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 Mount Tamalpais State Park is a California state park, located in Marin County, California. The primary feature of the park is the Mount Tamalpais. The park contains mostly redwood and oak forests. The mountain itself covers around . There are ...

, in

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

, United States.

History

A large crowd at Cushing Memorial Amphitheater

Beginning in 1913

Mount Tamalpais Mount Tamalpais (; ; Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Támal Pájiṣ''), known locally as Mount Tam, is a mountain, peak in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tama ...

had hosted theatrical performances known as Mountain Plays in a natural

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 ...

setting 2,000 feet above sea level. John C. Catlin became the first president of the

Mountain Play Association The Mountain Play Association (MPA, or Mountain Play) is a 501(c)3 organization responsible for the production of theatrical events at the Sidney B. Cushing Amphitheater (formerly the Mount Tamalpais Mountain Theater) within Mount Tamalpais Stat ...

and financed its first play in the Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre in 1913. In the first two decades the performances were accessed by hiking or riding the winding

Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway The Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway was a scenic tourist railway operating between Mill Valley and the east peak of Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, California, covering a distance of , with a spur line to the Muir Woods. The railroad wa ...

. The railway was led by businessman Sidney B. Cushing and, in 1933, the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

began construction of a 4,000-seat stone amphitheater that was named the Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre in his honor. The amphitheatre was constructed by the corps using massive serpentine rocks. In 1967 the venue hosted the two-day

Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival The KFRC (defunct), KFRC Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival was an event held June 10 and 11, 1967, at the 4,000-seat Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre, Sidney B. Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre high on the south face of Mount Tamalpais in ...

, widely considered the first outdoor rock festival ever held during the

Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a major social phenomenon that occurred in San Francisco during the summer of 1967. As many as 100,000 people, mostly young people, hippies, beatniks, and 1960s counterculture figures, converged in San Francisco's Haig ...

. It hosts theatrical productions each year in the spring. In response to the

California State Parks California State Parks is the state park system for the U.S. state of California. The system is administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, a department under the California Natural Resources Agency. The California State ...

budget crisis, on June 21, 2013, the Tamalpais Conservation Club hosted a benefit concert, Mount Tam Jam, produced by Michael Nash. This eight-hour festival resulted in a sell-out crowd under perfect weather conditions. The musical lineup included

CAKE Cake is a flour confection usually made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elabor ...

Galactic Galactic is an American funk band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...

, Mike Farris and the Roseland Rhythm Review, and Danny Click and the Hell Yeahs.

Sound Summit

In 2014, Michael Nash formed Roots & Branches Conservancy and since 2015 has produced Sound Summit at the Amphitheatre, raising $200,000 for

. The Sound Summit 2015 lineup included

Tedeschi Trucks Band The Tedeschi Trucks Band () is an American blues and blues rock group based in Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 2010, the band is led by married couple Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Their debut album, '' Revelator'' (2011), won the 2012 Gr ...

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, R&B, soul and funk. Active as a session mus ...

& The Nite Trippers,

The Mother Hips The Mother Hips is an American rock band based in the San Francisco Bay Area. History Formation and ''Back to the Grotto'' Tim Bluhm (vocals/guitar), Greg Loiacono (guitar/vocals), Isaac Parsons (bass) and Mike Wofchuck (drums) met in 1 ...

, Portland Cello Project, The Mother Truckers, and Caroline Sky. Sound Summit 2016 featured Wilco,

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") is a Mexican American rock group, rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional ...

, Bill Frisell & Guitar In The Space Age, The Stone Foxes, and Matt Jaffe. Sound Summit 2017 celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Magic Mountain Festival with performances by Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Stone Foxes, Vetiver, and the Printz Dance Project. The Sound Summit 2018 featured jazz icon

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

Grace Potter Grace Evelyn Potter (born June 20, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released five solo albums: ''Red Shoe Rebel'' (2002), ''Original Soul'' (2004), ''Midnight'' (2015), ''Daylight'' (2019), and '' Mother Road'' (2023) ...

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...

, Nikki Lane, Con Brio, and Amelia Einhorn. The event took a rest in 2019, and it was postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following year, Sound Summit 2021 returned to a joyful and jubilant crowd with performances by

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real, sometimes referred to as POTR, is an American country rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2008 by Lukas Nelson, son of country singer Willie Nelson. The band consists of Lukas Nelson (lead vocals, songwrit ...

Father John Misty Joshua Michael Tillman (born May 3, 1981), better known by his stage name Father John Misty, is an American musician. He is known for his satirical lyrics and eccentric performance style. Tillman began his career in Seattle in the early 2000s. O ...

Allah-Las Allah-Las are an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2008. The band consists of Miles Michaud (vocals, guitar), Matthew Correia (percussion, vocals), Spencer Dunham (bass, vocals), and Pedrum Siadatian (lead gu ...

Cha Wa Cha Wa is a Grammy-nominated Mardi Gras Indian funk band based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. The name Cha Wa is a slang phrase used by Mardi Gras Indian tribes, meaning "we're comin' for ya" or "here we come." Frontman Honey Bannister is known ...

, Teal Collins, and Ray & Paul Holmberg.

References

External links

Official "Mountain Play" website
– including schedules and ticket sales {{Authority control Amphitheaters in California Mount Tamalpais Music venues in the San Francisco Bay Area Theatres in the San Francisco Bay Area Civilian Conservation Corps in California Tourist attractions in Marin County, California