Long Beach Finally Has Its Waterfront Amphitheater and Snoop Dogg Opened It Tonight
Long Beach has been talking about building a real waterfront concert venue for years. Tonight, it finally happened.
The F&M Bank Amphitheater of Long Beach officially opened its doors on Saturday, June 6, with Snoop Dogg headlining the inaugural show billed as "Snoop Dogg & Friends." It's the kind of moment that feels like it was always meant to happen. A Long Beach icon christening a Long Beach venue, right on the water, with the Queen Mary sitting in the background. You can't script it better than that.
But honestly, the bigger story here isn't just opening night. It's the venue itself and what it means for the live music landscape in Southern California.
The Venue
The F&M Bank Amphitheater is a temporary open-air venue with a flexible capacity of 6,000 to 11,000, depending on the show configuration. To put that in perspective, it's roughly twice the size of the Greek Theatre and about two-thirds the size of the Hollywood Bowl. It sits on an old port pier adjacent to the Queen Mary, nearly surrounded by water. The views from inside are supposedly unreal. Even the nosebleeds look out across Long Beach Harbor with the Queen Mary as a backdrop.
Dan Hoffend, executive vice president of North American venues for Legends Global (the amphitheater's operator), put it well when he told the Los Angeles Times that the top row, what most people would consider the worst seat in the house, might actually be the best seat because of the panoramic view. I'll be real, that's a pretty bold claim, but everything about this venue's location suggests it might hold up.
The $21.3 million venue is operated and managed by Legends/ASM Global, the same company that runs the Greek Theatre and over 450 venues worldwide, including Crypto.com Arena and Barclays Center. Farmer & Merchants Bank purchased the naming rights for an undisclosed amount. The amphitheater was originally projected at a $14 million price tag with a fall 2025 opening, but upgraded seating, a VIP lounge, additional screens, and rising construction costs pushed both the budget and the timeline.
City officials are calling it a "temporary" venue designed to last up to 10 years, but it's really a proof of concept. The long-term vision is a permanent facility being pitched as the "Long Beach Bowl," which could become the largest waterfront venue on the West Coast. The city's Economic Development Department projects the amphitheater could pay for itself within eight years, with an estimated $7.4 million in profit over its final two years of operation. Long Beach is betting on this venue to help replace declining oil revenue by pulling tourists and their tax dollars into downtown.
Getting There
One thing to know before you go: there is no general admission parking at the amphitheater. The venue sits on a pier connected to downtown by a single small bridge and a freeway ramp. There's just no room for thousands of cars. Attendees park in the designated Shoreline Drive lot and take a free shuttle to the venue. Long Beach Transit is also running AquaLink water shuttles from a dock near the Aquarium of the Pacific before and after shows, which honestly sounds like a vibe. Round-trip water shuttle tickets are $5. There's also storage outside the venue for bikes and e-scooters, and free admission to the Queen Mary on concert days. Plan ahead on transportation, but the logistics seem thought out.
Opening Night With Snoop
There was really only one choice for this. Snoop Dogg is Long Beach. Born and raised, played football at Polytechnic High School, references the city constantly in his music. His career has been on another level lately too. His 20th studio album Missionary, produced entirely by Dr. Dre, dropped in December 2024. He followed that with the surprise 21-track album Iz It a Crime? in May 2025. He's been coaching on The Voice, carried the Olympic torch in Paris, got named Team USA's honorary coach for the 2026 Winter Olympics, and became a co-owner of Swansea City Football Club. The man does not slow down.
Tra Jones, general manager of the amphitheater for Legends Global, said it best: "Opening our doors with Snoop Dogg is the perfect way to celebrate Long Beach's rich music legacy and signals our commitment to bringing world-class entertainment to this community." Mayor Rex Richardson called the opening "a defining cultural moment and a historic homecoming," adding, "Long Beach built the culture, and now we've built the stage for it."
The Inaugural Season Lineup
Opening night is just the beginning. The first season lineup is genuinely impressive and covers a wide range. Here's what's been announced so far:
July 3 — Claypool Gold featuring Primus, Les Claypool's Frog Brigade & Lennon Delirium
July 17 — Ice Cube & Mike Epps present "Everydays Friday"
August 1 — Lil Wayne with 2 Chainz and The Game
August 14 — Toto with Christopher Cross and The Romantics
August 15 — Luke Bryan with Lanie Gardner, Lauren Watkins and Randall King
August 18 — 311 and Dirty Heads
August 22 — Three Pianos: Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin and Andrew McMahon
August 28 — Nas and The Roots
September 5 — Los Angeles Azules
September 11 — Deep Purple with Kansas
September 18 — Five Finger Death Punch
September 24 — Riley Green: Cowboy As It Gets Tour with Randy Houser, Kashus Culpepper and Hannah McFarland
October 4 — Marco Antonio Solis: Tour Gratitud
Also on the calendar later in the season: Mötley Crüe with Tesla and Extreme for "The Return of the Carnival of Sins."
That's hip-hop, rock, country, Latin, and everything in between. The venue is clearly trying to be a destination for everyone, not just one crowd, and that range is going to matter for keeping 300,000+ people coming through annually.
Why This Matters for SoCal
Southern California isn't exactly short on concert venues. But a waterfront amphitheater of this size, with this kind of setting, fills a gap that's been there for a while. The Greek Theatre is incredible but tops out around 5,800. The Hollywood Bowl is the Bowl, but it's a very specific experience. The Forum does its thing. This is something different. An open-air venue right on the water, flexible enough to scale from 6,000 to 11,000, with the Queen Mary and Long Beach Harbor as natural scenery. The venue is expected to host over 300,000 attendees annually.
If this works, and the city clearly believes it will, the plan is to eventually build a permanent "Long Beach Bowl" that could become the largest waterfront venue on the West Coast. That's still years away, but tonight was the proof of concept. And if the inaugural season lineup is any indicator, people are going to show up.