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 Entrance to the venue (c.2012) | |
 Interactive map of Dos Equis Pavilion | |
| Former names | The Amphitheatre at Fair Park(planning/construction) Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre(1988–2014) Starplex Amphitheatre(1999) Smirnoff Music Centre(2000–08) Superpages.com Center(2008–11) Gexa Energy Pavilion(2011–16) Starplex Pavilion(2017–18) |
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| Address | 3839 S Fitzhugh Ave Dallas,TX 75201 |
| Location | Fair Park |
| Owner | City of Dallas |
| Operator | Live Nation |
| Capacity | 20,000 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | August 18, 1987 |
| Opened | July 23, 1988 |
| Construction cost | $10 million ($27.7 million in 2024 dollars[1]) |
TheDos Equis Pavilion (originallyCoca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre) is an outdooramphitheatre located inFair Park,Dallas,Texas.
The venue opened as Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre on July 23, 1988,[2] with a concert byRod Stewart. The outdoor covered amphitheater featured 7,500 seats under a pavilion and 12,500 general admission lawn seats.[3] AfterCoca-Cola's naming rights expired in 1998, the venue was known simply as Starplex Amphitheatre.
In 2000, naming rights were sold to theSmirnoffvodka company, as a result of a corporate sponsorship agreement withHouse of Blues. The center was then called Smirnoff Music Centre and The Music Centre at Fair Park (for concerts featuring underage performers).[4]
The name changed again in January 2008 to Superpages.com Center when naming rights were awarded to Superpages.com.[5]
The name has changed several times since then: toGexa Energy Pavilion in 2011,[6] Starplex Pavilion in 2017.[7] andDos Equis Pavilion in April 2018.[8]
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Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre opened the weekend of July 23–24, 1988 withRod Stewart on Friday night, followed the next evening with a double bill ofAerosmith andGuns N' Roses.Bob Dylan,Hall & Oates,AC/DC,Steve Winwood,Kenny Loggins,Huey Lewis,Def Leppard,Willie Nelson andBruce Hornsby all played the Starplex just in the first month. Before the season ended in October, Starplex hosted shows fromTangerine Dream,James Taylor,Eric Clapton,The Moody Blues,Chicago,Elton John,Robert Plant, andSantana. The fall Starplex concert schedule coincided with theState Fair of Texas, also held inFair Park each October.
Rod Stewart returned on April 21, 1989 to kick off the second concert season at Starplex. The bookings at Starplex were eclectic and played heavily to classic-rock and nostalgia acts.Tom Petty,Jimmy Buffett,Bon Jovi,Jackson Browne,Chris Isaak,Allman Brothers Band,The Beach Boys,Peter, Paul and Mary,The Monkees,Little Feat,Don Henley,Jefferson Airplane,Stevie Nicks, andCher all played Starplex that summer and fall.Chicago,Elton John, andBob Dylan each returned. The promoters also experimented with jazz offerings likeSpyro Gyra andMiles Davis, and booked popular pop acts likeTiffany,New Kids On The Block,Milli Vanilli, andPaula Abdul.
Frank Sinatra opened the 1990 season at Starplex. New performers includedTears For Fears,Crosby, Stills, and Nash,Joe Cocker,Steve Miller Band,The Black Crowes,Wilson Phillips,Richard Marx,Ziggy Marley,Linda Ronstadt,The Neville Brothers,Heart,Bonnie Raitt,Bad Company,Phil Collins, andBilly Idol.David Bowie brought hisSound + Vision Tour to Starplex for a special Independence Day show on July 4, 1990.Miles Davis,Chicago,Santana,Jimmy Buffett,The Moody Blues,James Taylor,The Beach Boys, andSteve Winwood all returned.
In the 1990s, the offerings at Starplex gradually reflected the changing landscape of music being played on the radio. The focus began to shift away from classic-rock and nostalgia acts likeYes who played there in 1991, to more alternative rock popularized by94.5 The Edge in the Dallas market. Alternative artists likePeter Murphy,The Church,Throwing Muses,New Order,The Replacements,The Cult,Shelleyan Orphan,The Cure,Edie Brickell & New Bohemians,Tracy Chapman,Depeche Mode,The B-52's,Faith No More,Alice In Chains,The The,Morrissey,Blind Melon,10,000 Maniacs,Midnight Oil,Primal Scream,Meat Puppets,The Jayhawks,Sarah McLachlan,Live,The Cranberries,Radiohead,R.E.M.,Nine Inch Nails,Indigo Girls,Luscious Jackson,Los Lobos,Tori Amos,The Afghan Whigs, all played Starplex.
