McMenamins Edgefield Concerts — Local services in Troutdale

My boyfriend and I attended a concert for one of our favorite bands (The String Cheese Incident!) and we both agreed that the venue was beautiful and impressively managed. This was our first time at this venue. We go to a lot of shows, at a lot of venues and not all are five stars, if you know what I mean. Getting there was easy, they had lots of staff guiding and directing traffic to parking so that it flowed easy getting in. The layout for the venue makes sense for just getting around, and the signage is great. Thank you for the many, many port-o-potties as the waits for them were never long, they were as clean as they could be, always had toilet paper, and plenty of washing stations with hand soap, water, and paper towels available. Again, so many venues don't have these luxuries! The location is relaxing, and so pretty with the fairy lights and giant lanterns strung throughout the gorgeous trees. The concert area had plenty of lawn space with grass for sitting and relaxing with shoes off. Lots of family-friendly spaces as we saw lots of little ones having just as much fun as the "big kids." The main area in front of the stage is really just sand/dirt and I think that is my very smallest complaint because you definitely get dirty shoes/feet, and legs if you're wanting to be by the rail and main dancing areas near the stage. The stage is really nice, and I like the screen behind it as you can see more pretty trees and leaves- just visually relaxing. There were enough food and drink vendors to enjoy a variety of choices, and there were almost no lines, ever, and staff were professional, fast, and friendly. Pricing was reasonable, considering (depending on where you go- I think costs are higher at airports and at the movies! haha). And, leaving was no trouble. We did have to remember that we came in alongside the really long fence and had to navigate back that way, but it was easy enough to find our car. Waiting to get out didn't take too long- maybe about 10 minutes, and just a little patience is needed as the parking lot and road staff guided lines of traffic from all around the parking lot areas so that it was fair, and everyone got turns moving towards the exit. Although it is all off of one road, it goes pretty quickly when there are staff to keep traffic moving. Lastly, as it is a smaller venue- they still can accommodate some bigger named artists and have great lineups. It feels like a more intimate show/experience being able to get so close to the stage and band. We both really had an awesome, magical time being there! The band and music were amazing, but the venue made it extra special. Thank you, McMenamin's, for an exceptional live music experience! We look forward to coming back...

This review is focused on the venue's infrastructure and logistics of the concert (Goo Goo Dolls, loved the music and sound was great.)

Parking - Many reviews mention parking is rough (get there early for sure) and there's a couple signs stating 30-60 mins to exit the parking area after the show, so that helps set expectations and decisions on how long you stay. But it's still hard to believe after years of summer concert series' they haven't upgraded the grassy parking hill so cars aren't bounced around the super bumpy lanes at 5MPH and slowing down the whole process significantly.

Entering - It was crazy hot and huge fistpumps to all the workers, but the line to get in was crazy. We walked almost two total miles from our parked car in the lot, to the front entrance to see there's a huge line winding away up the hill, to the end of the line, to wait in line and get back to the front entrance. There HAS to be a better way to direct people so there isn't lots of walking, lots of waiting, AND lots of sweating in direct heat.

In-venue Logistics - It was a total nightmare finding out what food and beverages are served and where, and which lines accept only cash and which take cards, since they're all different. Considering the different locations are spread around a forested area (that is quite beautiful compared to other outdoor venues) it's nuts there wasn't better signage. It took 15 mins to wander around the full area to figure out what food and drinks were available and which line to get in (which was another 15 mins before ordering.) Everything was super expensive but it's a McMenamins so I wasn't shocked ($12 tiny cocktails, $11-13 canned or draft beers).

The pizza slices were just bad. I've seen worse prices ($7/slice) but it wasn't fresh, very inconsistent on pepperonis, and the hot pizza was melting into the paper plate so I legit peeled paper off the crust. Would NOT recommend - there's a reason that line was way shorter, doh. Cajun tots were pretty good value at $10 but took 30 mins to order, get a receipt, then get in a separate line to wait for the tots. Again, signage was very confusing on this one.

Bottom Line: It's a beautiful venue with great sound that attracts really fun artists, but it's just managed horribly logistically. Next time I'll definitely make it a half-day - arriving much earlier to park, eat and drink before the show (paying less crazy prices outside the venue but on the property) and maybe buying a single drink inside OR I just won't go. Arriving 45 mins early, hungry and thirsty was a...

Not a great experience for my first concert at Edgefield. First, the good:

1. Beautiful location
2. Great lineup of performers Now, the bad:
3. The traffic and parking. Traffic is horrible trying to get to the location. We eventually had to park in a neighborhood and walk about a mile to the concert venue. If we would have tried to park at Edgefield, it would have likely taken us another 30-60 minutes.
4. Food and Drink Options. There aren't many, even for this being a McMenamins. The food options all had very long lines, having to stand in some for over 30 minutes. Also, at least one food option kept running out of food, and had to be resupplied every 15-30 minutes. As you can't bring in your own food and drink, this requires everyone to purchase food and drink there and the lines and availability make me never want to go back.
5. Paying for Food and Drink: I didn't know that places still were cash only, but Edgefield is. Most, but not all, of the food options and drink options were Cash Only. Who carries a lot of cash around these days? There was a single ATM in the concert venue, but you can imagine how long that line was...very long (do you see a theme here with having to wait in long lines). There were two food options which were taking credit/debit cards and of course those lines were very long, and one of these two options was the one that kept running out of food. I went around and even asked one of the Alcohol Monitors if any of the bars took credit/debit. Unfortunately, they told me they were all Cash Only. So, no drinks for me as I didn't want to stand in yet another line for the single ATM.

Overall, the concert was great, venue is nice, but between the horrible traffic, parking challenges, food and drink options and most of those only taking cash (at a Sold Out concert) it made for an unpleasant experience and I'm likely to think twice about attending another concert...