It’s quiet now. If you drive past the Great Park in Irvine today, you won’t hear the rattling bass of a Foo Fighters soundcheck or the roar of 12,000 people screaming along to a country anthem. The FivePoint Amphitheatre is gone. It wasn’t a slow fade, either. It was a planned, somewhat unceremonious exit that left Orange County concertgoers in a bit of a lurch. Honestly, the whole thing was kind of a whirlwind from start to finish.
For decades, the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre—later known as Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre—was the heartbeat of the OC music scene. When it closed in 2016 to make room for apartments, it felt like the end of an era. People were genuinely devastated. But then, almost out of nowhere, Live Nation and FivePoint teamed up to build a "temporary" replacement. They slapped it together in months. It opened in 2017. And for six years, it was the place to be, even if it basically felt like a giant, very loud Erector Set in the middle of a construction zone.
The FivePoint Amphitheatre Experiment
Nobody expected FivePoint to last forever. That was the catch. It was built using modular materials—think bleachers and shipping containers—because the land was always destined for something else. Most venues of this scale take years to permit and build. This one? It was a sprint. Live Nation needed a bridge venue to keep the North American tour circuit coming through Irvine while they figured out a permanent solution with the city.
The venue itself was unique. It wasn't "pretty" in the traditional sense. You weren't surrounded by lush trees or architectural marvels. Instead, you had massive LED screens, a surprisingly great sound system, and a lot of asphalt. But man, the vibes were top-tier. There was something about the raw, pop-up nature of the place that made every show feel like a massive backyard party.
Why the Location Mattered
Being situated at the Great Park—formerly the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station—gave it a sense of scale that’s hard to find in suburban Southern California. You had enough space for a massive "Great Lawn" where people could spread out, and the proximity to the Irvine Metrolink station was a game-changer for anyone who didn't want to deal with the soul-crushing traffic on the 405 or the 5.
I remember talking to fans who would take the train down from LA or up from San Diego, walk a short distance, and be at the gate. That's a rarity for an outdoor amphitheater in California. Usually, you're looking at a two-hour parking lot escape plan. At FivePoint, you could actually breathe.
The Sound and the Fury: Logistics of a Temporary Hub
Let’s talk about the tech. Since it was a temporary build, they didn't have to worry about permanent acoustic walls or fixed roof structures. This allowed for a very clean line of sight. Honestly, there wasn't a bad seat in the house, even in the back of the bleachers. The sound didn't bounce around like it does in some older concrete bowls. It was direct. It was loud.
The lineup over the years was legitimately impressive. We saw everyone from Zac Brown Band to Nine Inch Nails. It became a staple for the "Summer Amphitheater Tour" circuit. If you were a big-name artist and you weren't playing the Hollywood Bowl, you were probably at FivePoint.
The Growing Pains
It wasn't all perfect. Because it was essentially a giant parking lot converted into a stadium, the heat could be brutal. On a 95-degree Irvine day, that asphalt acted like a giant heat sink. If you arrived early for a festival-style show, you were basically being slow-cooked until the sun went down behind the hangars.
And then there was the dust. Oh, the dust.
When the wind picked up across the flat expanses of the Great Park, you’d leave a show with a fine layer of El Toro dirt on your skin. It was just part of the experience. You’ve got to appreciate that kind of grit in an era where everything is becoming overly sanitized and corporate.
The 2023 Closure: What Went Wrong?
The end came faster than many fans hoped. In late 2023, it was announced that the 2023 season would be the final one for FivePoint Amphitheatre. The reason? A complicated cocktail of land use agreements, neighborhood noise complaints, and a shift in the city's vision for the Great Park.
Basically, the "temporary" clock ran out.
The Great Park Disagreement
For a while, there was a plan to build a permanent, world-class amphitheater in the Great Park. Live Nation was supposed to run it. But the City of Irvine and Live Nation couldn't see eye-to-eye on the details. The city wanted more control and perhaps a different type of venue—something more like a "boutique" amphitheater—while Live Nation wanted a high-capacity powerhouse that could compete with the biggest stages in the country.
When the deal fell through, the fate of FivePoint was sealed. The land was needed for other developments within the Great Park master plan. By the time the final notes of the 2023 season faded, the cranes were already looming.
Life After FivePoint: Where Does the Music Go?
So, where do you go now if you're in Irvine and want to see a major outdoor show?
Right now, there’s a bit of a vacuum. Some tours are shifting to the Honda Center in Anaheim or the Pacific Amphitheatre at the OC Fairgrounds. Others are just skipping Orange County entirely and heading straight to San Diego or Los Angeles. It’s a huge bummer for local businesses that relied on that foot traffic. Restaurants in the Los Olivos shopping center used to be packed on show nights; now, it's back to the usual suburban hum.
The Future of Live Music in Irvine
There is hope, though. The City of Irvine hasn't given up on the idea of a permanent venue. They are moving forward with plans for a city-run amphitheater that’s expected to be around 8,000 to 10,000 seats. It won't be the same as the FivePoint or the old Irvine Meadows, but it’s something.
The goal is to create a space that fits the "cultural terrace" of the Great Park. Think less "massive rock concert" and maybe a bit more "community arts and curated events." Whether that satisfies the hardcore concertgoers who loved the 12,000-seat energy of FivePoint remains to be seen.
Actionable Insights for OC Concertgoers
Since the FivePoint era is officially in the rearview mirror, your concert-going strategy in Orange County has to change. You can't just count on the Great Park anymore.
- Monitor the Pacific Amphitheatre Schedule: While it’s mostly active during the OC Fair in July and August, they’ve been booking more stand-alone shows. It has that classic outdoor feel, though the capacity is smaller than FivePoint.
- Check the San Diego Mid-Point: Many artists who used to hit Irvine are now playing the North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre in Chula Vista. It’s a drive, but it’s the closest "big bowl" experience left.
- Follow Great Park Development Updates: The City of Irvine holds regular meetings regarding the Great Park Board. If you want a say in what the next venue looks like, that’s where the decisions are made.
- Look to Riverside: The Toyota Arena and various outdoor spots in the Inland Empire are picking up the slack for mid-to-large-tier tours that can't find a home in the new, venue-stunted Irvine.
The FivePoint Amphitheatre was a wild, successful experiment that proved one thing: Orange County desperately wants live music. Even if it’s in a temporary stadium made of shipping containers on an old airbase, the fans will show up. They'll deal with the heat, the dust, and the traffic just to hear a guitar solo under the stars. We’re currently in the "in-between" phase, waiting for the next chapter of Irvine’s musical history to be written. It might be a while before we get another venue with that specific kind of magic, but the demand isn't going anywhere. For now, we just have the memories of those dusty, loud, perfect summer nights at the Great Park.