Orlando Amphitheater

How it started

The amphitheater opened on April 23, 2016, with WJRR's Earthday Birthday rock festival as its first event. The Central Florida Fair, which runs the fairgrounds, built it with private money for about $1.15 million and set a 60 foot wide stage on the banks of Lawne Lake. It holds about 10,000.

Since then the stage has hosted rock and metal festivals, dance music weekends and touring bills that want an outdoor field rather than an arena.

The lawn

There are no fixed seats. Shows are general admission on a sloped lawn, and when it opened the fair allowed chairs and blankets. Rules can change with the promoter, so check your ticket before you haul a chair across the parking lot. If you want to be close to the stage, plan to stand.

Heat and storms

From June through September, an outdoor show here comes with heat and a real chance of a late afternoon storm. Most of them pass before the headliner, but lightning close by can put the whole show on pause. A poncho beats an umbrella in a crowd, and sunscreen matters even at an evening show if doors open in daylight. Drink water before you are thirsty.

Parking on Colonial

The fairgrounds sit at 4603 West Colonial Drive, west of downtown Orlando, and parking is on site. Fees and lot openings vary by event, so read your event's details before you go. LYNX buses run along Colonial, but most people drive.

West Colonial is slow at rush hour, so leave early for a weeknight show. Getting thousands of cars out through the fairgrounds gates takes a while, and nobody beats the line by honking.

Heavier festival bills here are on the hard rock and metal calendar, and Tampa's bigger outdoor shed is the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre. Every area show is on the Orlando page.