Live Oak Bank Pavilion — Attraction in Wilmington

■BAILEY ZIMMERMAN 8/16/2024■

#1- The venue staff is the absolute best hands down. The most friendly out of all of the NC venues. Never met a single rude person working the venue, whether it be event staff, WPD, Paramedics, Merch sales, food vendors, etc EVERY SINGLE VENUE EMPLOYEE HAS BEEN AMAZING EVERY SINGLE TIME WE'VE BEEN. #2-Great venue, smaller so more intimate setting, better concert experience. PERFECT setting right on the Riverwalk, esp if you have a hotel room. We stayed at the Emabssy Suites on the Riverfront which was a very short walk to & from the venue.. #3 -Food prices are better with many more selections than other venues in the state 100%. #5 -Line up early & you'll get in early. #6- Uber Eats & Dooor Dash are you best friend after the concert back at your hotel! #7- THe ONLY thing I think could be better is to have Venue security staff &/or WPD walking thru the lawn section monitoring the crowds bc there's always people with no manners, no home training, & absolutely ZERO respect for others in that lawn section EVERY SINGLE TIME that ruin things for everyone else. There were 2 of us last night that had 5 really great adults next to us, we all talked & each couple had 2 early teenage girls, 1 man had a teenage girl with him also. The teens had a blanket each except one. There were so many beyond drunk people rudely walking thru on their blanket that we were surrounding-where there was ZERO ROON - stepping all over these 5 girls & their blankets, shoving these 13 -14 yr olds, spilling their alcoholic drinks all over them, groping them, & that's where we drew the line. Very unnecessary. Us 4 moms started stepping up to these people & calling them out & telling them to keep on moving & do not come back that way or there'd be problems. There was a huge group of I'd guess college aged kids- male & female who came together over there who were obliterated, yet still drinking, falling over & down, who decided to fight each other right next to these teen girls. We told them take it elsewhere bc if the girls got touched we'd step in & we had no problems catching charges. People were knocking over all our chairs that were holding our shoes, merch, etc. When Bailey Zimmerman came on, they were shoving up on our chairs & us even worse spilling our drinks from our cup holders...drinks that are no less than $20+ dollars each. They were so inebriated they would try to squeeze between us & the teens & so drunk they couldn't tell they were standing on our feet wearing their new boots bc they want to LOOK country. I had to shove a grown man off my foot who decided he was going to step right in front of me & stop to watch the concert, drunk no less, wearing his cowboy boots right on top of my foot. Was no room.WPD & Venue staff need to patrol the lawn areas & start taking the trash out bc when people keep getting pushed too far over & over & over- ESPECIALLY when it involves CHILDREN well people are going to respond since no one is out there making sure things are safe for everyone at these shows. Also- the amount of weed being smoked all around the lawn last night was absolutely ridiculous- to each their own, HOWEVER, do it at home if this your thing & not at a family oriented show with children & others who don't want it flowing in their face having to smell it all night. It is not legal in the State of NC, so Venue staff/Security & WPD absolutely SHOULD BE handling the lawn crowd rather than the lawn crowd having to handle everything & everyone on their own bc THAT is ABSOLUTELY how fights in the lawn breakout is when no one is patrolling the lawn & children are young girls are being put in these situations. Mama bears will step up & those young ladies had plenty of Mama bears protecting them last night looking out for them, their dad's didn't even have a chance to step in to handle anything.

Otherwise shows here are great so is the staff, but I highly recommend LOP staff/Security & WPD starts patrolling the lawn thoroughly before someone goes too far & there's a lawsuit from some of these...

Went to see the Avett Brothers, a band I really enjoy, but sadly this venue is poorly designed and the stage crew really didn't seem to know how to produce the event. The lighting was crudely done, with a number of moments where the entire band was nothing more than silhouettes during key moments of great songs. Sound-wise, unless you were lucky enough to be in the section where seats were provided, you missed a great deal of the band's banter, as there seemed to be no speakers beyond that initial section of seats. Which brings me to the seating, which is horrible. We were told that we needed to bring our own lawn-chairs, which for the price of admission, is just ridiculous. The main area where you can set-up your chairs and sit is one level, meaning there is really nowhere to see the stage, unless you are standing and be warned, if you are unlucky enough to have taller folks in front of you, then you are out of luck. Towards the back of the seating area is a rather steep incline where you can set-up. This seems like a good idea, as there are a few spaces where one can get a pretty good view, but most views from this area are obscured by trees. Trees?! It seems like a really dumb idea, as these trees will only grow larger and become more and more of an obstruction to the few areas on the hill where one can see the show. Very limited forethought there. Well then, at least we can have a drink and unwind- Well, you can, but only if you pay the $15 for a tallboy beer can that would normally cost you $3-6 at quick mart. You are not allowed to bring any kind of beverage in, unless its water in a bottle that has not been opened, sooo that's pretty lame, considering all the roadblocks we have already mentioned. I will say this though, the Avett Brothers were great, from what I could kind of enjoy because of the venue's incredibly poor design. And sadly, it seemed like most people there would rather have loud conversations or look at their phones than pay any attention to the show happening. I guess I can't blame them too much, it was very hard to enjoy the show with all the nonsense you have to deal with. I doubt I will ever attend another performance here, unless I can get seats in the front section where seats are provided and even then I would really, really, really have to want to see whoever is performing. I hate to say it, but the Live Oak Bank Pavilion is not worth the hassle, especially since you can't see or hear and thus; enjoy the show you are at. I hope whoever is in charge will read this and they make some major...

We saw Weird Al here on July 25, and it was an excellent show. It was very hot but they had a couple of areas with big fans available. We stayed at a hotel within walking distance (Aloft - GREAT place) and were able to find the VIP entrance easily. Staff were EXTREMELY friendly and helpful the entire show, including the folks at the food and drink stands.

One complaint: what appeared to be the venue food stands (there were several and they all looked alike) had a VERY limited menu with no real offerings for condiments. I can't have mammal meat (beef, pork, venison, lamb, etc.). They do offer a "Impossible" patty, and the lady taking orders even checked to see if they were cooked alongside the meat patties. But when asked about what comes on it, they said "Nothing." For $18.00 you get just a patty and a bun? Wow. They had only ketchup and mustard as options to put on, and I don't like either. No mayo even. Definitely no "premium" stuff like pickles, lettuce, onion, or tomato. But they had a Mosh burger that had a special sauce, and toppings. She said you can't get those on the Impossible burger, "it just comes plain." They also had chicken strips but NO DIPPERS! Once again, the choices were "ketchup and mustard." Not honey mustard. Not hot mustard. Just plain old yellow mustard. So I passed on that and went to an actual food truck - "The Gnosh Pit." BEWARE- their portions are HUGE! I got a sandwich and what I thought would be a "side" of mac and cheese. The sandwich (Shrimp Po'Boy with grilled shrimp - at the suggestion of the very nice lady who took our order) was very large, stuffed with a copious amount of shrimp, fresh tomato, slaw, and a delicious sauce. It was a meal in itself. The mac and cheese came in a LARGE tray and was FULL. It was really a meal by itself. SUPER cheesy, melty, and so good! Hubby had cheese fries and they were crispy and smothered in cheese. And all for just a little more than the cost of ONE margarita! Much better than eating a plain, dry Impossible patty!

Sound was fantastic, we had seats in row 4 so view was good. The rows were very close together, so it made getting in and out difficult for some. We were in seats 3-4 so we were close but a lot of people from further down the row had to squeeze past us to get to bathrooms, drink stands, etc.

One star off for the lack of condiments for such an expensive burger and having the crowded seats. Other than that, it was a very nice venue, would definitely...