New Jersey is known of being the home of the famous PNC Bank Arts Center. This venue is ranked in the top five amphitheaters in the country and ranked in the top two outdoor arenas within the New York Metropolitan area Originally called the Garden State Arts Center, this venue opened its doors to the public in 1968, after 4 years of making this amphitheater. In the beginning this venue concentrated mainly on high-classical music, as well as pop music. They also contained free daytime shows to school children, disabled, elderly and the disadvantage. During the 1990’s the venue went through a big change, the classical music was almost stopped and it felt the need to expand the venue for the top popular music acts to compete with other outdoor amphitheaters. In 1996 PNC Bank purchased naming rights to the venue changing the name from the Garden State Arts Center to the currently PNC Bank Arts Center. In 1996, a substantial expansion was done to the PNC Bank Arts Center, adding over 2,000 seats to the venue and doubling the size of the lawn bu expanding the bank and removing a row of trees. In the past, during the holiday season, the Arts Center stops holding any concerts, music events. The only event they hold at this time of the year is the “Holiday Light Spectacular”. This usually runs from the end of November until the beginning of January. The spectacular display starts with a 2.5mile drive through a decorated forest of lights on a prepared road. This then ends in the PNC Bank Arts Center parking lot which contains a Winter Village filled with a ice rink, snack bar and a decoration shop, which sells smaller versions of the Holiday Light Spectacular. Unfortunately the holiday light show was stopped a few years ago. This venue has had some of the most top performers play here in the past. The most popular has been James Taylor. He comes to the PNC Bank Arts Center every year and always sells out for three days in a row, so make sure you book your tickets early for him. This has also been the spot for some of the biggest festivals including Crue fest (1 and 2), OzzyFest, The uproar festival and many more/ Although they want you to have the time of their lives, they do have to supply some rules if you plan to book tickets.
