Riverbend Music Center

Located outside of downtown Cincinnati, along the banks of the Ohio River, sits the Riverbend Music Center, consisting of a 20,000+ capacity outdoor amphitheater, along with the smaller PNC Pavilion, which can handle just over 4,000 people.

Originally built as an outdoor venue for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to play during the summer months, the amphitheater has become one of the area’s primary venues for large concerts (The Dave Matthews Band recorded a live album Live Trax Vol. 16 here), of just about every genre. Designed Michael Graves, a heavyweight of American architecture, the land was donated by Coney Island, a local amusement park, and was previously occupied by two of their popular roller coasters.

(On an interesting side note, legendarily laid back beach bum Jimmy Buffett has played Riverbend every single year since 1988, and as of 2008, that has amounted to 41 consecutive sold out shows.)

Your experience at Riverbend is likely to depend primarily on two things: parking and seating. As to the first, the consensus seems to be that traffic management could use some work, and should one want to get out of Dodge as soon as the show is over, they ought to park in the back of the lot. As to the second, while apparently there are certainly some excellent seats in the house, there are a number of columns holding up the pavilion that can obstruct the view. Be sure to ask about it when you’re getting tickets, if you’re actually lucky enough to do so when you buy your seats.

The lawn area has been resurfaced from its original grass, which often turned to mud, to Astroturf.  While this might irritate purists, people who have a nostalgia for being knee-deep in muck, and gophers, the feedback on the new surfacing has been positive so far.

Dress Code: Casual

Website: http://www.riverbend.org/