Beaver Dam Amphitheater has record setting 10th year

The Beaver Dam Amphitheater finished up its 10th year of bringing concerts to the area on Sept. 28 marking a recording setting season for the venue as it brought in more than 40,000 fans to the city.

“This season was by far our biggest season ever in many ways,” said Promoter Heath Eric, of The Eric Group. “We more than doubled previous records.”

The season included 13 ticketed shows, which included two sold-out shows, the most ever hosted in a summer concert series at the 6,000-seat amphitheater.

Oliver Anthony, a country-folk singer/songwriter with the hit song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” and Rapper Nelly performed before sell-out crowds.

“It is important to note that while The Dam can accommodate 6,000 people, 1,500 to 2,000 is a great mark to hit and those are winning shows,” Eric said. “For us to be able to have two shows where we brought in almost double the population of the city is certainly remarkable and something that we are incredibly proud of to be able to achieve those numbers.”

Mayor Paul Sandefur said May and June brought in as many people as they had all year in 2023. He attributes the success of the 10th season to several things with one being that they have figured out the types of shows that work for the area.

“We have learned what type of shows sell here, however, Nelly threw us for a loop this year because no one anticipated that kind of response to that genre,” Sandefur said. “The Rock the Dam (annual show) is always successful as well.”

Tesla was the headliner at this year’s Rock the Dam 7 where nearly 4,000 people from 35-plus states showed up, Eric said. Jamey Johnson’s “What a View” tour on July 27 also brought in a big crowd with 3,500-4,000 people.

“All of these shows are world-class tours, artists and events,” Eric said. “This was an amazing year for us with a larger and far-reaching impact.”

Eric said the 10th year went well with much of the credit going to the incredible staff of people behind the scenes including Beaver Dam Tourism Executive Director Shelby Whitely and her team of volunteer DAMbassadors, city workers, the City of Beaver Dam, Sandefur and the Beaver Dam Tourism Commission as well as his staff at The Eric Group.

“We have really built, over time, an A-team of volunteers and staff to make this happen,” Eric said.

The impact this number of people visiting the city trickles down to the businesses, Sandefur said, as those who come to the concerts often eat, shop, stay overnight and get gasoline while in town.

Sandefur said that the city contracted with a company this summer and put together a hotel feasibility study in hopes of bringing in additional places for people to stay while in town. That information came back in September and was “very positive in validating the need for another hotel here in town,” the mayor said.

“We are working on that hot and heavy with different vendors,” he said.

The 2025 season is already in the works with a couple of major concerts having already been announced.

“We have another big year coming up,” Sandefur said. “I don’t know if we will do 13 or 14 shows again this year, but we would like to do at least 10 or 11.”

Eric said the 2025 season will bring a lot of big shows and will hopefully bring in 50,000-60,000 plus people to the amphitheater.

Gene Simmons and Weird Al have already been announced for the upcoming season’s line-up.

“Gene Simmons … that’s huge for us to be able to bring an artist of that stature into Beaver Dam, Ky. That really emphasizes the integrity of the venue and the relationships we have built across the industry. I think that’s a nod to the entire team that produces the shows and the city,” Eric said.

Sandefur said he was surprised at the amount of tickets that have already been sold for the Weird Al show as all the lower tables have already sold out.

Eric said Weird Al’s “A Bigger and Weirder” tour is going to be one of the biggest production shows ever done at the amphitheater with multiple semis and multiple buses required for its production.

“It’s going to be one of the most visually appealing and interesting shows we have ever done at The Dam as far as a production standpoint,” Eric said.