Toyota Pavilion at Concord (formerly known as Concord Pavilion) is an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) 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 ('), meani ...

located in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...

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

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...

. 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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

festival) and local

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

s. The Pavilion was designed by architect

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...

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, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

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 (formerly known as Huey Lewis & The American Express) 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 singl ...

, 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 M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

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

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or 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 founded by ...

; 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 Pavilion after the California-based mattress retailer (now a

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

-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. History Founding Mattress Firm was founded by Steve Fendrich, Harry Roberts, and Paul Stork. The thr ...

. 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. On August 3, 2023, the Pavilion was renamed Toyota Pavilion at Concord after the local Northern California Toyota Dealers Association, which consists of 58 local Toyota dealers operating in the northern half of the state, purchased the naming rights. 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, 34.2, N, 121, 56, 17.8, 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 Event venues established in 1975

See also

References