Bring on the summer music! Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa features summer concerts and events that take place during the annual Orange County Fair. During that time, admission to the Orange County Fair is included with the purchase of Pacific Amphitheatre concert tickets. The outdoor venue located at the OC Fair & Event Center, seats 7,850 concert-goers.
Pacific Amphitheatre Details
Address: 100 Fair Dr, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone Number: 714-708-1500
Box Office Hours: Saturdays & Sundays 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Hours vary throughout the year. Call ahead to confirm hours)
General Parking: Rates vary by event. $12 and up
RV/Limo Parking: $20 and up
Pacific Amphitheatre History
Pacific Amphitheatre originally opened in 1983 with Barry Manilow taking the stage and was the site of Marvin Gaye’s final concert before his death. The Amphitheatre is located in the city of Costa Mesa, with residential communities within close proximity. Due to noise complaints from residents, the Amphitheatre was closed in the early 1990s. The venue reopened in 2003 after making an agreement with local residents to hold concerts only during OC Fair Season. Pacific Amphitheatre was revitalized in 2015.
Seating
Seating at Pacific Amphitheater accommodates approximately 7,850 attendees and is divided into 8 regular sections, plus a pit and a circle section in front of the stage. Wheelchair accessible sections are available in the front portion of section three, at the rear of sections one and three, and at the rear of sections five and seven.
Parking
General parking for Pacific Amphitheatre is available on the grounds of the OC Fair & Event Center. During events, signs will be posted with directions for entry. Once parked, enter the fair and the amphitheater through the Green, Yellow, or Blue gates. During high traffic days, on-site parking fills up quickly and drivers will be directed to nearby offsite parking.
Free Parking: The offsite parking area is located at the Experian Parking Structure on Bristol and is free of charge on Saturdays and Sundays. Shuttle service is available from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekends only to transport guests to the fairgrounds.
Onsite parking during fair season is $10 per car or $20 per bus or limo. Surrounding residential areas require city issued permits for street parking and vehicles without permits may be towed and/or ticketed.
VIP Parking: There is a Pacific Amphitheatre Reserved Parking option that requires advanced purchase. Reserved Parking is closed 24 hours before each event and must be purchased prior to this deadline. Enter through Gate 4 to access Reserved Parking.
You can also take The OC Express Bus for $4 Roundtrip with 9 locations: Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Orange Village and Santa Ana.
Driving Directions
From the 5, 22, 73, 91, and 405, connect to the 55 South Newport Freeway and exit Del Mar/Fair Drive.
Concessions
Pacific Amphitheatre is located at the OC Fair & Event center and a variety of concessions and unique fair-food vendors are available within the OC Fairgrounds to purchase food and drinks. Guests will enjoy everything from their favorite beer to gourmet hot dogs, vegetable wraps, roasted corn, donuts and more. There is also food and beverage concessions inside the amphitheater.
Pacific Amphitheatre Tips & Venue Information
- Check the website for parking information and directions before you go in case there are updates.
- Uber and Lyft pick up and drop off to avoid parking issues.
- Bicycle racks are located near all public entrances.
- Plan to arrive 60 to 90 minutes before the show.
- There are ample options for food and beverages, so lines are not extremely long.
- There are plenty of restroom stalls so wait times are not as long as at some venues.
- Pay attention to signs on the street directing traffic.
- Purchase food and drinks at the fair and bring it into the venue.
- Visit the OC Fair before or after the concert (or both) with free fair admission with most concert tickets.
- Two monitors for viewing performers.
- Bring jackets, sweaters, or blankets – summer evenings are sometimes cool at this venue.
- About $9 – $12 for beer and $12 for mixed drinks
What’s Allowed at Pacific Amp
- Small bags
- Blankets
- Binoculars
- Signs no larger than 28″W by 22″H
What’s Not Allowed
- Weapons of any kind
- Backpacks
- Lawn Chairs
- Strollers and Wagons
- Umbrellas
- Alcohol
- Cameras – still or video
- Recorders – audio or video
- Illegal drugs/substances
- Glass containers
- Cans
- Hard sided/large coolers
- Laser pointers or pens
- Animals (except service animals)
- Fireworks
- Outside Food
2023 Pacific Amphitheatre Events at the OC Fair
| 2023 OC Fair Dates | Pacific Amphitheatre Event |
|---|---|
| Saturday, July 1 *Pre-fair Show | Stephen Marley with Fortunate Youth and Arise Roots |
| Saturday, July 8 *Pre-fair Show | The Green with Hirie, Mike Love, Jesse Royal and Common Sense |
| Friday, July 14 | ABBA LA and Bee Gees Gold |
| Saturday, July 15 | 3 Doors Down with Candlebox |
| Sunday, July 16 | Happy Together Tour |
| Wednesday, July 19 | Smokey Robinson |
| Thursday, July 20 | Dwight Yoakam/ Asleep at the Wheel |
| Friday, July 21 | Yung Gravy & BBNOS |
| Saturday, July 22 | Midland |
| Sunday, July 23 | Gerardo Ortiz |
| Wednesday, July 26 | Ramon Ayala/Fidel Rueda |
| Thursday, July 27 | Styx |
| Friday, July 28 | George Thorogood & The Destroyers with The Robert Cray Band |
| Saturday, July 29 | Sweet & Tender Hooligans / The Cured / The Happy Haus |
| Sunday, July 30 | ~X~ / English Beat / Save Ferris |
| Wednesday, August 2 | AJR & EM Beihold |
| Thursday, August 3 | Ziggy Marley / Wailing Souls |
| Friday, August 4 | Ne-Yo / Robin Thicke / Mario |
| Saturday, August 5 | The Fab Four |
| Saturday, August 6 | War The Rascals The Family Stone |
| Monday, August 7 | Cheap Trick / The Tubes |
| Wednesday, August 9 | Beck with Phoenix |
| Thursday, August 10 | Jeff Dunham |
| August 11-13 | Rebelution Iration/The Expendables |
| Friday, August 18 | Los Tucanes de Tijuana / La Original Banda El Limon |
| Sunday, August 20 | Chicago |
| Sunday, August 27 | Gabriel Iglesias |
| Saturday, September 2 | Common Kings / Fiji / Sammy J / Jakob’s Castle / Western Conference |
Additional 2023 events to be announced.