Many popular radio acts of the day headlined Starplex in the 1990s includingTina Turner,Michael Bolton,Harry Connick Jr.,Celine Dion,Lyle Lovett,Seal,Gloria Estefan,Hootie & the Blowfish,Alanis Morissette,Dave Matthews Band,Phish,The Wallflowers,Spice Girls,Better Than Ezra, andGarbage.
Starplex was the site of theLollapalooza festival tour cofounded byPerry Farrell from 1991 to 1995. The alternative music juggernaut would return each year to Starplex until 1997, when sales declined and the festival's tastemaking cache had faded. The various lineups included:
In 1996 Lollapalooza was not presented at Starplex. On the date of the festival (July 25, 1996)Gloria Estefan had booked Starplex as part of a two-night engagement. The event was held at Old Fort Dallas in Ferris, TX with a lineup that includedMetallica,Soundgarden,Ramones,Rancid,Screaming Trees,Cheap Trick,Steve Earle,Soul Coughing,Sponge,Melvins, andJonny Polonsky.
On April 19, 199294.5 The Edge hosted their own alternative music festival with Edgefest 1992, a one-day festival which brought togetherThe Charlatans,The Sugarcubes,Pearl Jam, andDramarama. To ensure maximum attendance, general admission tickets to the festival were only $9.45. On July 27, 1992The Edge presented the Edge Birthday Bash with a one-day lineup includingPeter Murphy,Material Issue,Rollins Band,The Soup Dragons andCracker.
In subsequent years Starplex would often open each season with an Edgefest event instead of seeking a major name headliner.
In 1993 The Edge temporarily dropped the Edgefest moniker and put together the Edge Earth Day Concert on April 18, 1993, featuringThe Tragically Hip,Dinosaur Jr.,Jellyfish,Belly,808 State and others. In subsequent years Edgefest continued with these lineups:
In 1998 Edgefest was not presented at Starplex. On the date of the festival (May 17, 1998) Starplex was not booked for any event. The event was held atThe Ballpark In Arlington with a lineup includingCreed,Fuel,The Crystal Method,Everclear,Mighty Mighty Bosstones, andGod Lives Underwater.
In 1995 thejam band-inspiredH.O.R.D.E. (Horizons Of Rock Developing Everywhere) tour visited Texas for the first time at Starplex.
August 30, 1995:Wilco,Morphine,Blues Traveler,Ziggy Marley, andThe Black Crowes
In 1996 the H.O.R.D.E. festival did not visit Starplex. On the date of the festival (July 19, 1996) Starplex was not booked for any event. The event was held atTexas Motorplex with a lineup that includedRusted Root,Lenny Kravitz,Leftover Salmon,Medeski, Martin & Wood,Dave Matthews Band andBlues Traveler.
In 1997 headlinersWidespread Panic dropped out of the H.O.R.D.E. tour at the last minute and a planned Texas stop was cancelled. Two of the planned headliners (Beck andBen Folds Five) had played Starplex at Edgefest already in May.
August 23, 1998:Cowboy Mouth,Cherry Poppin' Daddies,Barenaked Ladies,Fastball,Ben Harper andBlues Traveler
From 1997 to 1999Sarah McLachlan broughtLilith Fair, her all-female alternative rock, folk and country festival to Starplex.
Throughout the 1990shard rock andheavy metal artists continued to remain popular withAC/DC,Judas Priest,Cinderella,Poison,Lita Ford,Scorpions,Tesla,Kix,Great White,Metallica,White Lion,Warrant,KISS,Aerosmith,Slayer,Megadeth,Anthrax,Slaughter,L.A. Guns,Skid Row,Guns N' Roses,Motörhead,Alice Cooper,Iron Maiden,Ozzy Osbourne,Extreme,Van Halen,Mötley Crüe,Pantera,Queensrÿche,Dokken,Danzig,Monster Magnet, andDio all playing Starplex.
Classic rock acts includingYes,Joe Walsh,The Doobie Brothers,Lynyrd Skynyrd,John Mellencamp,Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band,Emerson, Lake & Palmer,Dr. John,Glenn Frey,Sting,Leon Russell,Barry Manilow,Lenny Kravitz,Duran Duran,Tina Turner,Procol Harum,Jethro Tull,Neil Young,Traffic,Foreigner,America,Cheap Trick,Meat Loaf,Steely Dan,REO Speedwagon,Jeff Beck,Tina Turner,Cyndi Lauper,Rush,Blondie,Sammy Hagar,Fleetwood Mac,Boz Scaggs,Alan Parsons Live Project,John Fogerty,Journey,Paul Simon,Eddie Money,Peter Frampton andRoger Waters made appearances at Starplex in the 1990s.
