The Pioneer Amphitheatre is an amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

 located at the north-eastern corner of the Hayward Hills Campus of California State University, East Bay

California State University, East Bay

California State University, East Bay is a public university located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The university, as part of the 23-campus California State University system, offers over 100 areas of study...

 in Hayward, California

Hayward, California

Hayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. With a population of 144,186, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 37th most populous municipality in California. It is included in...

. The venue is managed by the Sequoia Management Group. In addition to outdoor concerts and university functions the Pioneer Amphitheatre is also plays host to numerous graduation ceremonies of local high schools and is an assembly area for the university in the event of a disaster or emergency.

History

Prior to 2004, the Pioneer Amphitheatre was venue used mostly in outdoor concerts held by the music ensembles of the university and a home to Al Fresco, a welcome back festival held every October. In addition to music department events, the amphitheatre was also home an intermittent concert series held by the Associated Students board of the school. Performers who were one a part of this series have included Save Ferris

Save Ferris

Save Ferris was a ska punk band formed circa 1995 in Orange County, California. Their name is a reference to the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off.-History:...

, Ozomatli

Ozomatli

Ozomatli is a seven to ten piece band playing primarily Latin, hip hop, and rock music, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and their wide array of musical styles - including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, rap, and others.In a 2007 NPR interview, band...

 and War

War (band)

War is an American funk band from California, known for the hit songs "Low Rider", "Spill the Wine", "The Cisco Kid" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?". Formed in 1969, War was a musical crossover band which fused elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae...

.

In 2004, the management of the venue was handed over to the Sequoia Management Group in hopes of booking bigger acts to create a revenue stream for the university. Since 2004 the Amphitheatre has been the home of the KBLX

KBLX

KBLX-FM is an Urban Adult Contemporary radio station that broadcasts from San Francisco. The station is licensed to Berkeley, California, and is owned by Inner City Broadcasting Corporation.-About KBLX:...

 Stone Soul Picnic, a day-long festival of Urban Adult Contemporary

Urban Adult Contemporary

Urban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...

, soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 and R&B music. Past picnics have featured the Isley Brothers, Teena Marie

Teena Marie

Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, was an American singer, songwriter and producer...

, Rick James

Rick James

James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...

, and The O'Jays

The O'Jays

The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...

.

Before the 2005-2006 academic year, upgrades were completed to the venue to bring it to professional standards. The upgrades included a concrete stage, conduits for lighting and sound systems and better connection to the university power grid.