“One of the best things about Phoenix is our weather lets us enjoy outdoor concerts for much more of the year than most places,” says Rachel Hill, general manager of Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre. “The temperatures in the fall and winter… allow us to have one of the longest outdoor concert seasons in the country.”
Spanning April to November, the amphitheater’s season is indeed long by outdoor venue standards. (By comparison, Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater runs from June to November.) But that’s not the only unique thing about the venue – there’s also its famously fickle naming history.
Opened in 1990 as Desert Sky Pavilion, the amphitheater subsequently hopped on a spinning carousel of sponsorships starting with Blockbuster and achieving peak silliness with Ashley Home Furniture Superstore Pavilion before a title-sponsor contract with Talking Stick in 2023 stabilized the situation.
The venue has since sought to redefine itself with lavish big-ticket lineups and a renewed emphasis on audience experience.
Upcoming fall acts include Wu-Tang Clan, Jack Johnson and Empire of the Sun, and new drink concessions feature local brews like Joy Bus Wow Wheat and Four Peaks Cosmic Daydream IPA.
talkingstickresortamphitheatre.com
– Sommer Bailey
