Read the full article by Steve Martarano at Sacramento News & Review
Sacramento’s newest outdoor music venue wasn’t deterred from making a successful debut with an all day emo-pop music festival despite the 110-plus degree temperatures on July 11.
The 2,500 festival-goers danced, partied and crowd-surfed throughout the day’s nine-band lineup, which began at 2 p.m. under a broiling sun and didn’t wrap up until 10 p.m. The Backyard’s debut marked the kickoff of the traveling Sad Summer Festival, headlined by festival founders Mayday Parade and The Maine.
The aptly-named venue, with a capacity of a cozy 3,000, is located at Cal Expo behind the Rock & Brews Restaurant. The amphitheater was created and conceived in collaboration with Cal Expo, promoter Nederlander Concerts, and the national restaurant chain, which was created in 2012 by a group that included KISS members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.