Kansas City’s new amphitheater means more concerts. But what’s the downside?
Chris Fritz has been producing concerts in Kansas City for more than 50 years, so when he says a storm is approaching the industry locally, you listen to him.
The catalyst of the looming tempest is the Morton Amphitheater, which will open this summer in Riverside with 30 or more concerts already on the schedule. It will compete directly with Azura Amphitheater, which Fritz operates, and to a lesser extent with Starlight. All three are outdoor venues that operate from late spring through early fall.
“Everybody’s going to have to take a different look at how they’re doing their business,” Fritz said. “We’re planning on hopefully surviving the storm.”
Fritz has operated the Bonner Springs amphitheater originally known as Sandstone since 1990 through his New West Presentations. He works mostly with Mammoth, a local independent promoter.
Morton Amphitheater is owned and operated by Live Nation, which dominates concert production in the United States. It also owns the ticket-selling powerhouse Ticketmaster.
Live Nation controls most of the nation’s major musical acts, so Morton has gotten first choice on concerts coming to Kansas City this summer.
Morton Amphitheater vs. Starlight & Azura
It is telling that as of Feb. 19, Morton had announced 31 shows — beginning June 10 RÜFÜS DU SOL and including two nights of Chris Stapleton — while Starlight had announced 15 and Azura five (including three days of the Country Stampede).
“There’s only so much to go around right at the moment, and it’s problematic, I think,” Fritz said. “It’s going to be very problematic for everybody.”
Fritz’s Azura is more vulnerable than Starlight because it has roughly the same capacity as Morton (18,000 vs. 16,000) and doesn’t rely on Live Nation as a producer. Starlight, on the other hand, is less than half the size of the other two amphitheaters and is associated with Live Nation.
Lindsey Rood-Clifford, Starlight’s president and CEO, said Live Nation has been “very transparent” in dealings.
“In a lot of their markets, they have a very similar arrangement with a larger amphitheater in that sort of 15,000-plus capacity range and a smaller, what they call a boutique amphitheater, which is kind of around the 5,000 to 10,000 range. Which is what we are,” Rood-Clifford said.
“It was an opportunity for them to bring more shows and right shows in right-size spaces. That’s kind of what they told us, and so far, in terms of bookings as we see them and opportunities that are coming into our calendar, it feels right now like business as usual.”
Still, Starlight has taken some hits.
Yankovic was previously a regular at Starlight, appearing there seven times between 2000 and 2025. Also defecting to Morton are Foreigner (six shows at Starlight since 2010) and Chicago (14 times starting in 1982).
Rood-Clifford said it will be interesting to see how those acts draw at the bigger venue.
“I would say if we are watching anything as we look at this summer and through the next is just what happens to the shows — and Chicago’s maybe a good example — that sell really well here,” she said.
“… I would certainly suspect that in the first year of an amphitheater, too, they may be trying some shows over there to see what happens. And we’ll see if a Chicago stays over there or comes back to us.”
Concert calendars fill up for all venues
Both Rood-Clifford and Fritz expect their venues to wind up with full concert calendars this summer. They indicated many shows will be announced in the next few weeks.
In fact, Starlight is likely to have more concerts than the usual 20-25 to take advantage of visitors in town for the World Cup soccer tournament. Rood-Clifford said Starlight’s calendar will start earlier than usual with Mt. Joy on April 21, and she hopes to have shows through mid-October.
Fritz is planning to have about 15 shows, which is typical at Azura, but the addition of Morton has made his job tougher. He said Live Nation is “definitely a monopoly in the U.S.,” and it is nearly so in the Kansas City area. In addition to Morton and Starlight, Live Nation is the primary promoter at T-Mobile Center and Cable-Dahmer Arena.
“It looks like a lot of cannibalism among their own venues,” he said. “It doesn’t help us out a lot either.”
Rood-Clifford is taking a wait-and-see attitude about Morton’s effect on the local concert landscape.
“Is it going to grow the number of shows that are coming through Kansas City?” she said. “And is that an opportunity for us? Or is it spreading out the same number of shows over more venues, which clearly can have a negative impact if you’ve got one venue that’s new and shiny?
“I am cautiously optimistic, is what I would say. Because it is exciting when you have something that’s going to pull hopefully new people to live music in general. People will want to see it, and that’s hopefully a good thing for all of us.”
