List of entertainment events at Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, PA)

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From its opening in 1961 until its closing in 2010, Pittsburgh's Civic Arena (formerly located at 300 Auditorium Place and later 66 Mario Lemieux Place), has hosted many local, regional and international artists, spanning a wide range of musical genres. A list of notable concerts are given in the table below, with other non-concert entertainment events also included.

Contents

All events are arranged in a chronological order.

1960s

Entertainment events at the Civic Arena
DatesArtistTourSupporting actsAttendanceNotesReference
1961
September 17 Pittsburgh Symphony ------Grand opening event at the Civic Arena [1]
September 19 Ice Capades ------The Ice Capades were founded by former Pittsburgh Hornets' owner John H. Harris [2]
September 20Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 21Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 22Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 23Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 24Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 25Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 26Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 27Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 28Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 29Ice Capades-------- [2]
September 30Ice Capades-------- [2]
October 1Ice Capades-------- [2]
October 19 Judy Garland ----12,365First ever music concert with a headlining entertainer at the arena.
Garland performed thirteen songs of primarily cover songs that evening, closing with "Over The Rainbow".		 [3] [4]
October 17Studio Wrestling------This is the first of many professional wrestling events that took place at Civic Arena. [3]
October 20 Fats Domino -- Brenda Lee 9,385-- [3]
October 31 Johnny Mathis ----"about 5,000"-- [5]
December 7 Sammy Davis, Jr. -------- [3]
1962
March 12 Studio Wrestling ----8,086 Bruno Sammartino makes his Civic Arena debut, defeating Gene Stanlee via bearhug submission in 8:03. This show brought in $20,435 at the gate. [6]
March 12 Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies -------- [1]
May 11 Jackie Wilson Porky Chedwick's Groove Spectacular The Drifters, The Coasters, Bo Diddley
The Flamingos, The Marvellettes, Jerry Butler
Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, Bobby Vinton
Hank Ballard, Gene Pitney and "numerous local artists."		---- [3]
July 2 Carol Burnett -------- [1]
July 3 Carol Burnett -------- [1]
July 4 Carol Burnett ------The Civic Arena dome is opened for the first time at this show, with Carol Burnett announcing to the audience "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ALLOW ME TO PRESENT... THE SKY!" The wind became a factor for the rest of the performance. [2]
July 5 Carol Burnett -------- [1]
July 6 Carol Burnett -------- [1]
July 7 Carol Burnett -------- [1]
July 10 Jerry Lewis -------- [1]
July 11 Jerry Lewis -------- [1]
July 12 Jerry Lewis -------- [1]
July 13 Jerry Lewis -------- [1]
July 14 Jerry Lewis -------- [1]
July 15 Jerry Lewis -------- [1]
July 17 Civic Light Opera Flower Drum Song (Musical)------ [1]
August 26 Harry Belafonte -------- [1]
August 27 Nat King Cole -------- [1]
September 13 Ray Charles -- Gloria Lynne 8,107/8,109Concert grossed approximately $31,000. Hundreds of tickets for this show were stolen from nearby Lomakin Music Store a week earlier. [7]
1963
June 14 Dion World Artists Tour The Chiffons, The Shirelles, Freddie Cannon
The Impressions, Mary Jo Tropay, Little Peggy March,
Al Caiola Orchestra 		---- [8]
July 8 Robert Goulet -------- [1]
July 14 Dion KQV Shower Of Stars The Chiffons, The Shirelles, Freddie Cannon
The Impressions, Mary Jo Tropay, Little Peggy March,
Al Caiola Orchestra 		--This may be an erroneous date, as a similar tour with the same artists performed a month earlier. [1]
