The Pioneer Amphitheatre is an amphitheatre located at the north-eastern corner of the Hayward Hills Campus of California State University, East Bay in Hayward, California. The venue is managed by the Sequoia Management Group. In addition to outdoor concerts and university functions the Pioneer Amphitheatre is also plays host to numerous graduation ceremonies of local high schools and is an assembly area for the university in the event of a disaster or emergency.
Prior to 2004, the Pioneer Amphitheatre was used primarily as a venue for outdoor concerts held by the music ensembles of the university, and was the home to Al Fresco, a welcome back festival held every October. In addition to music department events, the amphitheatre was also home an intermittent concert series held by the Associated Students board of the school.
In 2004, the management of the venue was handed over to the Sequoia Management Group in hopes of booking bigger acts to create a revenue stream for the university. Since 2004 the Amphitheatre has been the home of the KBLX Stone Soul Picnic, a day-long festival of Urban Adult Contemporary, soul and R&B music. The first picnic at the amphitheatre (which was the seventh annual picnic including other venues), in May 2004, featured the Isley Brothers, Teena Marie, Cameo and Rick James. [1] [2] [3] Performers at subsequent picnics include Isaac Hayes. [4]
James Ambrose Johnson Jr., better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in his teenage years. He was in various bands before entering the U.S. Navy Reserve to avoid being drafted into the army. In 1964, James moved to Toronto, Canada, where he formed the rock band the Mynah Birds, who eventually signed a recording deal with Motown Records in 1966. James's career with the group halted after military authorities discovered his whereabouts and eventually convicted him of desertion related charges. He served several months in jail. After being released, James moved to California, where he started a variety of rock and funk groups in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
California State University, East Bay is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 post-baccalaureate areas of study. Founded in 1957, California State University, East Bay has a student body of almost 14,000. As of Fall 2021, it had 863 faculty, of whom 358 (41%) were on the tenure track. The university's largest and oldest college campus is located in Hayward, with additional centers in the nearby cities of Oakland and Concord.
Pori Jazz is a large international jazz festival, held annually during the month of July in the coastal city of Pori, Finland. It is one of the oldest and best known jazz festivals in Europe, having been arranged every year since 1966.
Mary Christine Brockert, known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady T, given to her by her collaborator and friend, Rick James.
Universal Amphitheatre was an indoor amphitheatre located in Los Angeles, California within Universal City. It was built as an outdoor venue, opening in the summer of 1972 with a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. It was remodeled and converted into an indoor theatre in 1982 to improve acoustics. The amphitheater closed on September 6, 2013 and was demolished for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Ravinia Festival is an outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September. The first orchestra to perform at Ravinia Festival was the New York Philharmonic under Walter Damrosch on June 17, 1905, with the Chicago Tribune praising its "musical entertainment so satisfying in quality and so delightful in environment." It has been the summer home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) since 1936. Located in the Ravinia neighborhood, the venue operates on the grounds of the 36-acre (15 ha) Ravinia Park, with a variety of outdoor and indoor performing arts facilities, including the architectural prairie style Martin Theater. The Ravinia Festival attracts about 600,000 listeners to some 120 to 150 events that span all genres from classical music to jazz to music theater over each three-month summer season.
Shoreline Amphitheatre is an outdoor amphitheater located in Mountain View, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The venue has a capacity of 22,500, with 6,500 reserved seats and 16,000 general admission on the lawn. When the parking lot is utilized for festival stages, the total capacity of the venue can reach 30,000. The venue has hosted popular music festivals such as Lollapalooza and Ozzfest, and also developer conferences such as the Google I/O.
KBLX-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Berkeley, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International. The radio studios and offices are along Junipero Serra Boulevard in Daly City. The transmitter is atop the San Bruno Mountains.
The Gorge Amphitheatre, originally known as Champs de Brionne Music Theatre, is an outdoor concert venue in Grant County, Washington, United States. It is situated near Columbia River in Central Washington, nine miles (14 km) west of George. The venue is managed by Live Nation.
Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre is an outdoor music venue located in Tinley Park, Illinois, that opened in 1990 and was built by Gierczyk Development. It is one of the largest music venues in the Chicago area, with a capacity of up to 28,000 spectators: 11,000 reserved seats and 17,000 lawn seats.
The Trib Total Media Amphitheatre was an outdoor music pavilion at Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The venue had a seating capacity of 5,000 people.
PNC Music Pavilion is an outdoor amphitheater in Charlotte, North Carolina, that specializes in hosting large concerts. The venue largely replaced the Paladium at Carowinds as the premier outdoor venue in the Metrolina region. It was renamed under a new naming-rights deal with PNC Bank. It has a capacity of 19,500.
Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre was an amphitheater operating from 1981-2016 in Irvine, California. The venue was built in 1980 funded by four local private investors under the Irvine Meadows Partnership. Providing 10,418 reserved seats, and 5,667 on the lawn seating, the outdoor arena was the largest amphitheater in Orange County until its final closure. The architecture was designed by Gin Wong Associates based in Los Angeles. The unique design of this venue was building it on a hillside creating a natural steep slope toward the stage.
The Ruoff Music Center is an outdoor amphitheatre located in Noblesville, Indiana. It is the largest outdoor music venue in the Indianapolis metropolitan area of central Indiana, with 6,147 seats under a pavilion and 18,000 general admission lawn seats. It is used mainly for large concerts, but is also frequently a host for high school graduations and political rallies.
The Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre is an outdoor concert venue in Maryland Heights, Missouri, near St. Louis.
Stage AE is a multi-purpose entertainment complex located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It contains an indoor concert hall and an outdoor amphitheatre. It is the second indoor/outdoor concert venue in America. Modeled after its predecessor, Express Live! in Columbus, the venue features state-of-the-art lighting, acoustical systems and an innovative reversible stage. Structurally, it is divided into three independent concert spaces: a music hall, club and outdoor amphitheater.
The Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre, also known as the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre or simply the Mountain Theatre, is a 4,000-seat open-air venue in Mount Tamalpais State Park, in Marin County, California, United States.
The Meadow Brook Amphitheatre is an outdoor pavilion music venue, located at 3554 Walton Boulevard in Rochester Hills, Michigan on the campus of Oakland University.
The Jerry Garcia Amphitheater is an outdoor concert venue located in McLaren Park in San Francisco, California, opened in 1971. Its maximum capacity is 1,200 people. It is named after Jerry Garcia of the rock band Grateful Dead, and is the site of the annual Jerry Day event, at which various musical groups perform.
