6 Amazing Outdoor Concert Venues

Take in live music this summer at America’s most iconic stages, where Mother Nature steals the show

a band performing in front of a large audience at Red Rocks Amphitheatre

At these outdoor concert venues, the view is as commanding as the music. Here, a view of the audience at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, which was carved between twin sandstone monoliths.

Courtesy Visit Denver

T.J. Olwig,

AARP

Published June 22, 2026

Key takeaways

These venues pair live music with distinct settings, from red rocks to rivers to deserts.
Venues range from smaller, more intimate 4,250-seat spaces to 27,000-seat destinations.
Experiences extend beyond music to activities like camping, picnicking and scenic exploration.

Summer nights and live music have long gone hand in hand, but some outdoor venues elevate the experience far beyond the concert itself. Across the country, amphitheaters are shaped by red rock formations, deserts, beaches and mountain wilderness, immersing some of the world’s greatest musicians and fans in sunshine, fresh air, sweeping views and warm, alfresco evenings.

According to the latest AARP Travel Trends survey, 63 percent of adults 50-plus rank entertainment experiences such as concerts among their top discretionary spending priorities. With that kind of interest, here are some destination-worthy venues from coast to coast where the scenery and atmosphere matter just as much as the artists taking the stage.

a view of the audience at Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2015, Red Rocks Amphitheatre sits 6,450 feet above sea level.

Colorado Josh/Visit Denver

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2015, Red Rocks Amphitheatre may be America’s most legendary outdoor concert venue. It was carved between twin sandstone monoliths — Creation Rock (300 feet tall) and Ship Rock (200 feet) — that took some 300 million years to form. The 9,525-seat amphitheater, 15 miles west of Denver in Morrison, Colorado, was once listed among the Seven Wonders of the World. At 6,450 feet above sea level, the venue pairs foothill and Mile High City vistas typically reserved for a hike up a Front Range summit with famed acoustics created by its towering terra-cotta formations. “The sandstone absorbs sound,” says Red Rocks spokesman Brian Kitts, “so it doesn’t sound muffled or distorted.”

More than 60 years after Beatlemania took the stage during the Fab Four’s first North American tour — with fans paying just $6.60 for tickets — the venue still attracts legacy acts beloved by older audiences. This summer, Carlos Santana, 78; Beck, 55; Andrea Bocelli, 67; and Darius Rucker, 60, are scheduled to appear. Reserved seating near the stage gives way to stunning upper-row panoramas, while the Red Rocks Hall of Fame inside the visitor center makes it worth arriving early. Pro tip for concertgoers: Hydrate and prepare for a short climb to your seat in the thin mountain air.

a large crowd watches an airshow at a concert venue

Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, an 18,000-seat amphitheater, is part of the Big Cedar Lodge campus south of Branson, Missouri.

Courtesy Thunder Ridge

Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, Missouri

Bass Pro Shops founder and conservationist Johnny Morris drew inspiration from outdoor venues like Red Rocks and Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre before he opened Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in the Missouri Ozarks in 2024. Perched atop a limestone crest overlooking Table Rock Lake, the 18,000-seat amphitheater — part of Morris’ sprawling Big Cedar Lodge campus south of Branson — drops blockbuster headliners into sweeping Ozark scenery. Whether you purchase a lawn, luxury suite or private box ticket, you’ll be wrapped in a portrait of greenery stretching across the lake to the ridgelines of the Boston Mountains in Arkansas, a lake-and-mountain panorama reminiscent of a nature film.

“When that sun starts setting and the lights come up, it’s hard to tell where the show ends and the landscape begins,” Morris says. “That’s what makes Thunder Ridge unique — you’re not separate from nature; you’re part of it.”

Already, artists such as Tim McGraw, 59, the Rolling Stones and the Doobie Brothers have taken the stage at Thunder Ridge. Guns N’ Roses is scheduled to bring its world tour there in September, while country singer Jon Pardi and pop-punk band Good Charlotte will perform this summer. Better yet, every ticket purchased helps fund conservation efforts. For a taste of the Ozarks beyond the music, don’t miss Big Cedar’s trademark bison bratwursts, sourced from Morris’ nearby Dogwood Canyon Nature Park.

concertgoers pack the Gorge Amphitheatre

The Gorge Amphitheatre is framed by jagged basalt cliffs, endless desert skies and the winding river below.

