One of the top five and most successful amphitheatres in the United States of America is PNC Bank Arts Center is an amphitheatre which is located in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, USA. It has a capacity to contain 17,500 people at one time, 7000 in the seating area and 10,500 in the grassy land. The PNC Bank Arts Center was originally called Garden State Arts Center and was first opened on June 12, 1968. the basic purpose for establishing this arts center was to promote arts and culture. It was built by the famous architect Edward Durell Stone. Initially it had a seating space for 5000 people and the lawn area could accommodate 5000 more people, which was outside the roof. The first ever performers at this arts center were pianist Van Cliburn, conductor Eugene Ormandy, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It hosts concerts from May through September which features 35–45 different events of many types of musical styles. The lawn capacity was doubled and the seating area was expanded to accommodate 2000 more people before the 1996 season.
It hosts many classical and pop music programs. It also used to hold International Heritage Festivals apart from the seasonal activities. In the year 1996, a Pittsburgh based banking company, PNC Bank, purchased naming rights and the venue was renamed to the PNC Bank Arts Center.
One of the prominent events that the PNC Bank Arts Center features is the extravagant drive through light displays in the tri - state area. This spectacular is a 3.6 miles (5.8 km) drive through a forest of lights. Over 225 displays are made with the help of over 5 million lights. It is shown from the end of November through January. Toyota has been the sponsor of this light display since it started.
Even if you car pool or take a bus, PNC Bank Arts Center charges every single ticket holder a $6.00 fee to park.
Many artists have performed at the PNC Bank Arts Center. Some portions of Jackson Browne's landmark 1977 live album, Running on Empty, were recorded there. One of the most popular performers over the years at the Arts Center has been James Taylor. He appears here almost every year and he has been one of the few artists to be booked here three nights in a row. Bruce Springsteen gave two performances in 2006 during the Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour. PNC Bank Arts Center has been a host to many artists such as Counting Crows, No Doubt, Def Leppard, Whitney Houston, Motley Crue, Deep Purple, George Strait, Incubus, Fall Out Boy, Jonas Brothers, Sara Bareilles, Goo Goo Dolls, Gwen Stefani, Velvet Revolver, John Mayer, and many more.
During the May 18, 2007, Gwen Stefani performance for the 2007 season at the venue, the show gained a lot of local media publicity because of the large amount of underage drinking that took place in the parking lot before the show and lack of police to maintain it. At least 27 people, mainly minors, were taken to two area hospital.
In response to this issue of underage drinking and due to a number of alcohol-related injuries and deaths, PNC Bank Arts Center has banned drinking in the parking lots since August 17, 2007.
One issue that gained a lot of publicity was Sinéad O'Connor performance on August 24, 1990 at the then Garden State Arts Center. Normally the national anthem was played at the start of the every event, which Connor was unaware of. So when she came to know about it just before her performance she refused to perform, so the national anthem was omitted on her demand. But from then on she was banned to perform at PNC Bank Arts Center.
