| Somerset Amphitheater | |
| Address: | 715 Spring St Somerset, WI 54025-7501 |
| Opened: | 1981 |
| Expanded: | 2011-13 |
| Owner: | Matt Mithun |
| Seating Capacity: | 30,000 10,000 |
Somerset Amphitheater is the largest outdoor amphitheater and camping venue in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) and Western Wisconsin area. Located across the St. Croix River,[1] the venue consists of 200 acres of land.
Located in Somerset, Wisconsin and next to the Apple River, it has been a Midwest destination for many decades for music fans, along with tubing and camping enthusiasts alike. A typical season runs from May through October with music performances and other events. The layout is flexible, but typically there is seating on the floor and general admission (lawn) that surrounds the stage in a bowl-like fashion. The total capacity ranges from 20,000 to 40,000, depending on the layout.
A concert site since 1981, the venue changed its name to Somerset Amphitheater in 2011 when new owner Matt Mithun (of the Mithun family) took over.[2] Since then many upgrades and improvements have been made to the amphitheater and onsite campgrounds.[3] The amphitheater expanded the removable reserved seating area and built an enclosed Saloon with a bar for a more intimate setting with an approximate capacity of 1,000. In 2013 the Grove stage was added in the valley between the main amphitheater and the North Campground. The Grove has a capacity of approximately 10,000. There are three campgrounds onsite; the North and South Campgrounds, which are both general camping, and the VIP Campground which has electric and water hookups for RVs and permanent bathrooms and showers.
In 2011 the first Somerset Amphitheater concert under new ownership opened with a weekend full of music at the Soundtown Music and Camping Festival. Over thirty bands performed on the three stages, and featured the nationally known artist group The Flaming Lips as a headliner. This was a small yet promising preview of what the amphitheater would bring concert goers for years to come.
Since its reopening, the amphitheater has hosted many concerts and events, including the touring acts of My Morning Jacket,[4] the first annual Knotfest[5] featuring Slipknot, Summer Set Music and Camping Festival,[6] Northern Invasion, Trampled by Turtles and The Avett Brothers.[7] Besides musical performances, the venue hosted Tough Mudder, a British military style obstacle course[8] and the Border Battle Beer Festival, a friendly rivalry of Minnesota and Wisconsin breweries battling each other for the most favored among taste testers.
Before 2011, the venue had music acts varying from the Blues, Country, Bluegrass/Folk, Indie, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal and Alternative genres perform on the stages. Annual concert festivals included Apple River Country Splash, Ozzfest, and 93X Fest (previously Edgefest). Other music tours featured acts of the Family Values Tour 2007, Projekt Revolution the Vans Warped Tour, Bob Dylan in '03, Soul Asylum in '93, Violent Femmes (from Milwaukee) in '94 and Garbage (from Madison) in '96 (at 93X EdgeFest). It hosted Illinois' REO Speedwagon in '93, and Disturbed and Chevelle in 2016 (at the Northern Invasion festival). The first concert held at the amphitheater was in 1981 with Charlie Daniels.[3]
| List of events held at the Amphitheater | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Event | Date | Opening Act(s) | |
| Apple River Country Splash | June 19, 2008 | |||
| June 20, 2008 | ||||
| June 21, 2008 | ||||
| June 18, 2009 | ||||
| June 19, 2009 | ||||
| June 20, 2009 | ||||
| June 17, 2010 | ||||
| June 18, 2010 | ||||
| June 19, 2010 | ||||
| The Avett Brothers | The Carpenter Tour | June 29, 2013 | Brandi Carlile, Dr. Dog & Wheeler Brothers | |
| The Black Crowes | 2006 Tour | August 6, 2006 | Drive-By Truckers & Robert Randolph and the Family Band | |
| Bob Dylan | 2003 Never Ending Tour | August 3, 2003 | The Dead & Robert Hunter | |
| Family Values Tour | July 21, 2007 | |||
| Independence ColorFest | July 4, 2014 | |||
| July 5, 2014 | ||||
| KXXR 93X | 93X Festival | May 26, 2000 | ||
| May 25, 2001 | ||||
| May 24, 2002 | ||||
| May 23, 2003 | ||||
| May 28, 2004 | ||||
| 93X ClamBake | July 28, 2000 | |||
| EdgeFest | July 24, 1994 | |||
| May 28, 1995 | ||||
| May 25, 1996 | ||||
| May 24, 1997 | ||||
| May 23, 1998 | ||||
| May 30, 1999 | ||||
| Kid Rock | Cocky Tour | May 26, 2002 | ||
| The Kinks | Phobia Tour | August 22, 1993 | Kansas | |
| KISS | Rock the Nation Tour | June 26, 2004 | Poison & ZO2 | |
| Knotfest | August 18, 2012 | |||
| Lynyrd Skynyrd | Edge of Forever Tour | June 15, 2002 | ||
| 2014 Tour | September 20, 2014 | Hitchville & White Iron Band | ||
| My Morning Jacket | Circuital Tour | August 10, 2012 | Band of Horses & Trampled by Turtles | |
| Northern Invasion | May 9, 2015 | Slipknot, Anthrax, Five Finger Death Punch, Live & others | ||
| Ozzfest | July 18, 1998 | |||
| July 1, 1999 | ||||
| August 12, 2000 | ||||
| June 16, 2001 | ||||
| August 17, 2002 | ||||
| July 19, 2003 | ||||
| August 7, 2005 | ||||
| July 14, 2006 | ||||
| Pantera | Far Beyond Driven Tour | August 13, 1994 | Sepultura & Prong | |
| Projekt Revolution | August 28, 2004 | |||
| REO Speedwagon | 1993 Tour | June 20, 1993 | .38 Special, Blue Öyster Cult & Foghat | |
| Soundtown Music Festival | August 19, 2011 | |||
| Summer Set Music Festival | August 24, 2012 | |||
| August 25, 2012 | ||||
| August 26, 2012 | ||||
| August 9, 2013 | ||||
| August 10, 2013 | ||||
| August 11, 2013 | ||||
| August 15, 2014 | ||||
| August 16, 2014 | ||||
| August 17, 2014 | ||||
| August 14, 2015 | ||||
| August 15, 2015 | ||||
| August 16, 2015 | ||||
| August 11, 2016 | ||||
| August 12, 2016 | ||||
| August 13, 2016 | ||||
| Warped Tour | July 18, 1998 | |||
| July 16, 2001 | ||||
| June 28, 2003 | ||||
| Widespread Panic | 2014 Tour | June 21, 2014 | Galactic, Jerry Joseph and The Jackmormons & Pert Near Sandstone | |
| ZZ Top | Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers Tour | September 13, 2003 | Ted Nugent | |