I’ve only walked out of one outdoor concert. The city’s amphitheaters are one of the things I love best about my adopted hometown, and I have long maintained that you can enjoy practically any concert under the stars. We even raised our flip phones to Mitch Miller & His Orchestra, for Pete’s sake. Then someone took us to see Gordon Lightfoot at Chastain. It was raining. And who knew every song he performs sounds like “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”? But I swear there have been many more magical nights than not, like the one when we discovered Diana Krall as an opening act. If you haven’t been to Chastain, Encore Park, or Lakewood, go ASAP. If you have, did you know there are several smaller, more intimate amphitheaters to explore?
➽ Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre
This 2,400-person venue in Mableton opened in 2003 and offers covered, reserved seating on a campus with an arts center and historic home.
Coming attraction Summer Jazz Explosion with Marion Meadows (6/7)
➽ Wolf Creek Amphitheater
Opened in 2011, the 5,300-seat facility brought a much-needed venue to southwest Atlanta. It offers a mix of table, reserved, and lawn seating for community events and concerts.
Coming attraction Pre-Father’s Day BBQ & Blues Festival with Clarence Carter (6/14)
➽ Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater
The Fred—whose summer concert series is celebrating its twentieth anniversary—is in an active complex in Peachtree City that includes a skateboard ramp, BMX track, and nature center boardwalk. The 2,200-seat venue hosts national acts like Gladys Knight and the Beach Boys.
Coming attraction Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers (6/21)
Plus There are the lawn concert series at Piedmont Park, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Callanwolde, and Centennial Olympic Park.
