Alpine Valley Music Theatre
Alpine Valley | |
 Atreyu performing at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI on Ozzfest 2006 | |
 | |
| Location | County Highway D East Troy, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°44′16″N 88°26′01″W / 42.737778°N 88.433611°W |
| Owner | Live Nation |
| Operator | Live Nation |
| Type | Outdoor amphitheater |
| Seating type | Reserved, Lawn |
| Capacity | 37,000 |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Website | |
| Venue Info | |
Alpine Valley Music Theatre is a 37,000-capacity amphitheater located on County Highway D in East Troy, Wisconsin. The seasonal venue was built in 1977 and it features a characteristic wooden roof, covering the 7,500-seat pavilion and a sprawling lawn. It was reported on Urban Milwaukee Dial on August 25, 2014 to be for sale for over $8 million.
The theatre is located roughly equidistant between Madison, Milwaukee, Rockford, and Chicago, and therefore draws a wide regional audience.
Alpine Valley is generally considered the Milwaukee stop on major tours and the Chicago stop when the act doesn't perform in Illinois.
Until 1993, when the Glen Helen Pavilion (now known as the San Manuel Amphitheater) was built in California, it was the largest amphitheater in the United States. That year, it was taken over by Nederlander Concerts.[1] SFX (now Live Nation) acquired Alpine Valley from the Nederlanders in 1999.[2]
Events
The amphitheater has played host to many concerts and music festivals, including Family Values Tour, Furthur Festival, H.O.R.D.E. Festival, Lollapalooza, Monsters of Rock Festival, Ozzfest, PJ20 Festival, Projekt Revolution, Tibetan Freedom Concert and World Series of Rock Festival.
Boz Scaggs headlined the venue's inaugural event on June 30, 1977.
Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band played during its inaugural summer of 1977 and every subsequent year since 1995, with the exception of 2005 and 2017.
Shaun Cassidy played here to thousands of screaming young fans, mostly teenage girls, on June 24, 1978.
Aerosmith have performed here fourteen times since 1977, including the venue's inaugural season.
The Grateful Dead played at Alpine Valley 20 times from 1980 through 1989. Their album, Dick's Picks Volume 32, was recorded here in 1982 and their concert performance video, Downhill From Here, documents concerts from 1989.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed here on July 12 and 13, 1984 during the Born in the U.S.A. Tour.
Judas Priest (Metal Conqueror Tour) and Kick Axe (opener, Vices Tour) performed here on August 5, 1984.
The “Monsters of Rock” tour, which included Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica and Kingdom Come opened their tour here for 3 nights, May 27-29, 1988.
Mötley Crüe filmed their music video for "Same Ol' Situation" at a concert here on July 7, 1990.
On August 26, 1990, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble played at the amphitheater along with other blues greats Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and his brother Jimmie Vaughan. After the concert, Vaughan left the area on a helicopter to return to Chicago and he and four others were killed, when the helicopter crashed into a ski hill, within the Alpine Valley resort. The fans knew something had happened, but the show went on to finish, Fans were in a state of shock to learn of his death.
Phish played Alpine Valley 17 times; their live album, entitled, Live Phish Volume 5, was recorded here on July 8, 2000.
The annual Ozzfest tour comes here almost every year and the CD, Ozzfest 2001: The Second Millennium, is culled from performances here.
The Dave Matthews Band has played a two night stand each year at Alpine Valley since 1999 except for 2001, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2018.[3] Their live releases, Live Trax Vol. 8 was recorded on August 7, 2004, Live Trax Vol. 15 was recorded on August 9, 2008, and "Live Trax Vol. 36" was recorded on July 26, 2015.
Coldplay performed during their Twisted Logic Tour on August 13, 2005. It was their largest American show ever, as it sold out the entire venue.[citation needed]
Korn recorded the music video for their song "Politics", during the Alpine Valley stop of the Family Values Tour on August 26, 2006.
Rage Against the Machine played a concert at Alpine Valley, with Queens of the Stone Age, for their only announced solo show, on August 24, 2007.
The Black Crowes filmed their "Hard to Handle" music video here.
Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Rush and Phish have all regarded Alpine Valley as one of their favorite venues to play.[citation needed] Former Phish road manager Brad Sands regards Alpine Valley as his favorite venue to see the band.[4] Pearl Jam also played their only scheduled U.S. dates at the venue in 2011, as part of their 20th anniversary celebrations.[5][6]
Resort
The resort is not owned by the owners of the music theater. The hotel serves over a hundred rooms in a Bavarian themed decor. There is also a ski hill and golf course as part of the entire resort complex.
See also
References
- ^ New Moves From Nederlander
- ^ SFX completes Alpine Valley purchase
- ^ http://dmbalmanac.com/
- ^ http://www.jambands.com/Features/content_2006_01_15.02.phtml
- ^ "Pearl Jam Announce Details of Their Festival, Film, Tour and Book". artistdirect.com. 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
- ^ "Pearl Jam reveals WI Labor Day Festival". billboard.com. 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2011-05-17.