How concert ticket prices could change
Fritz warns that it might not be a good thing for music fans on a tight budget, however. He said when people are struggling “just paying their rent or meeting their car payment or buying groceries” as in today’s economy, concert tickets are an unaffordable luxury.
With the addition of Morton, the demand for acts coming to Kansas City has increased while the supply has not. Fritz pointed out that means bands can insist on more money, which leads to higher ticket prices.
“Rich people have money,” he said. “The average person can’t afford $500 tickets, $300 tickets each.
“I know one thing, ticket prices are not going down at the moment. Not unless there’s a big problem, and big problems don’t work for promoters.”
Kansas City’s amphitheaters
Azura Amphitheater
- Location: 633 N. 130th St., Bonner Springs
- Capacity: 18,000, with 3,100 reserved
- Year opened/owner: 1984; owned by Unified government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, operated by New West Presentations
- Information: azuraamp.com
- 2026 schedule so far: ZZ Top & Dwight Yoakam: Dos Amigos Tour, April 25; Bush with Mammoth and James and the Cold Gun, May 8; Country Stampede featuring Treaty Oak Revival, Zach Top, Rascal Flatts and more, June 25-27.
Morton Amphitheater
- Location: 6150 NW Music Blvd., Riverside, off Horizons Parkway and Interstate 635
- Capacity: 16,000, with 12,000 covered seats
- Year opened/owner: 2026; Live Nation
- Information: mortonamphitheater.com
Starlight
- Location: 4600 Starlight Road, Swope Park
- Capacity: 7,739; a canopy is being added to cover the front 3,200 seats
- Year opened/owner: 1950, with popular music concerts beginning in 1980; owned by the city, operated by the nonprofit Starlight Theatre Association of Kansas City
- Information: kcstarlight.com
- 2026 schedule so far: Mt. Joy, April 21; David Byrne, May 5; Charlie Puth, May 13; Triumph, May 16; Primus, The Claypool Lennon Delirium and Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, May 28; Paul Simon, June 16; The Fray, July 14; Sarah McLachlan, July 24; Rainbow Kitten Surprise, July 27; Young the Giant, Aug. 2; Lindsey Stirling, Aug. 10; Flatland Cavalry, Aug. 21; CAAMP, Aug. 24; O.A.R., Aug. 30; Blues Traveler and Gin Blossoms, Sept. 15.
KC’s primary arena venues
Cable Dahmer Arena
- Location: 19100 E. Valley View Parkway, Independence
- Capacity: 5,800
- Year opened/owner: 2009, city of Independence
- Information: cabledahmerarena.com
T-Mobile Center
- Location: 1407 Grand Blvd.
- Capacity: 19,000-20,000
- Year opened/owner: 2007; owned by the city, managed by ASM Global
- Information: t-mobilecenter.com
Historic venues
Folly Theater: 300 W. 12th St.; capacity 1,078; built in 1900. follytheater.org
The Granada: 1020 Massachusetts St., Lawrence; 900; 1928. thegranada.com
Madrid Theatre: 3810 Main St.; 800; 1926. madridtheatre.com
Memorial Hall: 600 N. Seventh Street Trafficway, Kansas City, Kansas; 3,500; 1925, Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. visitkansascityks.com
The Midland: 1228 Main St.; 1,300-3,000; 1927; Cordish Company. midlandkc.com
Municipal Auditorium: 301 W. 13th St,; 10,700; 1935. kcconvention.com/venues
Music Hall: 301 W. 13th St.; 2,400; 1935. kcconvention.com/venues
Uptown Theater: 3700 Broadway Blvd.; 2,400; 1928. uptowntheater.com
Liberty Hall: 644 Massachusetts St., Lawrence; 1,050; 1912 (original venue 1856). liberty-hall.com
Other venues
Ameristar: 3200 N. Ameristar Drive; 1,300-plus. ameristarkansascity.com
Grinders KC: 1826 Locust St.; 3,000. grinderskc.com
KC Live!: 13th and Grand; 150-8,000-plus. powerandlightdistrict.com
Knuckleheads: 2715 Rochester Ave.; four stages, 75-1,300. knuckleheadskc.com
The Truman: 601 E. Truman Road; 450-1,200-plus. thetrumankc.com
VooDoo: 1 Riverboat Drive, North Kansas City; 750-1,150. voodookc.com
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 6:47 AM.
