Thunder Ridge Nature Arena — Attraction in Hollister

Prefacing this by saying you can look at my Google Review history. I generally give 5 stars to businesses and have only given one low star review until now. It takes a lot for me to leave a bad review. I hope the venue reads this and takes the criticism constructively so they can improve the experience for future guests, and I hope guests read this so they can prepare ahead of their visit. This venue is a beautiful disaster and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

TLDR – Guests: Arrive at least 2–2.5 hours before showtime to avoid gridlock traffic and missing your show. Avoid summertime shows if possible. If you go, dress lightly, bring sunscreen, a neck fan, a clear & soft/squeezable water bottle, and maybe an umbrella or large canopy for shade if you’re tailgating.

TLDR – Venue: Add more water filling stations, clarify the water bottle policy across all platforms, hire more first aid staff, and add cooling tents to the tailgate/food truck area. Even basic commercial canopy tents would’ve helped.

We attended the rescheduled Hozier concert on July 22. The heat advisory had been in the forecast for days, so there was ample time to prepare. Yet everything about this venue screams poor planning and money grab.

The ingress/egress is a nightmare… one road in and out for 20,000+ guests is both a safety concern and a traffic disaster. Guests are encouraged to arrive 5+ hours early just to avoid gridlock. But you can’t enter the arena early, only the grounds. They call it tailgating, but this design seems intentional to keep guests spending money at food trucks and merch tents.

They clear-cut over 1,000 acres of trees, yet call this Bass Pro complex/development a “nature preserve.” There’s no mature shade for guests, just a few umbrellas over picnic tables and a hose sprayed over guests. Unless you pay $100+/person for the restaurant patio, you’re roasting. The lack of tree cover is clearly a business decision to keep guests hot so they spend more on drinks.

A cooling tent (also marked “First Aid”) was available, but it wasn’t accessible until 6:00 when we were allowed into the arena and after the hottest part of the day. Outside, we saw a first aid tent, but it wasn’t labeled as cooling. My friend was showing signs of heat exhaustion and wanted to rest in the cooling tent. When finally were allowed in after 6:00, no medics were present, and no supplies were visible. Concession staff we tracked down were kind and helpful, and one concession worker called a manager who eventually got a medic over, but clearly they were stretched too thin.

The venue knew about the dangerous temperatures but didn’t hire enough medical staff. People were passing out and vomiting with no help readily available. That is inexcusable at an event this size, especially with advance warning.

Empty water bottles were technically allowed, but messaging was inconsistent. The Big Cedar website said any non-glass bottle up to 1L was fine. Thunder Ridge’s website said only squeezable plastic. The event email specified only clear squeezable bottles. We had no idea which to believe. There were water stations but not in enough locations for how large the venue is.

All this to say, Hozier’s performance was incredible, and the view from the venue is stunning. However, if the venue knew it didn’t have the supplies or personnel to appropriately manage the concert during this heat, then they should’ve rescheduled the concert again. Safety is clearly not the priority here, money is. We don’t plan to return to this venue any time soon, and we certainly wouldn’t recommend coming to a...

The chair seating is a insulting. They are folding chairs with no place to put your arms. Unless your a petite woman your arms will be in the seats next to you. Making for a very awkward diagonal seating for all the men. I lost count of how many times I was elbowed due to this inhumane setup. Absolutely no place for your person much less any possessions. The rows are so close together if you need to go to the restroom the row will need to leave to allow your exit. Take your chances on the lawn, it's a better view anyway as the seats are on level ground.

Additionally, contrary to what the "allowed items" list states. You may NOT bring refilled water bottles into the chair seating area. They force you to pour your water into ~10oz cup when approaching the chair seating section. Which will immediately get knocked empty as there is no place to put this cup. The folding seats don't have cup holders, and have support brackets which prevent storing it under the seat without turning it sideways. Your only real option is to hold the beverage or guard it between your feet and pray the people around you don't bump you.

While the sun is up the venue doesn't have any shade to speak of besides the medical tent. Bring a hat as there are no awnings.

The experience was so bad my party left early. I won't be coming back unless something changes.

For food expect to spend $18 on a 1/4lb burger with no sides and all drinks start at $8. Food checkout was very quick though. Very neat automated system.

