Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (originally known as the Desert Sky Pavilion and most recently known as Ak-Chin Pavilion) is an

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

located in Phoenix, Arizona, which seats 8,106 under a pavilion roof and an additional 12,000 on a hillside behind the main stands. It opened on November 11, 1990 (

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

was the venue's inaugural performer). The naming rights sponsor is

Talking Stick Resort Talking Stick Resort is a luxury hotel and casino resort located on the Salt-River Pima Maricopa Indian Reservation near Scottsdale, Arizona. The hotel tower, which was designed by FFKR Architects, has 15 stories and stands at 200 feet and six inc ...

(the venue is not located on tribal land). With a total capacity of 20,000, its capacity is higher than Footprint Center and Desert Diamond Arena. The amphitheater's season starts in April and closes in October.

About

Whitney Houston performed at the venue on May 19, 1991, during her '' I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour''.

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

played their ''

Alive in America ''Alive in America'' is a live album by the American rock group Steely Dan, released in 1995. It is Steely Dan's first live album. The album comprises recordings from their 1993 and 1994 tours, which were the first live Steely Dan performances ...

'' tour here in 1994. Back From Ashes Mayhemfest 2011

The lawn at the amphitheater contains several video screens. R.E.M. recorded two tracks off their 1996 studio album New Adventures in Hi-Fi there. The

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

performed at the venue on August 22, 1998, during their debut ''

Spiceworld Tour The Spiceworld Tour (also known as Spice Girls in Concert and the Girl Power Tour '98) was the debut concert tour by British girl group the Spice Girls. It was launched in support of their second studio album '' Spiceworld'' (1997). The sell-out ...

''. The amphitheater has been used to hold many famous concerts and tours, especially in the summer months of July and August, it has hosted

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

, Van Halen,

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

, The

Vote for Change The Vote for Change tour was a politically motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. The tour was held in swing states and was designed ...

Tour, The Vans Warped Tour, The Gigantour,

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

, Lilith Fair, Crüe Fest, Ozzfest and

Projekt Revolution Projekt Revolution was a music festival hosted by Linkin Park, bringing artists of various genres of music together. Linkin Park started Projekt Revolution in the year 2002 with just one stage. Then, in 2004, they announced the Revolution Stage ( ...

. It has hosted the Phoenix date of the annual Mayhem Festival since the tour's inception in July 2008.

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

recorded their live album, ''

Live in Phoenix ''Live in Phoenix'' is the first live album by American rock band Fall Out Boy. It was released on April 1, 2008 in the United States by Island Records, available as a CD/DVD set or CD and DVD separately. The CD is a live recording of the band's ...

'', at the amphitheatre on June 22, 2007.'Beat It' Cover Bolsters Fall Out Boy CD/DVD
''Billboard''. Retrieved June 11, 2011.

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

recorded their song, " Cigarettes and Valentines", for their live album, ''

Awesome as Fuck ''Awesome as Fuck'' (marketed as ''Awesome as F**k'', ''Awesome as ****'', or ''Awesome: Live'') is a live album by American rock band Green Day, released on March 22, 2011, by Reprise Records. The album is composed of tracks recorded during Gre ...

'', here. Fall Out Boy & Paramore brought their co-headlining tour, MONUMENTOUR to The Pavilion on August 8, 2014 with New Politics as the opening act. Lana Del Rey, accompanied by Courtney Love, brought her Endless Summer Tour to The Pavilion on May 14, 2015.

References

External links

Venue Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ak-Chin Pavilion Amphitheaters in the United States Buildings and structures in Phoenix, Arizona Culture of Phoenix, Arizona Music venues in Arizona Phoenix Points of Pride Tourist attractions in Phoenix, Arizona Music venues completed in 1990

About

See also

References

External links