Over 35 years, retired salesperson Rob Stearns has attended more than 300 concerts at Chastain Park’s amphitheater, known as Synovus Bank Amphitheater in the tony Atlanta neighborhood of Chastain Park.
Until last week, Stearns had never seen a show go past what he assumed was a concrete 11 p.m. sound curfew, which has been around for decades to accommodate nearby residents.
Typically, if an act is still playing past 11 p.m., venue tech staff will cut off the sound at 11:01 p.m. This happens on occasion, typically when musicians cut it too close during an encore.
But much to Stearns’ surprise, last Thursday, Canadian rock band The Guess Who played until about 11:44 p.m.
Why? The city of Atlanta, which owns the venue, allows Live Nation, which oversees operations, a single carve-out: severe bad weather. For The Guess Who, delays occurred because of heat-induced lightning and thunder, along with some rain. (Rain alone doesn’t stop concerts at the venue.)
“There are provisions for inclement weather per the agreement that allow the concert to go beyond 11 p.m. but would end by midnight,” according to a statement provided by the city of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday. Live Nation said such decisions are made in partnership with city officials.
Credit: Courtesy of Rob Stea
Credit: Courtesy of Rob Stea
Last Thursday, the exception was triggered during The Guess Who concert, which Stearns estimated drew about two-thirds of the venue’s 6,900 capacity.
Stearns said opener Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles, began on time at 7:25 p.m. but stopped after three songs. Over the PA system, an announcer said they were taking a break due to pending thunder and lightning, and the venue posted a “shelter in place” notice on its X, Instagram and Facebook pages. They also offered a way for people to get text updates about the concert.
While waiting under a canopy near the concessions stand, Stearns and his friend heard Felder begin “Heartache Tonight” from the stage at around 8 p.m. and scurried back to their seats. Felder wrapped a few minutes later with “Hotel California” and a truncated six-song set.
Credit: FACEBOOK SCREENSHOTS
Credit: FACEBOOK SCREENSHOTS
As the stage sat empty, Synovus Bank Amphitheater did not provide the increasingly restless audience an update until 9:45 p.m., when a person on the PA system said more lightning and thunder was coming and recommended people go back to their cars.
At the same time on social media, the venue posted a “Lightning Alert,” noting “Due to storms generating lightning that have redeveloped just southeast of the venue, we are evacuating at this time. Please calmly make your way to the nearest exit and seek shelter in your vehicles. We’ll continue to monitor the weather and will share updates as they come in.”
In a Facebook post, show attendee Mark Chesney said he left the venue.
“A Chastain staffer also mentioned the 11 p.m. music curfew,” he wrote. “Very poorly handled by Chastain. We left thinking the show had been canceled. A refund is due but that ain’t gonna happen.”
David Frazier of Villa Rica also departed before The Guess Who hit the stage. He told the AJC he paid $90 each for four tickets, $30 for parking and $58 for concessions and ended up not seeing the headliner.
Live Nation provided a statement to the AJC in response to what happened at the concert: “We regularly navigate storms during the summer concert season, and the safety of fans, artists and crew is our top priority. As weather conditions evolved Thursday evening, updates were shared with fans regularly throughout the evening. We were pleased that fans were able to see a full show.”
The company did not say if it would provide refunds for attendees who missed The Guess Who.
“As always, we’ll continue to work directly with fans to address any questions or concerns,” a Live Nation spokesperson wrote in an email.
Many people didn’t leave the venue while uncertainty swirled. Stearns waited in his car. “It was a tad chaotic,” he said.
Credit: FACEBOOK
Credit: FACEBOOK
At 10:05 p.m., the venue posted “Good News! Doors are opening soon. Make your way to the entrance now.” Some people who had left, including Stearns, rushed to get back in.
When The Guess Who began with two deep cuts, Macon resident Lisa Henley, a former Atlantan who has gone to more than 35 shows at Chastain over 38 years, was confused.
“I kept looking at my friends like, what the heck, they only have 30 more minutes until 11!” she said. “Then 11 came and went, and they kept playing. First time ever for me at Chastain!”
Henley said it rained for most of the concert and that she saw lightning in the sky but stuck it out until the end.
Credit: Courtesy of Rob Stean
Credit: Courtesy of Rob Stean
Stearns said The Guess Who never referenced on stage the weather or the fact they were going to play past the 11 p.m. curfew.
A spokesperson for The Guess Who did not respond to questions regarding what happened at the concert.
In the end, The Guess Who played almost their entire regular set: 17 songs over a span of more than 90 minutes, including big hits like “American Woman” and “These Eyes” and co-founder Randy Bachman’s “Takin’ Care of Business,” a song he created when he was part of Bachman-Turner Overdrive.
Katie Wood of Atlanta said “the messaging at the venue was poor,” noting “mixed signals.” But she decided to stay put and “enjoyed nature’s light. I assumed The Guess Who would play a very short set given the late hour, and was happily surprised they played until 11:44 p.m. by my watch. Good show.”
Chastain has invoked the curfew exception before for similar weather issues in the past, though Live Nation did not provide information on how many times this has happened.
A 2022 concert headlined by ZZ Top didn’t begin until 10:20 p.m. and concluded at 11:35 p.m., and Gov’t Mule in 2023 started an hour late at 9:30 p.m. and wrapped at 11:25 p.m., according to setlist.fm, which provides user-generated data on concerts. Attendees at both concerts confirmed the curfew break.
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