Several prominent rock bands celebratedIndependence Day at Starplex in the 1990s includingBoston (July 4, 1995), a triple-bill ofBlue Öyster Cult,Kansas, andStyx (July 4, 1996),Steve Miller Band (July 4, 1997) and a triple-bill ofL.A. Guns,Warrant, andSlaughter (July 4, 1998).
The enduring popularity ofhard rock, heavy metal andindustrial metal was not lost on the promoters behindOzzfest, the annual festival created as a harder-edged alternative toLollapalooza and which featuredOzzy Osbourne and/orBlack Sabbath as headliners.
In 2006 Ozzfest was not presented in Dallas. On July 11, 2006, Ozzfest playedVerizon Wireless Amphitheater inSelma, TX with a lineup includingSystem Of A Down,Avenged Sevenfold,Disturbed andOzzy Osbourne.
Country music superstars were a regular feature at Starplex, with several artists booking return engagements throughout the 1990s.Willie Nelson,Reba McEntire,George Strait,Steve Earle,Hank Williams Jr.,Clint Black,Alabama,Dolly Parton,Brooks & Dunn andDwight Yoakam were among the many country acts to regularly appear at Starplex in the 1990s. More recently, the Pavilion has welcomed acts like Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert and Chris Young.
Starplex hosted a number of R&B and soul superstars in the 1980s and 1990s includingEarth, Wind & Fire,Sade,B.B. King,The Temptations,Al Jarreau,Wynton Marsalis,George Benson,Whitney Houston,Buddy Guy,Janet Jackson,Anita Baker,Rick James, andBoyz II Men. The venue was slow to embrace hip-hop and rap acts except as part of festival bills: Tone Loc played Starplex on August 3, 1989, as part of the Club MTV package tour that also includedMilli Vanilli,Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, andPaula Abdul.Gangsta rap,rap-rock andrap-metal acts includingIce-T,Ice Cube,Body Count,Cypress Hill, andSnoop Dogg were booked at Starplex as part of the annual Lollapalooza tour which also featured alternative rock bands.
Gradually hip-hop and rap acts began to get booked as headliners beginning with the groundbreakingFugees show on July 26, 1996. The next summer, on July 19, 1997, the House of Blues Smokin' Groovies tour brought togetherThe Roots,Outkast,Cypress Hill,George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars, andErykah Badu on a single bill.
Prince brought hisJam Of The Year tour to Starplex on August 9, 1997. The singer, backed by an all-newNew Power Generation band, played a fast and loose set that includedJames Brown,Madhouse andJoan Osborne covers amid hits like "Little Red Corvette" and deep cuts like "The Cross" and "Strange Relationship."
After the naming rights to Starplex were sold toSmirnoff vodka in mid-2000, the venue dropped the Starplex moniker and was renamed Smirnoff Music Centre. The venue was sometimes billed as The Music Centre at Fair Park for all-ages shows which could not, for legal reasons, be sponsored by a producer or distributor ofalcoholic beverages.
Many of the biggest music acts of the 2000s played Smirnoff Music Centre in the 2000s includingBritney Spears,Destiny's Child,Mary J. Blige,Aaron Carter,Dashboard Confessional,Pink,No Doubt,Kelly Clarkson,John Mayer,Counting Crows,3 Doors Down,Linkin Park,Norah Jones,Oasis,Coldplay,Wu-Tang Clan andColbie Caillat; indie heroesQueens Of The Stone Age,Bettie Serveert,The Smithereens,Weezer,Rilo Kiley andTV on the Radio; and country legendsToby Keith,Kenny Chesney,Alan Jackson,Shooter Jennings,Drive-By Truckers,Old 97's, andBlake Shelton.Brian Wilson,Deep Purple,Joe Satriani,David Lee Roth,ZZ Top,J.J. Cale,Night Ranger,Peter Gabriel,Quiet Riot,Annie Lennox,Michael McDonald,Loverboy andRick Springfield were among the classic-rock superstars making their debut at the venue in the 2000s.
