Not that we had much affinity for the previous years’ outdoor setup with folding chairs laid atop grass, but the casino in Prior Lake is now mostly hosting general-admission concerts with no seats. A night later, we took in the Kesha concert at Mystic Lake and were not all that impressed. We were there for the inaugural concert two weekends ago with ZZ Top and John Fogerty and were pleasantly surprised by the new place. It’s the kind of legitimate concert amphitheater that the Twin Cities area should’ve had decades ago - though perhaps somewhere closer to town with better road access. The Red Wing complex has built a large amphitheater with 9,400 permanent seats and a large, general-admission grassy area. Treasure Island Casino’s new amphitheater.īut the uptick wasn’t just in bookings, at least not at Treasure Island. Mystic Lake has hosted big gigs by Kesha and Pitbull and has more to come with O.A.R., Reba McEntire and the Counting Crows tour with Live. The upcoming offerings at Treasure Island include the Deep Purple and Judas Priest twofer, Kid Rock, Lady A with Darius Rucker, and good ol’ Nickelback. (Casinos have an advantage over other music venues, since they can make up losses on ticket sales via gambling revenue.) They booked so many summer shows, in fact, they left the Minnesota State Fair with pickings slim enough to choose the Spandex-clad cover band Hairball - ironically, a casino staple - for one of its Saturday night grandstand concerts. Treasure Island Resort & Casino and Mystic Lake Casino Hotel each got more ambitious about their bookings to try to attract summer concert crowds. If all those Counting Crows, Deep Purple and Lady Antebellum billboards and ads around town haven’t clued you in already, the two casinos nearest to the Twin Cities have doubled down on their outdoor concert offerings this summer.

Treasure island casino concerts