Blue Gate Theater

Small Beginnings to National Recognition

Words by Samantha Cox; Photos provided by Blue Gate Theater

Among last year's Academy of Country Music (ACM) Theater of the Year nominees are household names like the Grand Ole Opry House and the Ryman Auditorium. But one theater on the list sits deep in northern Indiana’s Amish country. Surrounded by many cornfields, the Blue Gate Theater has a seating capacity nearly double Shipshewana’s 800 year-round residents. With concerts and shows everyday Blue Gate will see more than 250,000 guests this year. How did this nationally significant music venue emerge in a tiny rural Indiana community?

“Our big thing,” CEO of Blue Gate Theater, Ryan Riegsecker, says, “has always been doing it better today than we did yesterday.” 

Full walls of band merchandise collected over the years adorn every wall in the Blue Gate Theater. Hundreds of signed guitars, posters, plaques, and artwork fill every inch of the Blue Gate Theater’s walls, showcasing its long, rich history. With yearly rotations of merchandise, concert-goers rarely see the same decorations twice. “It's kind of half museum, half concert,” Riegsecker says.

Originally hosting country musicians, Blue Gate has since expanded its reach to include entertainers from every genre– everything from classic rock, jazz, musicals, and even comedians. Shipshewana is 2-3 hours from major cities like Chicago, Indianapolis, and Detroit, but Blue Gate uses this to its advantage. While traditionally a local theater might have a 50-mile market, Shipshewana’s status as a tourist destination attracts people from over a 500-mile radius. When planning a national tour, Shipshewana has become key to the touring infrastructure. Due to their location, they often become a must-stop between the major cities of the Midwest. 

“A lot of people come early because they want to watch the buggies, go to Amish sales, and explore the area.” Blue Gate leans on the community to accommodate the vast number of guests they get each year. “The community is a key part of what makes this theater work,” Riegsecker says. With the increase of artists and guests, local hotels are able to profit, as well as local restaurants, artisans, and farmers. 

The local infrastructure in Shipshewana has allowed artists of higher caliber to call it home for a day. There is one thing Shipshewana has that no other major-touring city can claim– its distinctive sense of place. “The artist area in the back of our theater looks over a cornfield, and I can probably say that’s the only cornfield they’re going to visit on that tour. This isn’t a metropolitan city, and this is a nice little break along the way.” The rural area of Shipshewana does not keep Blue Gate from being a state-of-the-art theater. With a 20-by-60-foot video wall, 22 cameras, and top-tier sound and lighting, Blue Gate is a powerhouse. “Our entire tech crew has been with us for years, and that has helped us tremendously in creating a good experience for the artists. If you take care of the artists you have today, you're going to get those same folks back. We've just tried to take care of today, one day at a time, and that's really how we've grown,” Riegsecker explains.

The dedication to the artists extends to the other side of the stage as well. For those in the audience, Blue Gate aims to ensure that guests feel welcomed and have the best experience they can. The top-tier tech housed in Blue Gate doesn’t just benefit the artists but the guests as well. “We really focus on the audience being able to see and hear so clearly,” Riegsecker explains. “We want them to leave thinking, ‘That was a great day.’”

The Blue Gate Theater demonstrates that a nationally acclaimed music destination doesn’t have to be in a major metropolitan area. Production quality, artist relationships, hospitality, tourism infrastructure, and a distinctive sense of place can create economic prosperity even in a small community.