Next Stop: The Northwell Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, NY

In about a week and a half, Sir Rod Stewart will return to the concert stage following a relaxing holiday in Ibiza. On 31 July, Sir Rod and his band will be performing in the small US town of Wantagh, located in the state of New York.
Wantagh is situated on Long Island, around 50 kilometres east of Manhattan.
Today, we’re taking a look at the venue, the Northwell Jones Beach Theatre, which is particularly striking thanks to its picturesque waterside location.
The semi-open-air theatre opened in 1952 with a capacity of 8,200 and initially served mainly as a venue for musicals. Until the early 1990s, a wide variety of theatre productions were staged here; among others, the plays *A Night in Venice*, *Show Boat*, *South Pacific*, *The Sound of Music*, *The King and I*, *Anatevka*, *Oklahoma!*, *Annie Get Your Gun*, *The Music Man* and *Damn Yankees* were performed here.

In 1991 and 1992, the theatre was renovated and extended – bringing its capacity to 11,200 seats. However, a further extension took place as early as 1998, increasing the number of seats to 15,000.
Today, the Jones Beach Theatre even has a capacity of 20,000 seats. In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy destroyed large parts of the lower section of the theatre. The entire lower section of the building was completely flooded, and both the electrical and structural components of the semi-stadium were destroyed. The venue reopened on 31 May 2013 following renovations costing $20 million.
As ever, megastars continue to perform here in quick succession, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Maroon 5, The Beach Boys, ZZ Top, Foreigner, Journey and Santana. Rod Stewart is also among the regular guests in Wantagh; the British singer has performed there 16 times to date, first as part of his ‘Camouflage’ tour in September 1984, and most recently in August 2022.
Sir Rod returns on 31 July, bringing his greatest hits with him for what may well be the last time. Apart from a few remaining tickets, the show on Friday next week is sold out.