The Pavilion at Star Lake — Attraction in Hanover Township

First off, I've been going to Star Lake AND recorded audio there since Phish's phirst show there back in 1997. It has always sounded decent and staff has been VERY phriendly. Last weekend was no exception and it was Phish's PHIRST 2 night run EVER in Pittsburgh, since their phirst time in Da Burgh back in 1992 @ Metropol (to my knowledge). And this was also Phish's phirst return here since 2012!!!

I have seen nightmarish scenes earlier this summer of traffic jams waiting to get INTO Star Lake on Route 18, but I didn't see ANY of this at Phish and we breezed right in both nights without waiting for more than 30 seconds, so I was very relieved about that! My phriends and I ALWAYS park on the lot right next to Route 18 so that we can get right out of the venue, and both nights were SUPER easy to leave. I live about 25-30 minutes from the venue and I was home around 12:15 the second night and 12:45 the first night. I'm in my early 40's now, so I was very happy about that 🤣

Getting inside with my recording gear could NOT have been any easier. It took about 5 minutes maximum each night. And everything else went smoothly inside of the venue, like getting to our seats in the Taper's Section, and getting drinks was EXTREMELY quick and easy. Prices were kinda outrageous, but that's the same scenario EVERYWHERE else too, so that has nothing to do with Star Lake itself.

I could go on and on about Phish's playing, but this is a review of Star Lake and not Phish, so I'll leave that out (Phish is better now after 40 years of playing, and I'm a Phan who's been stuck in 97/98 his whole life, so that speaks VOLUMES about Phish IMO).

I know a lot of people would rather see them at the Petersen Events Center, and that's where they've played in 2017 and 2019, the only two times they've come to this area since the 2012 Star Lake show, but I'm not one of them. Yes, shows are awesome at the Petersen Events Center, but I much prefer to see Phish at Star Lake. I have such AMAZING memories there since 1997, and there's just something about a summer shed (amphitheater) that I will always love and adore. And like I said, 25 minutes from my front door will always be a winner with me ✌️👍🙏🕺

I will always be happy to go to Star Lake, with the exception of getting drenched in the rain. Then, I'd prefer the Petersen Events...

Alison Krauss and Robert Plant were amazing last night! And the venue itself was nice and the stage felt close to where we were seated.

We sat in Section 7 row H last night and when my mother and I got up to use the restroom, we tried to take the path that's in the middle of the pavillion but were stopped by a woman who said we had to have tickets. We mentioned wanting to see about seat upgrades too and she told us "That's not the point" and made us turn around and exit near the grassy hill which was much further back. They had garbage cans blocking one side of the stairs too and no one would let us out until we pushed our way past. It ended up being a much longer walk to just use the restroom and purchase another drink. Later on when we were back in our seats, we watched the woman let others in our section sometimes go past and others not. It was weird that she was picking and choosing. The man working the seating section was really nice however and shout out to him.

We also inquired with guest services about seat upgrades. They told us we would have to walk back near the entrance at the complete opposite side of the pavillion. They told us sometimes you can check the app but others were having problems with it. By that point we didn't think it was worth seeking out upgrades.

We had purchased Premiere Parking when we bought the tickets and thought we wouldn't have issues leaving since it was a pavillion only show. That was a waste. We watched General Admission parking pour out while we were gridlocked for close to a half hour in our parking lot. Staff did nothing to help and just stood around and ignored us when we asked which direction it would be better for us to go in.

We eventually were able to make a U-Turn towards GA parking and made our way out. As we were exiting, staff is screaming to "stay in your lane" while also standing in the lane, making us have to swerve to get passed them.

Definitely will think twice about coming back to this venue as most of the staff seemed standoffish and just unhappy and parking is an absolute nightmare. We wasted money on Premiere Parking. The people working the drink stands were really...

Had a great time at the Weezer/Pixies concert. Parking did not take long and I ended up close to an entrance. I went in early to check out the opener (the Wombats) and I passed through security within a minute or two. There are plenty of places to get drinks, food, and there are a few bathrooms and port-a-john's for areas that need them. Overall, the concerts themselves were good, however I do have a few gripes about the place.

1. There was a group of people dancing in the front of one of the sections and security told them to split up. They were just having fun and not hurting anybody, so it felt like they were a little too uptight about that.

2. They're sticklers about how you get to your seats. When my friend and I left to use the bathroom between acts, we left out of a side exit, and when we were coming back, the ushers checked our tickets and told us to go in a different way. We told them it would be faster to use that entrance but she did not allow us to enter. I understand that people would try to switch seats if they were allowed to roam free, but come on, that's a bit ridiculous.

3. It took 45 minutes to get out of the place. I don't know why, but there's one entrance/exit for cars to get in and out of, and for the size of the venue, it's not enough. Some people were smart enough to try to not beat the traffic, so we saw a ton of tailgaters just sitting on lawn chairs, listening to some music, waiting for the traffic to clear out. Next time I see a concert here, I will be doing that.

tl;dr: Keybank Pavillion is a great, large, open venue that is perfect for large bands. If you sit under the awning it is pretty good, but even if you have seats in the lawn, they have a few screens set up for you to watch. Traffic getting out of the place is horrendous, so prepare for that, and they are pretty uptight about where people are allowed to be in the place.

If you're going to see a concert here, pray it doesnt rain, make sure to hydrate, be prepared for traffic,...