Great Venues

Components of Iconic Stages

By Kieran McDonald

There are four main factors taken into account when determining a venue’s suitability for concerts. Sound, Seating, Feel, and Location. These factors all determine if a venue fits with an artist or genre. To create the ultimate live concert experience, the venue is key as well as the band.

1. Sound

If all great venues had only one thing in common it would be sound. The most important requirement of a venue is sound. The acoustics of a venue are designed by sound engineers and architects and can be mitigated or enhanced depending on the concert, this sound profile is specific to a venue. The sound is then fine tuned by either in house engineers or a bands own sound engineer to optimize both the sound quality in the seats, and the sound quality in musicians ears.

2. Seating

Seating is more important than you might think in making a great venue. A good venue has a mix of seating options so that fans can choose which one they would rather buy. It is also key for an artist to sell out a venue. It is both better for the artist and the fans to play and listen in a packed electric atmosphere than in a mostly empty arena. Additionally, a wide variety of ticket costs via better or worse seats helps fans of all means make it to see their favorite band live.

3. Feel

4. Location Important in Real Estate, important in music.

Where a venue is placed impacts the draw of people and the concert itself. A rapper might do better touring in large cities, and a Bluegrass band might draw more people touring in more rural areas. Exclusive concert locations can tend to draw different fans.

The feel and aesthetics of a venue contribute to how well it fits with a band. Certain venues become known by the artists that play at them, or certain artists become known for their legendary performances at a venue. An example being Billy Joel and his famed performances at Madison Square Garden. Additionally a huge stadium tour has a much different feel than touring local bars, so artists have to pick and choose to match their music and feel. The type of event also matters in venue selection, Rihanna probably wouldn’t fit with the Houston Rodeo, but Garth Brooks would. Small things such as the history and aesthetics of the venue have a huge impact on making the “perfect” performance.