its 87th season. Rather than opening this fall as usual, the season now kicks off February 25, 2027, with Jazz at Lincoln Center's “World on a String: Swinging Songs of Broadway.” To ease the wait, the association is offering a free ticket to any one remaining season concert for anyone who buys a season pass by December 1.
The delay traces directly back to work happening inside the historic auditorium. The City of Zanesville introduced Ordinance No. 2025-132 in November 2025 to authorize a municipal contract for new seating and acoustic panels as part of what city council records describe as the venue's overall overhaul. The project also carries state backing: the Ohio Legislative Service Commission's budget records show the state allocated $500,000 in capital funding through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission for the Secrest Auditorium renovation during the 2025–2026 capital biennium, according to the commission's own figures.
A Civic Landmark Gets a Modern Upgrade
Secrest Auditorium has anchored Zanesville's cultural life for generations. The building began as a Works Progress Administration project launched in 1937, opened in 1940 as the Zanesville Municipal Auditorium, and was rededicated in 1987 in honor of former U.S. Representative Robert T. Secrest following community-funded improvements, per Visit Zanesville. The venue seats 1,742 people and boasts one of the largest stages in Southeastern Ohio, with a proscenium measuring 73 feet wide by 49 feet deep, the same tourism bureau notes — specs that explain how it has long hosted large touring productions.
The Zanesville Concert Association itself predates the current building's rededication by decades. It was founded in 1938 by members of The Thursday Music Club along with local business and civic leaders aiming to bring professional performing arts to Muskingum County, according to Secrest Auditorium's own venue history. The construction disruption isn't new to the association's programming this year either: the venue's annual free summer concert series was temporarily relocated outdoors to Zane's Landing Park along the Muskingum River in 2026 because of the ongoing interior work, Secrest Auditorium has said.
Bridging the Gap With a Mount Vernon Partnership
With the Zanesville season pushed back, the association is leaning on a reciprocal agreement with the Community Concert Association in Mount Vernon to keep pass holders entertained this fall, as reported by WHIZ. Mount Vernon has performances scheduled for October 28 and November 14 that Zanesville ticket holders can attend. According to the station's report, a season ticket costs $85 and covers both the Zanesville season and the Mount Vernon reciprocal season.
Zanesville Concert Association booking agent Sheryl Wise laid out the pricing and the logic behind the cross-town arrangement in comments to the outlet. “A season ticket costs $85 and includes the Zanesville season and the Mount Vernon reciprocal season,” Wise said. She also urged prospective ticket buyers not to wait, encouraging people to buy their tickets now and attend a performance in Mount Vernon or Zanesville in February.
A Lineup Spanning Jazz, Stepping, Mariachi and Pop Nostalgia
Once the Zanesville season does open in February, the lineup leans heavily on nationally recognized touring acts. The opener, Jazz at Lincoln Center's “World on a String: Swinging Songs of Broadway,” marks the fifth production in the organization's JALC PRESENTS national touring series and features guest vocalists Kate Kortum and David Marino performing jazz arrangements of musical theater repertoire, per IMG Artists.
The season continues April 4 with Step Afrika!, the dance company founded in December 1994 by C. Brian Williams that the Kennedy Center recognizes as the world's first professional company dedicated exclusively to the African American tradition of stepping. Two-time Latin Grammy nominee Mariachi Herencia de México follows on May 7; the ensemble was established in 2016 through an audition-based Chicago Public Schools music program and has earned Latin Grammy nominations for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album for its 2017 debut album “Nuestra Herencia” and its 2022 release “Herederos,” according to the Latin Recording Academy.
The Cowsills close out the season on May 15. The family pop group formed in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1965 scored late-1960s Billboard hits including “The Rain, the Park and Other Things” and served as the real-life inspiration for the 1970s television series “The Partridge Family,” per the Music Museum of New England. More information on tickets and the full schedule is available through the Zanesville Concert Association.
