A home for concerts

Bend is home to Oregon’s largest outdoor concert venue, Hayden Homes Amphitheater. This venue has hosted big name artists in its May-October concert season such as The Chicks, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Coldplay, Brandi Carlile, John Legend, and many more. The amphitheater’s proximity to the Deschutes River and outdoor atmosphere makes it the ultimate arena for concert lovers.

The amphitheater first opened in 2002 and has been hosting concerts ever since then. It started as a small stage named the Les Schwab Amphitheater, and only held 10-15 smaller concerts per year. After many renovations, and new sponsorship, the stage is now standard size and can host bigger artists. These renovations began in 2021, and included fully tearing down the old stage and building a new one, along with other various upgrades to the venue’s bathrooms, sidewalks, food options, etc.

Making these upgrades resulted in a domino effect within the Amphitheater and throughout Bend. With a bigger stage, the venue began getting recognized by more people in the music industry, which created increased opportunities for shows each season. Where the old stage hosted less than 15 shows a year, the new stage hosts an upwards of 50 shows. In consequence of the rise of show numbers, along with bigger name artists rolling into town, a large economic ripple was sent through Bend. In recent economic reports, it was found that each show brings an average of 1.9 million dollars spent outside of the venue at surrounding hotels, restaurants, and local businesses.

Not only does Hayden Homes Amphitheater help the economy of Bend, but it is also working to protect the fragile environment and ecosystems in our community. In a sustainability report done in 2024 titled The 2024 Sustainability Report for Hayden Homes Amphitheater, it was found that the amphitheater has a 87% landfill diversion rate. This is achieved through manned waste stations, recyclable cups, and sorting all trash and recycling. These extra efforts make a huge difference in the sustainability of the amphitheater.

Building a bigger stage was only the beginning for drawing bigger names towards Bend. When artists were planning tours, they didn’t understand the appeal of coming to Central Oregon rather than going to a bigger city like Portland. Hayden Homes Amphitheater had to build its reputation. This was not a hard feat, with the beautiful Deschutes River running along the backstage area, and vibrant atmosphere Bend is known for.

Beau Eastes, Marketing Director for Hayden Homes Amphitheater, described the venue as “(a) beautiful scenic area, they (the artists and their families) can kinda breathe for a bit.” Not only does Hayden Homes Amphitheater have the right environment to keep artists coming back, it also has statistics on its side. According to Eastes, the average concert goer attends 5 shows per year at the amphitheater. The big music crowd in Bend helps attract more artists, and connect the community through meaningful connections.

Preparing for this year’s concert lineup, seasonal crews started working in April to have the venue ready by mid-May. Hayden Homes Amphitheater employs around 600 workers during concert season to ensure the smooth running and successful production of each show, and around 30 year-round staff members to handle the maintenance, scheduling, marketing, etc.

You can find this year’s schedule online at bendconcerts.com, the Ticketmaster website, or on their social media pages. Some exciting names to look forward to this season include: James Taylor, Mumford & Sons, Earth, Wind, & Fire, The Lumineers, Jerry Steinfield, and many more big artists. The venue says to keep your eye out for ticket giveaways on the Bend Concerts Instagram page every Tuesday. Make sure to catch a show and feel how special Hayden Homes Amphitheater is!