Red Butte Garden Ampitheatre

I’ve been to many great concerts here. Plan to park and walk then wait in line for a long time to grab a place in general seating. Only low lawn chairs are allowed. You can bring your own food and drink or buy them at the venue. Beautiful setting in the mountains with city views. No covered areas, so you may fry or freeze. Decent bathrooms.

There’s not much better than live music… unless said music is played outside in a very scenic amphitheater!
I’m a bit of a music junkie and I will travel for music. I’ve seen bands play in garages, basements, and even old churches. Red Butte will always be one of my favorites. Some of my all time favorite shows were played here.
I love that you can sprawl out on the grass with a picnic and a drink and enjoy some tunes. The crowd here is usually a lot more respectful than some other venues so I don’t feel like I have to battle anyone to enjoy the show.
The line can be a little (or a lot) ridiculous. For some bands, you can show up a couple of hours early and still find a giant line that winds all the way up and around. To me, that’s the only big downside but that’s not something anyone can control. You definitely need to get there early if you want a good spot close to the front though.
There is a VIP section in the back area and it comes with its own line. I got lucky and scored some VIP tickets to Alabama Shakes this summer and it was the best! The line is shorter so you don’t have to get there crazy early. The VIP section is nice but I still like the grassy area and found a spot pretty close to the front. If you can swing VIP tickets to your favorite show, do it!
Don’t forget your blankets, cooler full of delicious food and drinks, and maybe some sunscreen if you’re going to wait in line for a few hours.

Come early if you want a good spot and expect to stand in a line that wraps all over the place. We got there an hour and a half early and it looked like people had been camped out there for a few hours prior. Once you get in you gotta beeline it to a spot and get your blankets and chairs set up. Concert started on time and acoustics sounded great. Line to buy merchandise moved fairly fast and they had t-​shirts, bags, blankets, and other things for reasonable prices. The bathroom line was long but moved surprisingly fast. Bring a sweater for when the sun goes down, especially if you’re close to the stream, it gets a little chilly. You can bring in coolers with what ever food or drink you desire, which is one of my favorite things about this venue. Parking wasn’t a problem either and there was no fee to park. Will definitely go back!

This place is phenomenal. Utah has a thing for amphitheaters, and this one is easily the best in the state. Even if you get there late for a show, you can rest assured that you’ll still have a great view wherever you sit and that your sound is never not going to be anything less than fantastic. I know they’re consistently getting big names to perform here too, which makes it feel more intimate than your usual big name concert. You’re also more than welcome to bring in your own food and beer if you don’t want to pay for concessions.
If you get the opportunity to come here and experience a concert, I implore you to. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better place.

Excellent outdoor music venue. Staff do a great job keeping it clean and the grounds are immaculate. You can bring smaller lawn chairs or blankets to lounge on, and the slope down to the stage means you’ll have a good view wherever you sit (assuming those in front of you stay seated). The sound quality is phenomenal, not ear-​blasting loud and very well-​balanced. They manage to bring in relatively big national acts as well as carefully selected regional favorites with an ostensible tendancy towards folk and bluegrass. Pack in your own picnic dinner including beer and wine! There are concessions available too, and the restrooms are large and much better maintained than typical outdoor concert potties.
Tickets are on the pricey side (around $ 50) but there’s a small discount for Red Butte Garden members. The setting among the Wasatch foothills makes this a beautiful and memorable location to experience live music.