Merriweather Post Pavilion

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For the album by Animal Collective, see Merriweather Post Pavilion (album).

Merriweather Post Pavilion (MPP), named for cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, is an outdoor concert venue located among Symphony Woods, a 40-acre (162,000-m²) lot of preserved land that sits in the heart of the planned community of Columbia, Maryland. It was originally intended to be a summer home for the National Symphony Orchestra but later became a venue for more popular music concerts. It was designed by award-winning architect Frank Gehry and opened in 1967. The current capacity is 19,316.

[edit] Notable events

In 1969, The Who played there with Led Zeppelin,^[1] the only time these two bands have appeared on the same bill.^{[citation needed]} Jackson Browne recorded portions of his Running on Empty album, including the title track and "The Load-Out". Genesis filmed a promotional video for "Many Too Many" from their …And Then There Were Three… album in the afternoon of July 26, 1978. Jimmy Buffett has performed at Merriweather more than any other artist—over 40 times.^[1] The Kinks recorded portions of Live: The Road at the venue.^[2] In 1990, the Grateful Dead and the Jerry Garcia Band were banned from the venue due to police requests, prompted by drug arrests of fans.^[3] On June 20, 2000, Britney Spears opened her Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour at the venue.^[4] Animal Collective named their 2009 album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, after the venue. Dire Straits played there during their Brothers In Arms tour. After three consecutive years at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, the 2009 Virgin Mobile Festival will be held at Merriweather on August 30. The festival, which is being headlined by Blink-182 and Weezer, was made a totally free event for the public.

[edit] See also

List of contemporary amphitheatres

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b "Merriweather Post Pavilion - Columbia, MD", Tim Newby, Glide Magazine, October 25, 2005.
^ From the LP credits: "Live recordings at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD and the Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA in the summer of 1987."
^ "Chronicle", Susan Heller Anderson, Published: June 7, 1990, The New York Times
^ "Britney Spears' Oops!…I Did It Again No. 1 Most Added; Oops!…I Did It Again in Stores May 16, 2000". Find Articles/Business Wire. CBS Interactive Inc.. 2000-04-13. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_April_13/ai_61481577. Retrieved on 2008-12-07.