RICHMOND — A new music venue is coming to the heart of downtown Richmond as officials broke ground on a new amphitheater Jan. 24.
Planned to open for the summer 2025 concert season, the Riverfront Amphitheater is a partnership between Red Light Events and Live Nation. Working with Live Nation is expected to bring top touring artists to the area, with the venue slated to host about 30 concerts each season.
With the Live Nation partnership, the amphitheater plans to partner with local food vendors who will supply food and beverages during the summer concert season. Live Nation’s Green Nation sustainability program will also be spotlighted as the venue works to combat the use of single-use plastics while promoting the importance of recycling, composting, and food donations.
As part of an agreement between Richmond officials and local nonprofits, the theater will also be available for graduations, public forums, and city-sponsored cultural events. The venue will seat approximately 7,500 people.
According to the Riverfront Amphitheater website, Richmond decided to explore the addition of a live music venue to attract top-tier talent to the region.
“Most communities the size of Richmond have added music and live arts venues appropriate to their metro scale as they grew. The Richmond area has not. For that reason, peer cities can attract popular tours and artists that currently don’t have a place to perform in our area,” according to the website. “Richmond’s existing music venues are ideal for hosting indoor shows, and the city currently has no site to accommodate the big-name performers who crave a larger venue in an outdoor setting. Richmond music lovers regularly travel to Virginia Beach, Northern Virginia, Raleigh and farther to see the artists they love.”
Charlottesville, with a fifth of Richmond’s population, attracts more top-100 tours based on ticket sales than Richmond. Our region has the music fans, but it lacks the venue to attract top talent,” the website continues.
The amphitheater is a first for Richmond. The new venue will be outdoors and will give attendees various James River and downtown Richmond views while at shows. City officials plan to keep as much green space intact as possible and pay homage to the current city architecture.
The venue will be located on a site that has seen its fair share of festivals including the Folk Festival, Friday Cheers, and Brown’s Island concerts. Centrally located, the venue will be easily accessible from Interstates 95 and 64, and the Downtown Expressway.
Visit the Riverfront Amphitheater’s website for more information and photos of the proposed theater. Visit the website here.
