See first concert at Sacramento area’s newest concert venue as it prepares for Maroon 5
The Sacramento region’s newest concert venue got its first test last week.
With Maroon 5 scheduled to officially open the recently finished Hard Rock Live event center on Friday, county music star and Yuba City native Tyler Rich headlined a “soft opening” on May 26.
“We’re testing out the room to get ready for our grand opening performance on June 3rd with Maroon 5, which is a sold out show,” director of entertainment Randy Maddocks said.
“For our property, specifically, Hard Rock is an entertainment-focused entity … we don’t just have gaming and hotel rooms and restaurants.” He added that they’re partnering with Live Nation for booking. “They’re going to be helping us bring in acts that, you know, our competitors may not be able to bring in here.”
The venue, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento outside Wheatland, features 2,500 seats — or space for up to 3,000 general-admission occupants — with no spectator sitting more than 140 feet from the stage. It marks a major expansion for the Yuba County casino, which opened in 2019.
“We’re the first on the West Coast,” Maddocks said. “There are no other Hard Rock casinos or hotels on the west side of the United States … we’re the baby, we’re the first to build a new venue, we’re the first to have a Hard Rock casino on this side of the country, and definitely California, and hopefully there’s more to come.”
Maddocks pointed to the local Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe’s collaboration with Hard Rock International, which the Seminole Tribe of Florida acquired in 2007 in the first transaction of its kind by an American Indian tribe. “It’s a true tribe-to-tribe partnership,” he said. Tribal leaders and local dignitaries spoke to the VIP crowd before country duo Temecula Road opened for Rich.
“As tribal people, we have gambled from day one,” said tribal Chairwoman Glenda Nelson in her remarks, delivered with humor and reciprocated with laughter from the audience.
“You know we all — including you and our tribal members and all of us — we worked so hard to bring this to Yuba County,” she said. “And we’re just so happy to be here with all of you tonight.”
Upcoming shows
Some of the acts already booked for Hard Rock Live:
- Chris Isaak, June 22
- The Offspring, July 30
- Chris Rock, Oct. 22
- Chelsea Handler, Oct. 29
This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM.