First Niagara Pavilion

First Niagara Pavilion
Former names Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheater (1990-1999)
Post-Gazette Pavilion (2000-2009)
Location 665 Route 18
Burgettstown, PA 15021
Coordinates 40°25′12″N 80°26′03″W / 40.420067°N 80.434044°W / 40.420067; -80.434044Coordinates: 40°25′12″N 80°26′03″W / 40.420067°N 80.434044°W / 40.420067; -80.434044
Owner Live Nation
Type Outdoor amphitheatre
Seating type reserved, lawn
Capacity approx. 23,000
Construction
Broke ground 1989
Opened June 17, 1990

First Niagara Pavilion (originally Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheater and formerly Post-Gazette Pavilion) is an outdoor amphitheater in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, United States, 25 miles west of Pittsburgh. The venue holds approximately 23,000 fans - 7,100 in a reserved seating open-air pavilion and an additional 16,000 on a general admission lawn. It is owned and operated by Live Nation.

The venue opened as Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheatre and hosted its first national act, Billy Joel, on June 17, 1990.[1] A second show was added on June 18, 1990 due to the record-breaking response.[2] Since, it has hosted many other "big-name" concerts.

Janet Jackson was scheduled to perform during her Rhythm Nation World Tour on September 3, 1990, but the show was cancelled.

Grateful Dead played this venue only twice (June 22 and 23, 1992).[3] The shows were very well attended, possibly sold out. These were excellent performances. Despite being only 25 miles from Pittsburgh, this venue did feel like it was in the middle of nowhere. In 1992 there was only one 2-lane highway leading to it. Many concert-goers were stuck in traffic long enough to miss a significant portion of the music. There was (still is?) a back road that bypasses all that traffic.

INXS played their final concert with former lead vocalist Michael Hutchence on September 27, 1997, less than two months before his death.

Phish performed and recorded their show, on July 29, 2003, which was later released as a live album, entitled Live Phish 07.29.03. They subsequently performed a sold-out show on June 18, 2009 and again on June 23, 2012.

Fleetwood Mac were scheduled to perform during their Say You Will Tour on June 10, 2004, but the show was cancelled.[4]

Kings of Leon were scheduled to perform during their Come Around Sundown World Tour on September 7, 2010, with The Whigs and The Black Keys as their opening acts, but the show was cancelled, due to scheduling conflicts.[5]

Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band have performed at First Niagara Pavilion nearly every year since it opened in 1990.[6] The only exception is when they played PNC Park in 2005.

The amphitheater has also played host to music festivals, including All That! Music and More Festival, Crüe Fest, Crüe Fest 2, Family Values Tour, Farm Aid, H.O.R.D.E. Festival, Honda Civic Tour, Identity Festival, Lilith Fair, Lollapalooza, Mayhem Festival, Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution, Uproar Festival and Vans Warped Tour.

The Post-Gazette announced, in February 2010, that it had not renewed its contract for naming rights to the facility,[7] leading to First Niagara Bank to snatch up the naming rights. It's expected to be renamed again in 2016 once KeyBank closes on its acquisition of First Niagara.

The facility has lost some business since the opening of Stage AE, which is located within the city of Pittsburgh on the North Shore on a parcel that once had a portion of Three Rivers Stadium.

In popular culture

The Pavilion was featured on a 2002 episode of The Daily Show.[8]

In December 2012, Phish released a concert video, Star Lake 98, of their 1998 show at the Pavilion during their summer tour.[9]

Political visits

President George W. Bush visited the pavilion on November 1, 2004 along with Curt Schilling & Lynn Swann.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09148/973089-388.stm
  2. ↑ http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-8310976.html
  3. ↑ "The SetList Program - Grateful Dead Setlists, Listener Experiences, and Statistics". www.setlists.net. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  4. ↑ http://www.fleetwoodmac-uk.com/concerts/sayyouwilltour.html
  5. ↑ http://www.soundspike.com/news/tour/570-kings_of_leon_tour_kings_of_leon_cancel.html
  6. ↑ http://www.buffettnews.com/resources/setlists/?city=Burgettstown
  7. ↑ http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10039/1034379-388.stm
  8. ↑ http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-september-16-2002/miner-difficulties
  9. ↑ http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/phish-star-lake-98-2-dvd-set-due-in-december/
  10. ↑ http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/bush/bushcal1004a.html
  11. ↑ http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=72818&st=post-gazette&st1=

External links

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