Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre Information

The Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, previously Hollywood Casino Amphitheatree. Originally known as World Music Theatre and formerly New World Music Theatre and Tweeter Center, is one of Americas premier amphitheatres.

Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre is an outdoor amphitheater that frequently hosts concerts and music festivals in Tinley Park. It is located at 19100 Ridgeland Ave, Tinley Park, IL.

The venue has a capacity of 28,739, including 11,000 reserved seats and space for approximately 17,000 lawn seats. This capacity makes it one of the largest music venues in the Chicago area. 

The venue opened in 1990 as the World Music Theatre. It has gone by six names since its opening: 

» World Music Theatre (1990 to 1995)
» New World Music Theatre (1995 to 2001)
» Tweeter Center (2001 to 2006)
» First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (2006 to 2015)
» Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre (2015 to 2023)

Currently, the venue is owned by Live Nation, an entertainment company that merged with Ticketmaster.

Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre is known for its fun, lively atmosphere during concerts and festivals and beautiful outdoor backdrop. The venue offers the best of both worlds: assigned amphitheater-style seats near the stage and a spacious lawn area for general admission tickets. With both types of tickets available, the venue’s capacity is impressive, making it a hot spot for major artists with huge followings. 

The amphitheater allows patrons to bring snacks and sealed water bottles but also has concessions available for purchase. The stage faces the east, and concertgoers often get to experience the sunset behind the stage as the concert begins, making for great pictures and videos. 

Since 1990, Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre has hosted many of the biggest names in the music industry. Top performers at this venue include: 

» Kiss
» The Grateful Dead
» Whitney Houston
» Bon Jovi 
» Spice Girls
» Bob Dylan
» Fall Out Boy
» AJR
» Janet Jackson

Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre

History

Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, (originally known as World Music Theatre) is an outdoor music venue located in Tinley Park, Illinois. The venue first opened in 1990 and was built to be one of the largest music venues in the Chicago area with an incredible capacity for around 28,000 guests. This includes 11,000 reserved seats and room for 17,000 on the lawn.

Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre’s history is fairly short, as the venue opened in 1990. At the time, it was called the World Music Theatre. The venue opened as a way to expand concert access in the greater Chicago area, as it was and still is one of the largest music venues near Chicago. It is the second-largest contemporary amphitheater in Illinois, rivaled only by Huntington Bank Pavilion in Chicago.

Since 2006 the venue naming rights were acquired by First Midwest Bancorp in 2006 – current. In 1990 the amphitheatre hosted its very first music artist, Cher, during her Heart of Stone tour.

Gierczyk Development built the venue, which was co-managed by Nederlander Concerts and Jam Productions between 1994 and 1999. Today, it is owned by Live Nation. 

Countless major music festivals and concerts have taken place at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre. The following are some of the most prominent festivals to grace its grounds:

»   All That! Music and More Festival
»   SummerBash
»   Family Values Tour
»   Gigantour
»   Lollapalooza
»   Projekt Revolution
»   Uproar Festival
»   Vans Warped Tour

Notably, Grateful Dead keyboard player Brent Mydland played his last show at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre on July 23, 1990. He passed away three days later. 

In 1997, Rush performed at the venue as part of their Test for Echo Tour. Much of this performance made it onto the band’s live album.

Similarly, Paramore used live footage from their 2014 show with Fall Out Boy in the music video for their song “Last Hope.” 

The venue gained fast fame for its style, size, and incredible selection of shows and events. This led it to becoming a popular hangout spots for Chicago music lovers, as well as music fans from neighboring cities and states as well as a few visits from out of the country. It’s currently one of the only large outdoor music amphitheaters in the Chicago area.

Past Performances and Events

Since it opened, the venue has hosted a massive variety of concerts, tour dates, and music festivals. This includes: All That! Music and More Festival, Anger Management Tour, Area Festival, B96 Pepsi SummerBash, Crüe Fest, Crüe Fest 2, Curiosa Festival, Family Values Tour, Farm Aid, Furthur Festival, Gigantour, The Grateful Dead, H.O.R.D.E. Festival, Honda Civic Tour, Lilith Fair, Lollapalooza, Mayhem Festival, Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution, Rock the Bells Festival, Uproar Festival, Vans Warped Tour and WKQX Q101.1’s Jamboree.

The venue has showcased some of the biggest big bands in the industry, such as Phish, Disturbed and Rush. This year you can expect some of the biggest artists in the world attending the FCredit Union 1 Amphitheatre: Bruno Mars,  country music stars Rascal Flatts, Lionel Richie, Jimmy Buffet, rock group Fall out Boy and many more! For the full schedule please head over to the Schedule page

The venue has even seen performances by Cher (during her Heart of Stone Tour on June 2, 1990), Kiss (during their Hot in The Shade Tour on June 3, 1990), Depeche Mode (during their World Violation Tour on July 2 and July 3, 1990), as well as The Grateful Dead on July 23, 1990 just to name a few of their year one shows

Since then, the venue has made it a point to welcome the biggest performers and bands from the hottest genres in the world.

What Is It Like At The Amphitheatre

You might be wondering if catching shows at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre is the best possible outdoor concert experience in Illinois. The mystery becomes clear when you check out guest reviews from past concert attendees.

Many of them will start by saying that the venue has some of the most comfortable seating arrangements in the business. So whether you’re in reserved seating or on the lawn, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy comfort while listening to the hot show on stage. And that show is always going to be a knockout event, because Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre has a history of booking only top-notch talent for the many concerts, tour dates, festivals, and special events they host every year.

But what good is a concert if the fun vibe isn’t there? Well, thankfully they have you covered. Because many of the venue’s most frequent visitors have a warm and welcoming attitude that you’ll notice from moment one. Everyone’s there to have a great time and that electrifying energy charges the performers on stage. And they give that energy back for what often ends up being some of the most rockstar performances even from the most seasoned entertainers.

And let’s not forget that there’s plenty of delicious food and refreshing drinks on site, so you can chow down on mouth watering dishes while you vibe to the beat.