WATERFRONT UPGRADE: Maine Savings Amphitheater, formerly known as Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion, has undergone a multi-year, multimillion-dollar renovation that has added permanent bathrooms and multiple VIP and premium spaces. (Courtesy Venue)
2024 VenuesNow All-Star Amphitheater
Maine Savings Amphitheater | Bangor, Maine
Maine Savings Amphitheater has used its rustic location in Bangor, Maine, as a strength, becoming a regular tour stop for major artists — some of whom play stadiums in larger markets — as well as a respite for artists on the road.
“Maine’s called ‘Vacationland,’ it’s on our license plates for a reason,” says Alex Gray, founder of Waterfront Concerts, which operates the city owned, 16,500-capacity venue and produces the annual Waterfront Concert Series.
That means despite the city’s population of 30,000, summertime sees an influx of tourists and other visitors, which can include NFL team owners, famous musicians and other celebrities along with the rest of the concert-going public. That also means when someone like Kenny Chesney comes through for a show, not only the fans are having a good time.
“We’ve got a 26-acre private estate that we use to host artists, where we can put them up for days,” says Gray. “We have amenities that I don’t think the traditional amphitheater has, and our people are extraordinary and really care how the artists and their families are treated. We have unique things for the children on tour and we curate experiences for them, the same as we do for the headliner. It’s boded well for us in season 16 and rolling into season 17.”
While the venue’s waterfront location and surrounding amenities have always been a positive for the venue, formerly known as Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion, and the amphitheater has been a busy concert destination since its opening in 2010, it lacked the infrastructure and amenities required for today’s concert touring world. In 2019, Gray doubled down on the amphitheater, putting millions into multi-year upgrades that led to permanent restrooms, club spaces and suites, which are branded for Dunkin’, Truly, Miller Lite and local auto dealer Darling.
“There is a high focus on premium, but our greatest focus was shortening lines,” said Gray, who said he was inspired by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ commitment to ample bathrooms when building the team’s new stadium. The amphitheater now sports a 1 to 60 ratio between fan and fixture when it comes to bathrooms.
“Customers in our business stand in line, to get in the venue, to buy a beverage, to buy food, to buy merchandise,” said Gray. “What we tried to do was simplify all that and really look at best-in-class amenities as rudimentary as bathrooms and culinary side concessions. It was about really increasing the experience.”
With the work starting in 2019, the pandemic put a pause on operations but allowed Gray and architect Rob Ervin of the local Ervin Architecture to fine-tune the design. Maine’s brutal winters meant careful planning and construction timelines working around the venue’s summer concert season.
“Sometime in April of ‘21 we restarted the job and hosted Luke Bryan for a show that was supposed to happen in 2020,” Gray said.
The venue’s new naming rights went into effect for the 2022 season. “We had four shows in ‘21, and did all the work that we could prior to that season,” he said. “Once that season was over, we went heavy into construction and contracting. We used different building contractors throughout the property, because there really wasn’t a firm large enough to handle all of it here.”
The work was complete in time for Dave Matthews Band’s June 2023 gig.
“We’ve had almost two complete seasons since the work, and I think our team has gotten really good at the use of the property,” Gray said. “We did a few additions, a stairway in the rear based on customer feedback, and a few additions will happen this off season based on customer feedback.”
The outlook for 2025 remains bright, he says.
“This season was the largest in our history, and the previous high was 2023,” said Gray, with this year hosting shows from Kenny Chesney, Lainey Wilson, Post Malone, Tyler Childers and others.
“We’ve got a lot of interest in what we’re doing, but it’s incumbent upon us to just keep on and improve upon our experience. It’s just a constant evolution, and we’re always trying to see how we can improve and reading into what the consumer says.”
