Richmond, meet your new riverfront amphitheater.

“I’ve always dreamed of playing on a stage like this,” singer-songwriter Deau Eyes gushed to the crowd on Wednesday as she stood in the spotlight with her backing band at the brand new Allianz Amphitheater. The new state-of-the-art “boutique amphitheater” has been built along Historic Tredegar near Brown’s Island.

Wednesday’s evening of local music (dubbed the “Sunset Soundcheck”) also featured the psychedelic indie sounds of Prabir Trio and the twangy “honky-tonk ‘n’ roll” of Andy Thomas, and was billed as a free preview before the new, 7,500-seat venue officially opens on Saturday, June 7 with a concert by ’80s mainstays Rick Springfield, John Waite, Wang Chung and John Cafferty. This shiny new music showplace plans to feature more than 30 headliners for its first summer under the sun, including heavyweights such as Boyz II Men (June 29), Alison Krauss (Aug. 29), Neil Young (Aug. 10) Dave Matthews Band (July 15-16) and James Taylor (Sept. 1). Full schedule at https://www.allianzamphitheater.com/shows

“The purpose of [“Sunset Soundcheck”] was for people to see for themselves what’s in the venue and what it’s all about,” says Allianz General Manager Rebecca Street, an employee of co-owner Live Nation, which operates nearly 400 venues worldwide. “People were able to try out the views from the different seats. Sometimes you can’t really tell unless you’re there. It was also an opportunity for our staff to operate in the space and work out any kinks that might exist.”

The picturesque backdrop of the James River, set against the stirring sounds of a hot band, was a pleasing sight only too familiar to patrons of the Richmond Folk Festival. And this place is acoustically perfect, or seemed to be on Wednesday. There seemed to be nowhere in the layout — from the front row seats to the back lawn area, inclined on a hill — where the sound wasn’t clear and crisp.

The acoustics are also designed to mitigate sound heard outside the amphitheatre, Street says. “Being a good neighbor is important to us. We plan to stay here a long time and want to get along with our neighbors. I understand the concerns that the people in Oregon Hill have, mainly sound mitigation and parking. Those were the two big ones for them.”

“Sound not excessive at all”

Valerie L’Herrou attended Wednesday’s concert, but more importantly, she walked home to Oregon Hill and noted the noise levels.

“The sound was not excessive at all,” says the president of the Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association, which has raised concerns about the amphitheater since it was first announced in 2023. “We were very alarmed about this at the beginning and that’s because the developers were not sharing much information… we also requested to see the sound studies that they kept referring to. But we couldn’t see them.” She thinks that fears would’ve been “allayed” with more transparency from city officials.

“We met with Venture Richmond and we’re letting them have the stage [for Richmond Folk Festival],” Street says.

Street says that the venue’s designers were able to anticipate the problems with outside sound bleed. “The upper lawn was used that way so that the sound would hit that hill, the speakers are directly aimed at it. Our venue is very small compared to other, larger amphitheatres that are 20,000 people. And at those venues, you are expected to have delay towers [to deflect sound]. Normally, we wouldn’t have one at our size but it was part of our sound mitigation plan.”

On first visit, the Allianz seems well designed, easy to navigate. The new seats are comfortable, the staff is friendly, the VIP sections are embedded in the layout, not bunched up front, and the giant dual screens on each side of the stage helps those on the lawn to see the artists with clear, not show-offy visuals. And, OK, even if the “Richmond Music Trivia” offered up on the screens in between sets was obviously written by someone in the Live Nation home office in Beverly Hills, not someone from Richmond, it’s clear that the Allianz staff is making an effort to fit the new venue into the fabric of the city.

Official suggestions on parking

That includes going out of its way to placate neighboring Oregon Hill, not just on noise but parking. L’Herrou confirms that Oregon Hill has long felt like it has been used as “Richmond’s parking lot.”

But there’s a concerted effort, Street says, to discourage parking in Oregon Hill and instead direct patrons to parking downtown in lots along Cary or on the street for free (the city doesn’t enforce after 6 p.m.). “A lot of people try to come down Brown’s Island Way but that road is incredibly dangerous,” she says, adding that new signage will lead people to the 5th Street entrance of the amphitheatre and away from the neighborhood. A parking map distributed by Allianz also does not include Oregon Hill as a parking option.