Alive Coverage

The Gorge Amphitheatre, Washington

At the Gorge Amphitheatre, your ears may be locked on the music, but your eyes will drift toward the awe-inspiring landscape beyond the stage. Backdropped by the Columbia River canyon in George, Washington, the 27,000-seat venue is framed by jagged basalt cliffs, endless desert skies and the winding river below — scenery that could pass for a classic Western-film set. Part of the Gorge’s magic is its remoteness. Rising from an isolated agricultural stretch in central Washington, roughly 150 miles east of Seattle, concerts here feel more like a rock ’n’ roll pilgrimage than a casual night out.

Nearly half of all fans, many of whom make the Interstate 90 drive for weekends of nearby camping and luxury glamping beneath the stars, travel more than 500 miles to attend a Gorge show. Drop a blanket on the grassy hillside, considered the best seat in the house for its sweeping canyon views, and watch the canyon walls turn gold at sunset. The Dave Matthews Band returns for its annual Labor Day weekend run this summer, along with Chris Stapleton, 48, in July and Jack Johnson, 51, in September.

Hollywood Bowl, California

Picnic boxes and the silhouette of the iconic bandshell have long been woven into the mythology of seeing a show at the Hollywood Bowl, where Angelenos have gathered for musical nights out in the Hollywood Hills for more than a century. Opened in 1922 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the nearly 18,000-seat venue in the shadow of the Hollywood sign has served as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s summer home since its inception. Legendary headliners such as Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and the Doors helped cement it as one of America’s great outdoor concert stages. Traffic into the canyon can be brutal — this is Tinseltown, after all — so plan to arrive early and veg out at one of the Bowl’s 14 picnic areas while soaking up a warm Southern California evening. Picnic dinners and charcuterie boards can even be preordered online before the show. This summer’s lineup includes Smokey Robinson, 86, with Gladys Knight, 82; Blues Traveler, ZZ Top, Counting Crows and John Mellencamp, 74.

Northwell at Jones Beach Theater combines salty air and music at the waterfront amphitheater on Long Island’s South Shore in New York.

Courtesy Alive Coverage

Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, New York

Salty air and live music unite at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, a 15,000-seat waterfront amphitheater on a barrier island along Long Island’s South Shore about an hour’s drive from the buzz of Manhattan. The marine venue, which debuted in 1952 and completed a multiyear renovation in 2024, has evolved from a theater staging Broadway productions and circuses into a summertime tradition for Long Islanders. “Attending a concert at Jones Beach is a rite of passage,” says John Huff, regional vice president of operations for Live Nation, the theater’s operator. Artists on this summer’s roster include James Taylor, 78; John Fogerty, 81, with Steve Winwood, 78; TLC and Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue, and Train, while the Beach Boys are set to play their record-setting 39th Jones Beach show in August. A summer trip to the Big Apple feels even sweeter with a beach-and-concert getaway mixed in, as ocean breezes drift through the venue and Atlantic shorebirds soar above.

The 4,250-seat KettleHouse Amphitheater sits along the banks of the Blackfoot River and is bound by rugged mountains.

Tom Rath

KettleHouse Amphitheater, Montana

Before KettleHouse Amphitheater opened in 2017, seeing a major touring act often meant a road trip to Denver or Seattle for music fans in western Montana, says Ryan Torres, vice president of marketing and promotions at Logjam Presents, a Missoula-based production company. Just outside Missoula, conifers blanket the wilderness around the 4,250-seat amphitheater along the picturesque banks of the Blackfoot River, where attending a show feels more like a national park outing than a concert. Rugged mountainsides, crisp air scented with evergreens and fly-fishermen casting for rainbow and cutthroat trout nearby only add to the bucolic atmosphere. “People can spend the day exploring the outdoors and then enjoy live music under the big sky,” Torres says. Artists on this summer’s calendar include Wynonna Judd, 62, with Melissa Etheridge, 65; Dierks Bentley, 50; Ziggy Marley, 57; and Bonnie Raitt, 76. Between glowing Treasure State sunsets, local craft beer and street tacos, and the occasional black bear wandering the distant hillsides beyond the stage, catching a show here feels distinctly Montana.