Casino Queen Amphitheater
Summer Concert Series. Live Outdoor Entertainment. Pala offers more live entertainment than any other casino in California! Join us for our Summer Concert Series at Starlight Theater. Enjoy some of the best casino entertainment and events in North County San Diego. Tickets are available for our concerts and events at the Pala Privileges Center, or by calling 1-877-WIN-PALA and asking to be transferred to the Privileges Center. Our main concert areas are the Events Center and Starlight Theater.
Watching a rare indoor rock concert in 2020 is odd — streamlined to viewing only with thoughts of the ventilation system.
You’re masked the entire time. You’re nostalgic for 2019, but you’re also less interrupted by folks walking in and out of rows for multiple visits to the restroom or beer kiosk during a 90-minute show. (Or both.) Most folks in the theater were apolitical two days after the Presidential election, happy to be there and fully compliant with masks and other safety precautions amid the lingering viral threat.
That may sound like a bogus time, but we loved it.
We were as excited to check out the logistics of a larger-scale indoor concert during this time as we were to see the well-known tribute band Almost Queen, playing the loudest and catchiest music we’ve heard in eight months. (The rest of the time we play Mozart or cool jazz to lower the stress.) Freddie Mercury tribute guy Joseph Russo hit enough high notes and quickly won us over on keybord and vocals after launching into “Killer Queen” and later “Somebody to Love” and uber rock classic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Getting your tickets for the show involved having a text sent to your phone with not only ticket location but an entry time on it. So some folks had to take their seats more than an hour before the show began.
There was a no-food-or-drink policy in addition to the usual metal detector screening in front of the 4,000-seat theater that was configured for less than 1,000. Rock ’n’ roll fans can be raucous, but there was no changing seats or standing cheers or visiting friends elsewhere in the crowd. The seats adjacent to your assigned ones were locked closed with twist ties (while travelers can’t even get airlines to stop selling the middle seats on many flights).
Staffers were eagle-eyed about anyone trying to bring in a pocketbook larger than 8 by 5 by 2 inches, or dropping their mask below their chin or trying to dance during the show (fans were informed of that at the outset). One woman rose out of her seat to gyrate to a tune (possibly “Fat-Bottomed Girls”) and the security staffer had to inform her she couldn’t do that, then wave his hand in front of her face for 10 seconds as she continued to hoist her arms in the air, and finally restating to her the ban on dancing. She reluctantly lowered her bottom most of the way to the seat.
At the end of the show, per instructions by a DJ/host, individual sections color-coded on the overhead screens and spotlighted were allowed to leave one by one. It took an extra 15 minutes or so, but hey, this is 2020. I think Queen said it best: Keep yourself alive.
The concert took place amid a continuing flareup of COVID-19 cases in towns around the casino, in other parts of the state and across the nation and world.
So the stakes are high and we noticed Foxwoods VP of Entertainment Monique Sebastian in front of the theater, observing and supervising. She told us Foxwoods is working hard to follow Gov. Ned Lamont’s guidelines and called the Foxwood plan “strong and overly cautious.”
“What we have experienced over the last four weeks,” said Sebastian in a followup email, “is that people are willing to comply with the new rules we’ve established. ... We’re currently seating 790 guests, down from the 1,100 approved by our chief medical officer. We will continue to evaluate this number on an ongoing basis and will proceed with shows as long as it’s safe to do so.”
Our reading of Phase 2.1 rules (which took effect a day afterward) says indoor shows should be limited to 100 people. Foxwoods isn’t bound by the state guidelines and there aren’t any more 2020 musical acts listed on Foxwoods’ website right now. The annual run of holiday-season “Legends in Concert” has been postponed. But Foxwoods has comic Anthony Rodia scheduled at the Grand Theater Dec. 4, Rob Schneider Dec. 11 and Jerry Seinfeld Dec. 12 (listed as tentative), along with other comics at Fox Theater and smaller venues there. In 2020, every plan is tentative.
jamarante@nhregister.com; Twitter: @Joeammo
Simply visit the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort box office, purchase two or more tickets (*prior to day of show) to any show with cash or credit and recieve $20 in premium play on the day of show.
Outdoor 8:00 PM
Buy Tickets More InfoBox Office Hours
Casino Queen Amphitheater Center
Located at the front of the Entertainment Hall.
Tickets for all concerts go on sale at 9AM on the announced on-sale date. Get your tickets at the Soaring Eagle Box Office, online at eTix, or call 1.800.514.3849 .
Age Policy
Children 5 and older are admitted into concerts with a ticket. Any children under 5 years of age are only allowed to attend shows specifically designed as family or children’s events but must have a ticket to attend. Children ages 5-15 must be accompanied by an adult at the concert (adult must attend, cannot gamble during concert) and must have a ticket. Ages 16 and above may attend without parent/guardian and must have a ticket.
Security Notice
For the safety and comfort of all our guests, metal detector screening is required before entering the entertainment hall and outdoor concert area. Entertainment Hall event doors open one hour prior to show time. Outdoor show gates open 2 hours prior to show time. We recommend arriving early to ensure a fast and efficient admittance into our venue. We thank you for your cooperation.
All shows start at 8PM unless otherwise noted. Professional cameras are not allowed at any event.
Casino Queen Amphitheater Seating Chart
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Indoor Seating Chart
Outdoor Seating Chart
Outdoor Concert Rules