Professional Fangirl- Katelyn Benschoter
I absolutely adore concerts. I love being able to connect with others who are fans of the same artists, getting all dressed up, and hearing some of my favorite songs played live. If I had endless amounts of money I would attend every concert I could, so you would imagine my excitement when a brand new concert venue opened up that is 48 minutes from Gustavus. So, is the new Mystic Lake Amphitheater worth the drive and the money?
If you are a frequent concert goer in Minnesota, you know the classic concert venues: Grand Casino Arena, The Armory, First Avenue, Target Center, etc. Between Saint Paul and Minneapolis alone, there are dozens of concert venues. I have had amazing concert experiences at many of these venues and become quite a pro of navigating venues such as The Armory, which I have seen three concerts at. So, I was intrigued to see how a brand new amphitheater not in the heart of the Twin Cities would hold up.
The new Mystic Lake Amphitheater is located in Shakopee, Minnesota, and opened on June 20th of this year. It is an outdoor amphitheater that had a stacked summer lineup featuring acts such as 5 Seconds of Summer, Goo Goo Dolls, Ke$ha, and Guns N’ Roses (who I got to see). I was so excited for the concert, but I was most excited to get to experience a brand new venue in its first summer of being open. With an outdoor venue there is immediately a higher risk of things not going to plan, such as the weather not cooperating. I had never attended an outdoor venue, so I was curious to see how it would go. While some of our experience may have just been luck, we had an amazing time.
The weather when we attended our concert was absolutely perfect. It was not hot, but it also did not get too cold once the sun had gone down. We simply could not have gotten luckier. Something that was intentionally designed about the venue was the amount of activities that were happening. Ordinarily at a concert you get in, you rush to your spot and stand there until the music begins. It is of course worth it, but the in between getting there and the music starting is notoriously not fun. Mystic Lake has solved this problem. When you enter there is this huge space with food trucks, different bars, and a grass turf with yard games. This was objectively a small detail for them to add, but it added so much to the experience. It almost made it feel more personal. The experience felt like a backyard barbecue with close friends, except they were actually strangers who also loved Guns N’ Roses. This was definitely one of my favorite parts of the venue.
Now besides what the venue looks and feels like, it is very important what the venue sounds like. The primary usage for this place is of course live music, so the sound quality is very important. I must say, I was worried about this at first because the sound quality of the opener was not great. But in hindsight, it seems that was due to the bass in their songs and what they as musicians were doing, because Guns N’ Roses ended up sounding excellent. It was so much fun, and Axl Rose’s voice held out pretty well for now being at the age of 64. So, Mystic Lake gets the star of approval on good sound quality.
If I had to give the venue one negative point it would be for the grassy General Admission (GA) seating area. Behind the lower level seats there is a slanted grass turf GA seating area where guests can sit on blankets or bring their own chairs. The idea is very unique, but in practice it did not seem to work too well. This is not where my seats were, but from afar it seemed that only the very front rows could still see well. Plus, if you do not bring lawn chairs there is a high chance someone else might, and then block the stage. Overall, it is nice to have a cheaper ticket option, but in practice I think the extra money for a seat is worth it in this case.
If you could not tell by now, I would highly recommend attending a concert at the brand new Mystic Lake Amphitheater. I had a great time when I attended, so here’s to hoping this coming summer they have another great lineup. This is a great venue especially if driving in downtown Minneapolis is not for you. From Gustavus it is a very easy drive, and in my opinion well worth the gas.