Finally at no point while purchasing the tickets for my event was I informed that the tickets are mobile only. Which I noticed after the ticket master app refused to install on my phone. I contacted the venue to understand what to do. They said due to my ticket type I needed to work with ticket master to resolve the issue. They collected my contact information to give to ticketmaster and informed me that someone would reach out in 48 hours. No one ever reached out.

After 4 days I contacted ticketmaster and they spent over an hour with me trying to resolve the issue with the ticket master app. In the end they said my 3 year old google pixel wasn't on their supported phone list. I asked if I could upgrade to physical tickets, hard no, impossible. At this point I felt I just lost my purchase. I had no way to get into the venue. I asked them if I could get a refund given the situation. They said that wasn't possible but I could attempt to resell the tickets. I pushed back as this didn't even make sense. I asked them "what do you do if someone's phone breaks or dies waiting to enter". They said they didn't know and would need to consult their manager to find out. After 10 minutes of them being gone they said I could bring the following to the "on-site mobile ticket resolution center" 2 hours before the event starts

1. proof of purchase,
2. proof the app couldn't install,
3. a photo ID
4. record of the seat assignment

I contacted the venue to validate this option and to figure out where "mobile resolution center" was so I could be prepared. The representative said they didn't have such a place but to bring the information to the front gate at least an hour an a half early to get tickets. Which I was told repeatedly that physical tickets didn't exist.

I brought with me the information, got there early as requested, and was able to get physical tickets without an issue after a 30 minute wait. I'm still not sure though what someone would do if their phone broke and they didn't have the requisite info though. They did review the...

Went to the outlaw music fest June 29, 2025. Traveled from Topeka KS (4 hours) and camped 30 miles NW at a great location. The venue is stunningly beautiful. Parking is complicated. They ran out of handicapped parking and we were 2 hours early. The handicapped parking is also still a good distance from the venue. In their defense they had guys in golf carts helping a percentage of people. They have shuttle service to the venue but that was a hike in itself. Fortunately I had stopped to catch my breath and one of the golf carts stopped and picked us up. We were able to help an even older guy with far worse issues than myself get to the venue and find his buddy. I mean, admittedly, this was a geezer show with Willy and Bobby Dylan, but they clearly were not prepared for the geriatric onslaught. Part II: so after arriving via shutttle yet another epic hike extended by poorly marked entrances - difficult security - why an old guy like me in my cargo shorts deserved extra scrutiny i can't imagine - went to see Staind in KCMO last month and was just waved through. Finally reaches our spot in the center grass area. The first opening act was playing. Sound was probably a 7 out of 10. The large screens were a 9 out of 10. The stunning view with table rock lake was a 10 out of 10. The restrooms - not air conditioned were average for a venue these days. There was a super long line for the water fountain. 15 minute wait I would estimate. That is unacceptable. Never got to see the beer prices. Part IIi: during the second opening act, it had been raining off and on. Felt great. Was watching the weather on my phone and a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the a large portion of the area stretching all the way back into Kansas. Probably 20 minutes later - stopped the band - announcer say "quickly and carefully evacuate the venue and return to your cars." "Watch our social media for when you can return and finish the show." So we cleared out of the place. Which was uneventful and orderly and the venue was well designed for that situation. The problem was - epic hike - no support for handicapped or older folks. We were parked about a mile or so out. I sucked it up and went for it. One short break. My sons and I made it to our car about the time the wall cloud and gust front hit. The storm, from a Kansas perspective was about a 5 out of 10. No lighting. 50 mph winds for a minute. 3/4" of rain and it was over. Nothing burger. So we all partied in the parking lot for an hour or so. Pretty good time. The social media updates stopped long before that. Then we got the message eventually the show was cancelled. Here is the kicker. Apparently the issue was instruments and sound equipment was damaged to the extent that they cancelled the next show in Oklahoma two days later was cancellad. That was inexcusable. I've been a performer and stage crew or roadie before. The stage is practically indoors. The venue would only have to have a close able back to the stage to stop 90% of the water from reaching the gear and at the most basic level just have the hired daily crew - the artists crew - and the venue crew tarp or remove the gear exposed to the weather. The venue is completely remiss in this situation. The event is rescheduled instead of cancelled - but we will see. Long drive - but son #3 has never seen Bob Dylan and his older brother and I planned the whole trip around his birthday. Hope he gets to see Bob. Hope I get to see Bob...