The Gorge Amphitheater
The original amphitheater was owned and operated by Dr. Vincent Bryan and Carol Bryan, along with the adjoining winery, Champs de Brionne, for which it was named.
It opened in 1986 and seated 3,000 people, but had expanded to 19,000 by the time of its purchase by MCA in 1993. The Gorge Amphitheatre was bought by Live Nation in 2006.
North of Interstate 90, The Gorge is approximately 150 miles east of Seattle and approximately 130 miles west of Spokane. This venue offers views of the Columbia River, Columbia Gorge canyon, eastern Kittitas, and western Grant County. Originally, the land was supposed to be used for growing grapes for wine.
Apart from drawing big name performers, The Gorge has also played host to an array of popular music festivals, including Area Festival, Creation Festival, Dave Matthews Band Caravan, H.O.R.D.E. Festival, Honda Civic Tour, Identity Festival, Lilith Fair, Lollapalooza, Ozzfest, Paradiso Festival, Rock the Bells Festival, Sasquatch Music Festival, Uproar Festival, Vans Warped Tour, Pain in the Grass, and Watershed Festival as well as Phish, who has played 22 times since 1997.
In addition, Brooks & Dunn’s “Only in America” video was filmed here on June 12, 2001.





Festivals (August)
Bass Canyon: A three-day country music extravaganza that takes place in one of the most iconic venues in North America, Watershed Festival is the largest country music fest in the Pacific Northwest! The Gorge Amphitheatre, provides an out-of-this-world backdrop for this annual event that assembles the superstars, rising stars and future stars of country music for a second-to-none summer spectacular!
Watershed: An event tailored to bass lovers far and wide! Resident DJ Excision is the one typically on-site to rattle the legendary Gorge Amphitheatre! Curated by Excision, Bass Canyon promises a weekend of bass-fueled fun in the summer sun. Think 3 blissful days of non-stop headbanging, tons of bass, huge stage production, dreamy sunsets, and much much more!