Merriweather Post Pavilion is an outdoor concert venue located within Symphony Woods, a 40-acre (162,000-m²) lot of preserved land in the heart of the planned community of Columbia, Maryland. It was named for the American Post Foods heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. Originally intended to be a summer home for the National Symphony Orchestra, the pavilion later became a venue for more popular music concerts. It was designed by award-winning architect Frank Gehry and opened in 1967.[1] The current capacity is 19,316.
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For the Pavilion's dedication ceremonies in 1967, the National Symphony Orchestra performed two pieces commissioned for the event, by American composer Morton Gould. The pieces, entitled "Columbian Fanfare for Brass Ensemble" and "Columbia, Broadsides for Orchestra on Columbian Themes", contain variations on themes from historically significant compositions Hail, Columbia and Columbia, Gem of the Ocean.[2]
In 1969, The Who performed at the pavilion with Led Zeppelin,[3] the only time these two bands have appeared on the same bill.[4] The pavilion was also host to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, shortly before their passing.[5]
In 1977, Jackson Browne recorded portions of his Running on Empty album, including the title track and "The Load-Out".
Genesis filmed a promotional video for "Many Too Many", from their ...And Then There Were Three... album, on July 26, 1978.
Jimmy Buffett has performed at the pavilion, more than any other artist, over 40 times.[3]
The Kinks recorded portions of Live: The Road at the venue.[6]
In 1990, The Grateful Dead and The Jerry Garcia Band were banned from the venue, due to police requests, prompted by drug arrests of fans.[7]
Aerosmith were scheduled to perform during their Just Push Play Tour on September 15, 2001, with Fuel as their opening act, but the show was cancelled, due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Animal Collective, a band originally from nearby Baltimore, named their eighth studio album after the venue. Two years later, they were announced to have a show scheduled there for July 2011.[8]
The Scorpions performed during their Get Your Sting and Blackout World Tour on June 19, 2010, with a surprise guest appearance by Mötley Crüe lead vocalist Vince Neil, during "Another Piece of Meat".
Phish performed and recorded their show, on June 27, 2010, which was later released as a live album, entitled Live Phish 06.27.10.
After three consecutive years at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, the 2009 Virgin Mobile Festival was held at Merriweather on August 30. The festival, headlined by Blink-182 and Weezer, was made a totally free event for the public. The 2010 festival was also held at the venue. Other festivals hosted at the pavilion include Curiosa, Lilith Fair, The HFStival, The Area:One Festival, The Gigantour and The Vans Warped Tour.
On June 11, 2009, Country-Pop phenomenon, Taylor Swift performed at the venue to a sold out crowd as a part of her Fearless Tour.
On June 9, 2011 folk rock band Mumford & Sons sold out the pavilion[9] in what was the biggest venue of their career so far.
Katy Perry performed on June 15, 2011 to a sold out crowd and stated that she "had never played in front of 19,000 people before."
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