| The Gorge Amphitheatre | |
| Type: | Outdoor amphitheatre |
| Nickname: | "The Gorge" or "The Gorge in George" |
| Address: | 754 Silica Rd NW George, WA 98848-9466 |
| Opened: | [1] |
| Owner: | Live Nation |
| Former Names: | Champs de Brionne Music Theatre |
| Seating Type: | Reserved, lawn |
| Seating Capacity: | 27,500 |
The Gorge Amphitheatre, originally known as Champs de Brionne Music Theatre and commonly referred to as The Gorge, is an outdoor concert venue in Grant County, Washington, United States. It is situated near the Columbia River in Central Washington, 9miles west of George. The venue is managed by Live Nation.
It is a nine-time winner of Pollstar Magazine's award for 'Best Outdoor Music Venue' and was voted as one of the 'Best Outdoor Concert Venues in America' by ConcertBoom.[2]
North of Interstate 90, The Gorge is approximately east of Seattle and approximately west of Spokane.[3] The venue offers views of the Columbia River, Columbia Gorge canyon, and eastern Kittitas and western Grant counties. Originally, the land was planned to be used for growing grapes for wine.
The original amphitheater was owned and operated by Dr. Vincent Bryan and Carol Bryan, along with the adjoining Champs de Brionne winery, for which it was named. It opened in 1986 and seated 3,000 people, but had expanded to 19,000 by the time of its purchase by MCA in 1993.[4] [5] The Gorge Amphitheatre was acquired by Live Nation in 2006.[6]
The White River Amphitheatre on the Muckleshoot Indian reservation near Auburn opened in 2003, directly competing with The Gorge. The venue is substantially closer to Seattle, offering a shorter travel time: around 40 minutes compared to 2 hours 20 minutes to the Gorge, depending on traffic. However, a columnist for The Seattle Times noted The Gorge offers a preferable view and "experience".[7]
About 400,000 people attended concerts at The Gorge Amphitheatre in the year 2013.[8]
A documentary film titled "" was released in 2021.[9] The film focused on the venue and its music history.[10]
Apart from drawing big name performers, The Gorge has also played host to an array of popular music festivals, including 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, and Watershed Music Festival.
As of 2023, Dave Matthews Band has played 73 shows at the venue, traditionally during their three-night Labor Day weekend run. The Gorge, a combination 2-CD/1-DVD set with highlights from their 3-night 2002 tour closer here was released on June 29, 2004. Additionally, their September 4, 2016 tour closer was released as Live Trax, Vol. 44 on December 8, 2017.[11]
Phish has played the venue 22 times since 1997.
Brooks & Dunn's "Only in America" video was filmed at The Gorge on June 12, 2001.
Seattle-based Pearl Jam released a box set featuring their entire performances at the venue from 2005 and 2006, aptly titled Live at the Gorge 05/06.
Excision began hosting his annual weekend-long electronic music festival Bass Canyon at the venue in August 2018.[12] The second year of the festival took place on August 23–25, 2019 and featured artists such as Flux Pavilion, Zomboy, Wooli, Virtual Riot, Subtronics, Liquid Stranger, Excision himself, and many more.[12]
Above and Beyond hosted their 250th episode of Group Therapy Radio at The Gorge on September 16, 2017 to September 17, 2017.[13]
On June 10, 2023, folk music legend Joni Mitchell headlined an event at The Gorge -- her first ticketed event in more than 20 years.[14]
Fans can stay in the campground for 24 hours on the day of a single show, or until 12 noon the day after a run of shows ends.[15] Camping at the Gorge requires buying a camping ticket, which can be included in the concert admission ticket.
The campground at the Gorge sets aside spaces for one car with up to two two-person tents or a single RV. There are very limited RV hookups at the Gorge campground. Sites are set aside by venue staff on a first-come, first-served basis. Potable water, flush toilets, hot showers, and a convenience store are available on the grounds. The campground also has 24-hour security.
On June 17, 2023, during the Beyond Wonderland music festival, a mass shooting occurred at a campground near the Gorge Amphitheatre.[16] The shooter killed two people and wounded two others.[17] In addition, a third person, a security guard, was bruised by a bullet that deflected off her eyeglasses.[18] A suspect, 26-year-old U.S. Army personnel James M. Kelly, a native of Strongsville, Ohio,[19] was shot by police and arrested.[20] [21] The two fatalities were a female couple from Southern California. The suspect was allegedly on psychedelic mushrooms during the shooting.[22]