Kingswood Music Theatre Explained
Kingswood Music Theatre was a 15,000-seat amphitheatre located at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario. Kingswood was open from May to September.[1] The facility opened in 1983. The last concert was in 2019[2] and was removed from the grounds in the fall of 2021.[3]
Kingswood was an open-air theater with a covered bandshell and exposed lawn seats for the audience.[1]
On August 18, 1986, the reunion of Canadian folk duo Ian & Sylvia was filmed at Kingswood by CBC Television, with guests Gordon Lightfoot, Judy Collins, Emmylou Harris and Murray McLachlan.
After the Molson Amphitheatre opened in 1995 and Air Canada Centre opened in 1999 in more populous and centralized downtown Toronto the use of Kingswood as a music venue declined. Cultural festivals at the theatre became more prominent. The box office at the gates of Wonderland was removed because of the decline of the theatre as a music venue.
Many notable artists and bands have played the concert venue, including Harry Belafonte, Johnny Mathis, Eric Clapton, John Denver, Bette Midler, Donna Summer, Laura Branigan, David Lee Roth, Grateful Dead, The Fugees, Cypress Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, Simple Minds & The Smiths.
Canadian rock musician Kim Mitchell, won an award for ticket sales of over 100,000 tickets for his multiple performances at the venue.
Other notable artists and bands having played the concert venue include:
- April Wine, Animotion, Arlo Guthrie, Aerosmith, Aldo Nova, Asia & America
- B-52's, Book Of Love, Bow Wow Wow, Bullett Boys, Barney Bentall & The Legendary Hearts, Belinda Carlisle, Barry Manilow, Big Country, Billy Bragg, B.B. King, Barenaked Ladies, Bryan Adams, Burton Cummings & Bob Dylan, Bad Company
- Chicago, Chalk Circle, Crowded House, China Crisis, Cinderella, Corey Hart, Crosby Stills & Nash, Cracker, Culture Club & Conway Twitty
- Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Damn Yankees, David Crowder Band, Debbie Gibson, Don Henley, Deborah Harry & Duke Jupiter
- Erasure, Extreme, Eurythmics & Elvis Costello
- Foreigner, Firehouse, Fine Young Cannibals & Fleetwood Mac
- Glass Tiger, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Gowan, Georgia Satellites, Gang Of Four, George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars & George Benson
- Hall & Oates, Huey Lewis & The News, Heart, Honeymoon Suite, Haywire, Howard Jones, Harlequin & Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
- INXS, Iggy Pop & Iron Maiden
- Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne, Julian Lennon & Jimmy Buffett
- Kenny Loggins, Kool & The Gang & Korn
- Little Feat, Lou Reed, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Linda Ronstadt, Little River Band & Lou Rawls
- Morrissey, Martha & The Muffins, Mercy Me, Midnight Oil, Mr. Big, Men Without Hats & Melissa Manchester, Michael W. Smith, Mike & The Mechanics
- Night Ranger, Neil Young & New Order
- Orbital & Orion The Hunter
- Poison, Public Enemy, Pete Seeger, Platinum Blonde, Peter Murphy, Procol Harum, Peter Paul & Mary & Paul Anka
- Rihanna, Roger Waters, Roger Daltrey & Red Rider
- Squeeze, Santana, Souxsie & The Banshees, Sisters Of Mercy, Scorpions, Slaughter, Smithereens, Sting, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Steve Miller Band, Screaming Trees, Soul Asylum, Shirley Bassey, Skillet, Santers & Sherry Kean
- The Go-Go's, Talk Talk, The Replacements, Terence Trent D'Arby, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The English Beat, The Spoons, The Turtles, The Psychedelic Furs, Triumph, Teenage Head, The Band, The Pretenders, Talking Heads, The Cure, The Pogues, The Ramones, Tool, The Beach Boys, The Moody Blues, Trixter, The Kinks, The Bangles, The Rainmakers, The Fixx, The Tenants, The Stray Cats, The Hooters, Tracy Chapman, Tina Turner, Traffic, The Roots, The Allman Brothers, 10,000 Maniacs, The Osmonds, The Hollies, Tony Casey, The Kings & The Tubes
- UB40
- Violent Femmes & Van Morrison
- Warrior Soul, World Party, Warrant & Winger
- ZZ Top
See also
References
2. https://www.ajournalofmusicalthings.com/remembering-kingswood-music-theatre/
4. https://www.concertarchives.org/venues/kingswood-music-theatre
Notes and References
- News: Kingswood Music Theatre - Frommers Review. Toronto Nightlife. New York Times. 2009-07-12.
- Web site: Canada's Wonderland Vaughan Gigography, Concert History, Past Events – Songkick . 15 June 2019 .
- Web site: Canada's Wonderland Major New Project . . 8 October 2021 .