July 15 New York Philharmonic ------ Leonard Bernstein conducted the orchestra during this show [1]
October 3 Perry Como Kraft Music Hall June Allyson, George Burns, Cyd Charisse,
James Mitchell
Allan Sherman 		"around 6,000"Como became the first local entertainer to headline the Civic Arena. He filmed an episode of "Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall", a monthly television series on NBC, at this event. [3]
1964
June 5 The Dave Clark Five -- Lou Christie, Bobby Comstock and The Counts, The Secrets, The Fenways "4,759 youngsters"/"about 6,000"The show was stopped three times due to audience members jumping onto the stage before the police shut down the show. [3]
June 19 Pittsburgh Jazz Festival -- Dakota Staton, Art Blakey, The Theolonious Monk Quartet, The Mary Lou Williams Trio, Walt Harper's Quartet, Blakley Sexton, and Joe Williams ---- [1]
June 20Pittsburgh Jazz Festival-- Sarah Vaughan, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, The Harold Betters Quartet, The Jimmy Smith Trio, and the Bernice Johnson Dancers ---- [1]
July 6Nat King Cole-------- [1]
August 24 Arthur Godfrey The Arthur Godfrey Revue------ [1]
September 14 The Beatles -- Jackie DeShannon, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, The Exciters, The Bill Black Combo, The Searchers 12,603DJ Chuck Brinkman recalls The Searches performing instead of The Exciters. The Beatles were originally guaranteed $25,000 for the show and a percentage of the gate. The gate ended up being $75,000 and The Beatles took home $37,000. [3] [9]
November 27 Roger Miller Grand Ole Opry Tour Ferlin Husky, Ernest Tubb, Skeeter Davis, Bill Anderson, David Houston, Connie Smith, Jack Greene, Jimmy Gateley, Simon Crum ---- [3]
December 8 Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Mendelssohn Choir Handel's Messiah ------ [1]
December 28 Roy Orbison KQV's Christmas Shower of Stars Jackie Wilson, The Shangri-Las --This show set an attendance record at the Civic Arena. [1] [10]
1965
June 2 Henry Mancini -- Earl Wild ---- [1]
June 18 Pittsburgh Jazz Festival -- Count Basie, Miles Davis, The Stan Getz Quartet, Theolonious Monk---- [1]
June 19Pittsburgh Jazz Festival-- John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, Earl Hines, Carmen McRae, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and Mary Lou Williams ---- [1]
September 1 The Beach Boys -- Peter and Gordon 8,963Floor tables were available for the show for $600. The roof opened at 9:12 PM for this show. [3] [11]
November 24 The Rolling Stones Out Of Our Heads The Byrds, Bo Diddley, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Vibrations, We Five 9,131This was the Rolling Stones' second stop in Pittsburgh, but the first time playing the Civic Arena stage. They previously played at Danceland in the former West View Park amusement park on June 17, 1964. Simon And Garfunkel were also believed to be at this show but were unadvertised. [3] [12] [10]
1966
February 10Johnny Mathis-- The Young Generation --Mathis' second show at the Civic Arena was backed by a twenty-six orchestra [3]
April 11 James Brown -- Elsie Mae, The Famous Flames, Bobby Byrd, Vicki Anderson, James Crawford, The Jewels, Swanee Quintette --This is the first of eleven shows that Brown would play at the Civic Arena [3] [2]
May 31Duke Ellington--Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra---- [3]
June 25The Rolling Stones-- Syndicate of Sound, The Standells, The McCoys, The Deejays --A teen fashion show sponsored by Joseph Horne took place before the Rolling Stones' performance. [3]
September 16James Brown--The Jewels, Swanee Quintette, The Famous Flames, Bobby Byrd, Vicki Anderson, James Crawford---- [3]
October 14 Harry Belafonte -- Nipsey Russell, Nana Mouskouri ~11,000-- [3]
October 16 Lou Rawls -------- [3]
November 23Sonny & CherKQV Thanksgiving Shower of Stars Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs, Brian Hyland And The Jokers, The Yardbirds ---- [13]

