Concord Pavilion (formerly known as Sleep Train Pavilion and Chronicle Pavilion) is an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

located in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Ba ...

. It is owned by the City of Concord and operated by

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertain ...

. The Pavilion has a capacity of 12,500 people and opened in 1975 as the Concord Pavilion. It is used for concerts, local community events (including an annual

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

festival) and local

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

s. The Pavilion was designed by architect

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considere ...

and landscape architect Peter Walker. Gehry also designed its mid-1990s renovations, which included more parking and seats. The venue has hosted numerous professional musical acts over the years of its operation and continues to do so to this day.

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

played his last US concert at the Pavilion on August 16, 1977. Lawrence Welk's appearance at the Concord Pavilion on June 13, 1982, was billed as his farewell performance. Legendary concert promoter Bill Graham was killed in a 1991 helicopter crash after leaving a concert at the Pavilion by

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempo ...

, having just discussed with the band about organizing a benefit for the victims of that year's fire in the Oakland Hills; Graham's production company, Bill Graham Presents (BGP), had been the booking agent for the Concord Pavilion since at least 1985. In a deal with the city of Concord, Bill Graham Presents took over operations of the facility in February 2000. Shortly thereafter, its name was changed to the Chronicle Pavilion at Concord, following the purchase of the naming rights by the business agent of the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...

, the San Francisco Newspaper Agency. BGP was purchased in 2000, along with its parent, SFX Promotions, by

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

; in 2005, Clear Channel would spin off its concert operations into

, which operates the Pavilion to this day. The Pavilion changed its name in April 2006, when it became the

Sleep Train Mattress Firm Inc. is an American mattress store chain founded on July 4, 1986. The headquarters of the company is located in Houston, Texas. Business Before its bankruptcy in 2018, the company operated over 3,600 locations in 48 U.S. states ...

Pavilion after the California-based mattress retailer (now a Houston, Texas-based company) purchased the naming rights; by 2017 the retailer folded into

Mattress Firm Mattress Firm Inc. is an American mattress store chain founded on July 4, 1986. The headquarters of the company is located in Houston, Texas. Business Before its bankruptcy in 2018, the company operated over 3,600 locations in 48 U.S. states. M ...

. In December 2013, as part of a 10-year contract renewal between Venue Nation (previously known as Live Nation) and the City of Concord, the Pavilion's name was changed again to the Concord Pavilion. The First Battle of the Bands for high school, middle school, and elementary school students took place in 2006 and the winner was a high school band, Poster Boy.

References

{{Coord, 37, 57, 35, N, 121, 56, 46, W, type:landmark_region:US, display=title Amphitheaters in California Buildings and structures in Concord, California Music venues in the San Francisco Bay Area Frank Gehry buildings Tourist attractions in Contra Costa County, California 1975 establishments in California Music venues completed in 1975

See also

References