A Brief Guide to Florida Concert Venues

Hi everyone, it’s Victoria, and today I want to talk about different popular concert venues in Florida, as concerts can be turned into a part of a quick day or weekend trip. Florida is a big state, with plenty of concert venues to choose from depending on location and concert type, and as a music lover, I have been to a variety of different concert venues around the state. If you aren’t familiar with different concert venue types and how they vary, this post will also be helpful even though it is based in Florida!

Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fl

Amalie Arena is one of my favorite places in Florida - for both concerts and because of the memories I have here. I saw my first concert here (Demi Lovato on her Neon Lights Tour in 2014!), and I have seen many more since then. Located in the Channelside District of Tampa, Amalie Arena is in a wonderful location to turn a concert into a nice day trip around the city.

The arena, which was built in 1996 and is home to the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team, can fit around 20,000 people for concerts, depending on the stage set up and whether the floor is seats or general admission. Besides the floor, there are three levels of seats, and personally, I think that there is no bad seat in Amalie Arena - except maybe if you’re sitting behind the stage for a sold out show. Obviously being closer to the stage is better than being higher up in relation to how well you can see the stage, but the big screens hanging next to the stage help.

Various musicians perform at Amalie Arena because of it’s great location and size, but it tends to cater to more popular artists, like Ed Sheeran and Maroon 5 (both of which I have seen here!).

Similar Venues in Fl: Amway Center in Orlando, American Airlines Arena in Miami, and the BB&T Center in Sunrise

Nearby Hotels: Hilton Tampa Downtown and Embassy Suites Tampa - Downtown Convention Center

Coral Sky Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Fl

Coral Sky Amphitheatre, which was also built in 1996 and has gone through multiple name changes since then, is an open-air venue on the east coast of Florida that can fit up to 20,000 people - more than half of which includes general admission seating on the lawn. The amphitheatre is located on the South Florida Fairgrounds, which means that there is plenty of area for different food venues and occasionally food trucks or other booths, depending on the event.

I have only been to Coral Sky once, back in September 2017 to see Green Day, but I enjoyed it immensely. Both the staff and the venue itself helped to make it a smooth sailing night, even when we had a small hiccup with our tickets. Our seats were great, but I cannot speak for other seating areas there, as I have only been there once, but they do have big screens on both sides of the stage to project the concert to the fans sitting farther away. While I have only been here once, Coral Sky left a good impression on me and I can see myself coming here again.

Personally, it seems like more rock and alternative bands play at amphitheatres, but that is only my thoughts based on musicians I have seen both at Coral Sky and other amphitheatres around the state.

Similar Venues in Fl: MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa

Nearby Hotels: Hampton Inn West Palm Beach Florida Turnpike

Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Fl

Hard Rock Live is a very intimate concert venue located in Universal Orlando’s CityWalk, so therefore it is technically a part of Universal Resort Orlando. Definitely smaller than the venues mentioned above, Hard Rock Live caters to a smaller audience, but the quality isn’t compromised compared to bigger concert venues. Fitting around 3,000 people, seeing a concert here feels like you’re up close and personal with the performer.

There are two floors, called the lower and upper bowl respectively, and while the upper bowl (second floor) is always reserved seating, the lower bowl (first floor) can either be reserved seating or general admission, depending on the performer. I had center balcony seats when I was here in 2016 to see The 1975, and my seats couldn’t have been better! Even though we were a floor above the stage, it felt like we were right there and the view wasn’t compromised at all!

Hard Rock Live definitely caters to smaller, up and coming groups with a decent following. I would say various alternative bands, but because it is technically considered an auditorium, you might catch a comedian or a motivational speaker on the ticket roster.

Similar Venues in Fl: House of Blues in Orlando

Nearby Hotels: Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort or any other hotel and resort found on Universal Resort property

Hanging over the entrance to Hard Rock Live is a
digital banner showcasing the events held there;
this was from when I saw The 1975 there back in 2016!

I know this blog post ended up being longer than usual, but I wanted and hoped to accomplish something that I would personally find useful when looking for a concert! And as always, thank you for reading, and comment down below about some of your favorite concert venues - whether they be in Florida or not!