“I think ‘guarded optimism’ is where the neighborhood association is right now,” says L’Herrou. She says that she trusts Street and appreciates that she came to an association meeting and met with Oregon Hill residents and took detailed questions. “I believe in her and her good intentions. She wants to do the right thing. But she works for a large corporation, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Other issues from weather to Folk Fest

Beyond the parking and noise, there have been other pervasive questions raised about the new venue. Some online commenters have asked what will happen at the open-air venue when it rains; unlike Charlottesville’s Ting Pavilion, the most expensive seats are not covered. And will the amphitheater be used during the annual Richmond Folk Festival in October? Of the latter, yes.

“We met with Venture Richmond and we’re letting them have the stage,” Street says. “We’re not trying to take anything away from that event. We’ve let them walk through the venue and see how they can best utilize the space.” She acknowledges that one of the inspirations for the venue was the ongoing 20-year success of the festival. “It makes perfect sense to have it here. This is a place here people love to gather. You can see that through the Riverfront project that’s taking place right now.”

The June 4 preview concert wasn’t the official first performance at the new Allianz. Earlier on Wednesday, at a ribbon cutting event, Mayor Danny Avula, members of City Council, and a small crowd of supporters were treated to string music from elementary school students at Oregon Hill’s St. Andrew’s School.

“For a lot of years, musical acts have been by-passing our city because we didn’t have the right venue to house space for those artists,” Mayor Avula told the crowd. “Now we’re changing that. We’re going to bring huge names [and] tons of fans into the city 30 times a year. This is a place we can be proud of. It’s not only going to be a place to see great acts and have great parties, but also, you know, generate some revenue. We’re pretty excited about that.”

“My hope is that neighbors will actually embrace this as something that is going to make our city a much more exciting place to be,” says Mayor Avula. “And maybe some short term inconvenience for the long term investment in vibrancy is worth it.”

Mayor Avula, in an interview with Style, acknowledges the neighbor concerns about amphitheater noise and parking. “But I also know that when you live in a city, in a growing city particularly, we have to find the middle ground. My hope is that neighbors will actually embrace this as something that is going to make our city a much more exciting place to be. And maybe some short term inconvenience for the long term investment in vibrancy is worth it.”

Councilwoman Ellen Robertson’s 6th district houses the amphitheater. She echoes the mayor’s sentiment, and also promises to monitor things. “We will keep our pulse on what’s happening with noise, what’s happening with parking. I hope people will let me know what those challenges are. Citizen concern is a priority.” She reminds that the Allianz Amphitheatre is in response to a long-term need. “We wouldn’t be here today without citizen support.”

Online, some other citizens were already bemoaning certain aspects of the venue, from the lack of parking, to exorbitant ticket and drink prices, the aforementioned lack of covering, to the clear bag policy, which states you can only bring inside “clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC bags no larger than 12” x 6” x 12”.” Small clutch bags do not need to be clear but cannot be larger than 6″x 9.”

Other personal items you should leave at home? Outdoor chairs, cushions or strollers, though you can rent them from the venue. One element that seemed to get universal praise: The toilets were plentiful.

Projected economic impact

According to Richmond’s Economic Development Department, “the open-air amphitheater is expected to generate millions in annual economic impact and will serve as a platform for both national acts and local talent. Beyond concerts, it will host seasonal festivals, civic events, and showcase Richmond’s already thriving arts and cultural communities.”

The $30 million project was constructed through a unique public-private partnership between the City of Richmond, Live Nation Entertainment, Allianz insurance, Charlottesville’s Red Light Management, and local partners. For its part, the city has entered into a 20-year performance grant agreement that uses future tax revenue generated by the amphitheater to offset the venue’s costs.

As for what exactly happens during a concert at the new Allianz Amphitheater when it rains? “There is no covering,” says the general manager.

“We’ll have ponchos available, and we’ll be monitoring the weather and letting people know in advance what it looks like. But when it rains, we get wet.”

For more, go to www.allianzamphitheater.com