Drawing good crowds for smaller-scale concerts and a full roster of weekend-long ethnic festivals.

by Contributor

The Skinny
Set just across the river from downtown, the I.C. Light Amphitheatre seats about 5,000. For its summer season in 1999, a lightweight nylon structure was added, robbing concertgoers of the view of the stars (the ones in the sky, not the ones on stage), but keeping heads dry during the schizophrenic Pittsburgh summer.

Location Perks and Drawbacks
Since it's located at Station Square, the I.C. Light Amphitheatre offers patrons a number of places to dine before or after a show, as well as several watering holes for post-concert socializing. On the down side, those train tracks running alongside the amphitheatre aren't just for show; it's not unusual for a train or two to interrupt a concert. (It's kind of fun to watch how different performers react. In the past, some have simply stopped playing until the train passed, while others have incorporated the trains into the show.)