2023 Year in review! Concord Pavilion 2023 highlights.
Concord Pavilion has been a popular concert and festival destination for over 40 years. This venue has long been a part of the San Francisco Bay Area history – hosting massive festivals, exhilarating concerts, high school graduations, conferences, and more. Safe to say, Concord Pavilion holds a very special place in the hearts of locals and tourists alike. Since opening in 1975, the venue has been home to the city’s most exciting spectacles, and many big-name artists and bands have conquered the venue with their incredible hits! Its ample space of 5,000 square feet provides enough room to house 12,500 attendees! Moreover, the venue provides guests with excellent facilities, state-of-the-art lights and sound, and highly trained staff. For the year 2023 alone the venue has hosted a plethora of amazing events ranging from high-caliber heavy metal artists, Grammy Award-winning singers, and multi-award-winning bands! Here, we review the best and most exciting happenings at the beloved Concord Pavilion!
Plenty of venues across North America opened the concert season with a massive show. Over in San Franciso, Bay Area, Concord Pavilion definitely did its assignment! Spring season started with a bang as heavy metal giants Mastodon and Gojira dropped by to deliver the Mega Monsters Tour on Thursday, 20th April. This co-headlining show was a history in the making as it was the first time the Atlanta-based sludge metal icons joined forces with the French metal powerhouse. Both bands were promoting their latest albums.
In May, the venue hosted an exciting rock show featuring Matchbox Twenty. The band finally returned to the road and brought along special guest Matt Nathanson. Matchbox Twenty entertained thousands of concert attendees with “Push,” “Bent,” and “Unwell.” The show was an extraordinary occasion for both the band and the fans. Initially scheduled for 2020, the concert was pushed to 2023. But the delay came with a surprise as Matchbox Twenty came out with a new album, Where the Light Goes. Aside from the band’s well-known hits, fans were also treated to brand-new staples.
For soul music lovers, the month of May was also a great time to be in Concord. The Stone Soul Concert was a limited soul-driven spectacle that featured Kem, Fantasia, Robin Thicke, and Joe. Sensational songs poured all night as the performers belted out their career-spanning hits.
Summer Concert Season
After a great spring season, summer opened with the coveted co-headlining show featuring Garbage and Noel Gallagher on Tuesday, 6th June. The tour was a retrospective trip as both bands brought fans back to the ‘90s. These alternative rock giants once dominated the airwaves and conquered MTV like it was theirs. The power they hold over Gen X and other ‘90s rock fanatics was evident that night as thousands upon thousands flocked to Concord to see the heavy hitters deliver their alt-rock staples.
Speaking of ‘90s powerhouse, TLC and Shaggy arrived at the Concord Pavilion the next month to deliver the Hot Summer Nights Tour! Bringing along fellow icons En Vogue and Sean Kingston, it was a great night of R&B, hip-hop, and reggae. Reportedly, the night was a bittersweet moment as TLC paid tribute to their late member, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. But still, the night was filled with outstanding multi-platinum hits, like “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls,” “Unpretty,” and “Scrubs.” Meanwhile, Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me” was the biggest hit of the night as the reggae/hip-hop powerhouse delivered the massive hit to thousands of fans.
When we say that the Concord Pavilion hosts a myriad of genres, we definitely mean it. The venue is a melting pot for a variety of sounds and influences. Two unique metal bands from Sweden have found their way to Concord on Wednesday, August 2nd. Grammy Award-winning metal band Ghost and melodic death metal icons Amon Amarth conquered the venue with their high-powered hits. Ghost, whose massive influence has captivated the world, brought in thousands of fans clad in black costumes and corpse paint. Meanwhile, Amon Amarth performs incredible Viking-inspired heavy metal staples that notoriously get fans on the floor and enact rowing on boats like they’re on a quest to raid the western lands.
That same month, old-school music reigned supreme as singer-songwriter Beck arrived in Concord to perform his brand of funk, electronica, and lo-fi fusion. The highly-rated artist rose to prominence during the early ‘90s and 2000s, but he has remained a force in music until this day. That night on Saturday, 5th August, fans were treated to 20 songs, including the quintessential hits, “Where It’s At,” “Black Tambourine,” and “Devils Haircut.”
More old-school legends arrived at the Concord Pavilion when Snoop Dogg and Wiza Khalifa came into town. The hip-hop superstars were for the High School Reunion Tour. About ten years ago, these rap legends starred in the comedy film Mac and Devin Go to High School, and their supporting hit single, “Young, Wild, and Free,” blew up on the charts. These 2023 hip-hop fans were treated to an iconic tandem.
Lastly, before summer came to a close, the mega country superstar Jelly Roll delivered his dark-driven staples to thousands of music fans. For his show on Thursday, 14th September, Jelly Roll brought along a sensation line-up of support acts, including Three 6 Mafia, Struggle Jennings, and Josh Adam Meyers.
By October, Concord Pavilion has welcomed the fall season with a thrilling performance from Sting. His concert on Monday, 2nd October, was definitely the show of a lifetime. The rock legend opened his concert with The Police’s massive hit, “Message in a Bottle.” That night, Sting entertained a full house with over 20 hits, including “Every Breath You Take,” “Roxanne,” “Man About You,” and “Fields of Gold.”
The year 2023 was indeed an exciting concert season for music fans in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Concord Pavilion hosted a wide range of performers catering to all types of listeners. Locals and tourists alike were all smiles upon arriving and leaving the venue. During his visits to the Concord Pavilion, John F. from Vallejo, California, commended the venue for having “great sound and lively audience.” He also added that the preferred parking package helped them leave and get onto Railroad Avenue with 10 minutes of walking to their car. All in all, John F. called it an “awesome night.”
Aside from sharing the trip to Concord Pavilion with friends, the venue has long been a family-friendly destination. All day concerts featuring jazz festivals and classical orchestras have been a great tradition in Concord. “My family and I recently attended an all-day concert at the Pavilion. Though the weather was a bit of an issue (some rain for a while), we enjoyed ourselves up on the lawn seating,” according to M.G. from California.
Moreover, a post online by a concertgoer raved about Ghost’s concert at the venue. “The Concord Pavilion is a lovely outdoor venue. The staff was super nice and friendly. I’m from San Francisco, and I expected the brusque/rude/surly SF treatment but nope! Smiles and good vibes even at the security checkpoint. The weather was gorgeous. The high 60s with a nice breeze.”
Home to many of San Francisco Bay Area’s most exciting concerts, the Concord Pavilion has definitely become a crucial part of the city’s entertainment scene. The venue boasts a vast open lawn with indoor reserved seating. Intimate VIP areas are also available for concertgoers looking to have some privacy. Meanwhile, the venue’s staff is highly trained in hospitality and is equipped to provide outstanding service. Last but not least, the craft beer bars, mixology, and custom menus offer a wide array of refreshments and scrumptious meals for fans who need some pick-me-ups during an exhilarating concert!
If you want to experience Concord Pavilion in 2024, you can now take your pick from the vast list of confirmed shows! See your favorite artists and bands at the Concord Pavilion now by clicking on the Get Tickets link!
2023 Fan Photos
