The Gorge Amphitheatre facts for kids
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"The Gorge" or "The Gorge in George"
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The venue during a Sasquatch! Music Festival in 2006
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| Former names | Champs de Brionne Music Theatre (1986-93) |
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| Address | 754 Silica Rd NW George, WA 98848-9466 |
| Coordinates | 47°06′04″N 119°59′42″W / 47.101°N 119.995°W |
| Owner | Live Nation |
| Type | Outdoor amphitheatre |
| Seating type | Reserved, lawn |
| Capacity | 27,500 |
| Opened | 1986 |
The Gorge Amphitheatre, often called The Gorge, is an amazing outdoor concert place in Grant County, Washington, USA. It sits close to the Columbia River in Central Washington. This famous venue is about 9 miles (14 km) west of a town called George. Live Nation manages this popular spot.
The Gorge has won awards many times for being the 'Best Outdoor Music Venue'. Pollstar Magazine has given it this award nine times! ConcertBoom also named it one of the 'Best Outdoor Concert Venues in America'.
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Discovering The Gorge Amphitheatre
The Gorge is located about 150 miles (240 km) east of Seattle. It's also about 130 miles (210 km) west of Spokane. This special place offers incredible views of the Columbia River and the Columbia Gorge canyon. You can also see parts of eastern Kittitas and western Grant counties from here. The land was first meant for growing grapes to make wine.
The first amphitheater was owned by Dr. Vincent Bryan and Carol Bryan. It was named after their Champs de Brionne winery. It opened in 1986 and could hold 3,000 people. By 1993, it had grown to fit 19,000 people. That year, MCA bought it. Later, in 2006, Live Nation took over The Gorge Amphitheatre.
In 2003, the White River Amphitheatre opened closer to Seattle. This new venue offered a shorter drive for people from Seattle. It takes about 40 minutes to get there, compared to over two hours to The Gorge. However, many people still prefer The Gorge. A writer for The Seattle Times said The Gorge has much better views and a more unique "experience."
In 2013, about 400,000 people came to concerts at The Gorge Amphitheatre. A movie about the venue and its music history was released in 2021. It was called Enormous: The Gorge Story.
Famous Shows and Music Festivals
The Gorge is known for hosting many big-name performers. It has also been home to lots of popular music festivals. These include:
- Area Festival
- Creation Festival
- Dave Matthews Band Caravan
- Endfest
- H.O.R.D.E. Festival
- Honda Civic Tour
- Identity Festival
- KUBE 93 Summer Jam
- Lilith Fair
- Lollapalooza
- Ozzfest
- Pain in the Grass
- Paradiso Festival
- Rock the Bells
- Sasquatch! Music Festival
- Uproar Festival
- Vans Warped Tour
- Watershed Music Festival
Dave Matthews Band at The Gorge
As of 2024, the Dave Matthews Band has played 76 shows at The Gorge. They often perform a special three-night concert series over Labor Day weekend. A combination 2-CD/1-DVD set called The Gorge was released in 2004. It featured highlights from their three-night shows in 2002. Another live album, Live Trax, Vol. 44, came out in 2017. It captured their concert from September 4, 2016.
Other Notable Performances
- The band Phish has played at The Gorge 22 times since 1997.
- The music video for Brooks & Dunn's song "Only in America" was filmed at The Gorge in 2001.
- Pearl Jam, a band from Seattle, released a special box set. It included all their performances at The Gorge from 2005 and 2006. The set was called Live at the Gorge 05/06.
- Excision started his yearly electronic music festival, Bass Canyon, at The Gorge in August 2018. The festival in 2019 featured artists like Flux Pavilion, Zomboy, Wooli, and many more.
- Beyond Wonderland, another electronic music festival, has used the venue every year since 2021.
- The band Above and Beyond hosted their 250th Group Therapy Radio episode at The Gorge in September 2017.
- On June 10, 2023, the legendary folk singer Joni Mitchell performed at The Gorge. This was her first ticketed concert in over 20 years!
Camping at The Gorge
Many fans love to camp at The Gorge when they come for concerts. You can stay at the campground for 24 hours for a single show. If there are multiple shows, you can stay until noon the day after the last show. You need to buy a camping ticket, which can sometimes be part of your concert ticket.
The campground offers spaces for one car with up to two small tents. You can also bring a single RV. There are not many RV hookups available. Staff assign spots when you arrive, first-come, first-served. The campground has fresh water, clean restrooms, hot showers, and a small store. There is also security on site 24 hours a day.
Other camping places are also close to The Gorge. For example, Wildhorse Campground is less than 2 miles (3.2 km) away. It offers a shuttle bus to and from the venue, and this ride is included in the camping price.
See also
- List of contemporary amphitheatres
- List of music festivals