1970s

Entertainment events at the Civic Arena
DatesArtistTourSupporting actsAttendanceNotesReference
1970
May 2, 1970 [14] The Doors Roadhouse Blues Tour Blues Image
1979
May 29, 1979 [15] Rod Stewart Blondes 'Ave More Fun Tour

1980s

Entertainment events at the Civic Arena
DatesArtistTourSupporting actsAttendanceNotesReference
1982
August 21 J. Geils Band Freeze Frame Tour The Motels
1984
April 9 Judas Priest Metal Conqueror Tour Great White
May 28 Madonna The Virgin Tour Beastie Boys [16]
September 21 Bruce Springsteen Born in the U.S.A. Tour 34,517 / 34,517
September 22
1988
September 26, 1988 Michael Jackson Bad Tour 48,694 / 48,694
September 27, 1988
September 28, 1988
1989
September 19 Elton John Sleeping with the Past Tour

1990s

Entertainment events at the Civic Arena
DatesArtistTourSupporting actsAttendanceNotesReference
1990
January 25 Aerosmith Pump Tour 16,635 / 16,635
1993
February 26 Bon Jovi Keep the Faith Tour
1998
September 29 Korn Family Values Tour 1998 Rammstein, Ice Cube, Limp Bizkit, Orgy
1999
July 19 Kid Rock Devil Without a Cause Tour Limp Bizkit, Staind
September 21 Limp Bizkit Family Values Tour 1999 Filter, Staind, Mobb Deep

2000s

Entertainment events at the Civic Arena
DatesArtistTourSupporting actsAttendanceNotesReference
2000
April 25 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour
April 26
July 26 Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Eminem Up in Smoke Tour
2004
September 22 Metallica Madly in Anger with the World Tour Godsmack
2005
April 23 Green Day American Idiot World Tour My Chemical Romance [17]
October 22 U2 Vertigo Tour Damian Marley [16]
2008
March 17 Celtic Woman A New Journey Tour
2009
July 22 Green Day 21st Century Breakdown World Tour The Bravery [16]
October 1 Taylor Swift Fearless Tour Gloriana, Kellie Pickler
December 13 Kiss Alive 35 World Tour Buckcherry

2010s

Entertainment events at the Civic Arena
DatesArtistTourSupporting actsAttendanceNotesReference
2010

Notes

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 "Civic Arena Concert Schedule". Pittsburgh Music History. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Eberson, Sharon (May 30, 2010). "Arena timeline -- Highlights of 50 years of entertainment". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Remembering The Civic Arena". WYEP 91.3. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
    4. ↑ Setlist: Judy Garland, October 18, 1961
    5. ↑ Sebak, Rick (October 17, 2019). "Johnny Mathis Is Coming for a Sleepover". Pittsburgh Magazine. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
    6. ↑ "1962 Match History" . Retrieved May 20, 2020.
    7. ↑ "Ray Charles Video Museum" . Retrieved May 20, 2020.
    8. ↑ "Music As Written (Pittsburgh)". Billboard. May 25, 1963. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
    9. ↑ "The Beatles in Pittsburgh; September 14, 1964 at the Civic Arena" . Retrieved May 21, 2020.
    10. 1 2 Roteman, Jeff. "Jeff Roteman's KQV Page - KQV Concerts and Show" . Retrieved May 21, 2020.
    11. ↑ "Beach Boys at the Civic Arena". January 8, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
    12. ↑ Tady, Scott (April 10, 2015). "9 past Rolling Stones visits to Pittsburgh". Herald Standard. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
    13. ↑ Mervis, Scott (April 16, 2019). "How Cher became a beloved part of the 'Gay Trifecta'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved November 10, 2013.
    14. ↑ "The DOORS – " Live Pittsburgh Civic Arena 1970 "".
    15. ↑ "Remembering the Civic Arena".
    16. 1 2 3 "Remembering the Civic Arena". WYEP-FM. October 6, 2020.
    17. ↑ "Remembering the Civic Arena". WYEP-FM. October 6, 2020.
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