Package tours remained popular with the Power To The People tour bringing a quadruple bill ofPoison,Slaughter,Dokken andCinderella. The Up In Smoke tour brought rappersWarren G,Ice Cube,Dr. Dre andEminem together on August 7, 2000.
On June 16, 2001, the Summer Jam festival was held featuring rap starsLudacris,Lil' Mo,Ja Rule,Bow Wow andGinuwine. The Extreme Steel event on July 14, 2001, combinedSlayer,Pantera,Static-X and other metal acts. The Back To School tour brought togetherPuddle Of Mudd,Godsmack, andDeftones a week later. The Volunteers For America tour on October 20, 2001, featured a star-crusted lineup ofStyx,Survivor,REO Speedwagon,Journey,Kansas andEddie Money joining forces to raise funds for the victims of the9/11 terror attacks just one month later.[10]
On July 18, 2002, the Jeep World Outside festival broughtTonic,Train,O.A.R.,Ziggy Marley andSheryl Crow on July 18, 2002. The Sprite Liquid Mix tour included an eclectic bill ofHoobastank,N*E*R*D,311 andJay-Z. A double bill ofIncubus andPhantom Planet played anIndependence Day show on July 4, 2002.
Big Freakin' Deal returned May 8, 2003 withSystematic,Powerman 5000 andGodsmack. On August 14, 2004, the Curiousa Festival broughtInterpol,Mogwai,The Rapture andThe Cure together on a single ticket. On July 15, 2005, the Sounds of the Underground festival assembledLamb Of God,Throwdown,Clutch,High On Fire andGwar. The Family Values tour broughtKorn,Deftones,Flyleaf andStone Sour together on August 5, 2006. On June 19, 2007, the Honda Civic Tour was presented withFall Out Boy,Paul Wall,Cobra Starship and others. On August 2, 2007, the Projekt Revolution tour came to Smirnoff withLinkin Park,My Chemical Romance,Taking Back Sunday,HIM, andPlacebo. Family Values returned August 17, 2007 withKorn, Evanescence, Flyleaf and Neurosonic.
Vans Warped Tour, with an emphasis onpunk,pop-punk andska artists andskater culture, visited Smirnoff (and later Superpages.com Center) annually starting in 2000.
At the opening of the 2008 season the naming rights for Smirnoff Music Centre expired and the venue was renamed for Superpages.com, an online business directory based inCoppell, Texas. TheBritish spelling of the word "Centre" was changed to the more common American "Center" at the same time. The Heart Of The City package tour withMary J. Blige,The-Dream andJay-Z was the first engagement at Superpages.com Center on April 12, 2008. The Glow In The Dark tour with Kanye West, Rihanna, N*E*R*D and Lupe Fiasco followed weeks later on May 1, 2008. The True Colors tour assembledCyndi Lauper,Joan Jett,The B-52's and others on a single bill June 22, 2008.97.5 The Eagle presented a BFD festival on July 24, 2008, withMötley Crüe,Papa Roach,Buckcherry and others. Mayhem Festival rolled into Superpages the next day with a bill includingDisturbed,Slipknot,Underoath,Mastodon,Machine Head and other Ozzfest alumni.The Eagle brought another BFD festival to Superpages August 8, 2009 withMötley Crüe,Godsmack andDrowning Pool. Mayhem Festival also returned August 15, 2009 withMarilyn Manson,Cannibal Corpse,Slayer and others. Mayhem returned August 13, 2010 with Rob Zombie, Korn, Hatebreed, Lamb of God and others. Uproar Festival followed September 10, 2010 withDisturbed,Avenged Sevenfold and others.
Avril Lavigne,Taylor Swift,Demi Lovato,Jonas Brothers,James Blunt,Brad Paisley,Chris Cornell,The Avett Brothers,Darius Rucker,Rascal Flatts,Jason Aldean,Lil Wayne,Tim McGraw,Lady Antebellum,Sublime,Jack Johnson,Owl City, andKings Of Leon all made their debuts at Superpages.com during this period.The Police andAnthrax also played Superpages.com for the first time, though Police frontmanSting had headlined both Starplex and Smirnoff Music Centre as a solo artist.
Lana Del Rey
One Direction
On April 21, 2018, theFoo Fighters played their first show inDallas in over a decade at the Dos Equis Pavilion on theirConcrete and Gold Tour.[11] On June 2, 2023 Janet Jackson played to a sold out crowd at the venue on herTogether Again tour.
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32°46′31″N96°45′23″W / 32.77528°N 96.75639°W /32.77528; -96.75639