2022 Events at Pacific Amphitheatre
| Kool & The Gang with Sister Sledge | Friday, July 15, 2022 |
| Trevor Noah | Saturday, July 16, 2022 |
| Happy Together Tour | Sunday, July 17, 2022 |
| Live To Rock Tour: Skid Row, Warrant, & More | Wednesday, July 20, 2022 |
| Lindsey Stirling | Thursday, July 21, 2022 |
| Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons | Friday, July 22, 2022 |
| Abba LA and Bee Gees Gold | Saturday, July 23, 2022 |
| Island Empire Festival | Sunday, July 24, 2022 |
| Counting Crows | Wednesday, July 27, 2022 |
| The Offspring with Agent Orange & Love Canal | Thursday, July 28, 2022 |
| Brett Eldredge | Friday, July 29, 2022 |
| CNCO with Maria Jose | Saturday, July 30, 2022 |
| J Boog/The Green | Sunday, July 31, 2022 |
| Three Dog Night & The Grass Roots | Wednesday, August 3, 2022 |
| Jim Gaffigan: The Fun Tour | Thursday, August 4, 2022 |
| Rebelution with Steel Pulse/Denm | Friday, August 5 & Saturday, August 6, 2022 |
| Sweet & Tender Hooligans w/ Devotional / Substance | Sunday, August 7, 2022 |
| The Band Perry w/ Lindsay Ell/The Joy Reunion | Wednesday, August 10, 2022 |
| Maxwell | Thursday, August 11, 2022 |
| Smokey Robinson | Friday, August 12, 2022 |
| The Fab Four | Saturday, August 13, 2022 |
| The Psychedelic Furs w/ -X- | Sunday, August 14, 2022 |
| Boy George & Culture Club | Thursday, August 18, 2022 |
| Cole Swindell w/ Honey County | Friday, August 19, 2022 |
| Steve Miller Band | Thursday, August 25, 2022 |
| Ramon Ayala w/ Conjunto Primavera | Sunday, August 28, 2022 |
| Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo + Ann Wilson of Heart | Wednesday, August 31, 2022 |
| Halestorm with The Struts | Thursday, September 1, 2022 |
| Jackson Browne | Saturday, September 3, 2022 |
2021 Events at Pacific Amphitheatre
| OC Brew Hee Haw – The 90s Session | Friday, July 23, 2021 |
| OC Brew Hee Haw – The Classic Rock Session | Saturday, July 24, 2021 |
| OC Brew Hee Haw – The 80s Prom Party Session | Saturday, July 24, 2021 |
| Brantley Gilbert | Thursday, July 29, 2021 |
| Pepper, Pacific Dub, & Common Sense | Saturday, July 31, 2021 |
| X & Los Lobos with The Blasters | Sunday, August 1, 2021 |
| Cole Swindell with Honey County | Wednesday, August 4, 2021 |
| War & The Commodores | Thursday, August 5, 2021 |
| Rebelution with Steel Pulse and The Green | August 6 & 7, 2021 |
| The Fab Four 55th Anniversary of Revolver | Sunday, August 8, 2021 5:00PM |
| The Fab Four 50th Anniversary of Let It Be | Sunday, August 8, 2021 8:00PM |
| Cheap Trick & Blue Oyster Cult | Wednesday, August 11, 2021 |
| Dwight Yoakam with Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys | Friday, August 13, 2021 |
| The Aquabats, The English Beat & Dead Man’s Party | Saturday, August 14, 2021 |
| Jo Koy & Friends | Sunday, August 15, 2021 |
| Colbie Caillat, Natasha Bedingfield, & Diana Demuth | Friday, August 20, 2021 |
| “Toy Story” With The Pacific Symphony | Saturday, August 21, 2021 |
| Ramon Ayala & Enigma Norteno | Sunday, August 22, 2021 |
| Goo Goo Dolls with Sister Hazel | Wednesday, August 25, 2021 |
| The Flaming Lips with Greer | Thursday, August 26, 2021 |
| Chase Rice with Breland | Thursday, September 2, 2021 |
| Pacific Symphony: Tchaikovsky Spectacular | Saturday, September 11, 2021 |
| Hank Williams, Jr. | Thursday, September 23, 2021 |
For a complete and updated list of events visit Pacific Amphitheater Events.
Related Articles
| FivePoint Amphitheatre | Live Music Venues in Orange County |
| Fairs & Festivals in Orange County | Summer Concert Series’ in Orange County |
| Orange County Fair & Event Center | The Orange County Fair |
Heidi Deal is the author of the Newcomers Handbook to Living In Los Angeles & Orange County, and a children’s book author specializing in history and human rights.