The Backyard

First time at this venue, I guess is fairly new not enough info out there, I had to research it and still didn't have all the info! When we purchase the tickets we weren't clear if we had seat or if it was general admission, so we brought our chairs, turns out we did had seats assigned and they also have general admission and in there you can use your chairs. They make you park at Lot D and is a mile walk to the venue, it was $20 cash; there's a dropped off area right in-front the venue , the venue itself is connected to a restaurant and a mini golf , there's a mall across the street. Security wasn't all that (they were nice tho) you can bring a medium or small size bags (however is up to them to decide which size it's appropriate to bring in to the venue) you can also bring sealed water bottles or an empty PLASTIC Bottle, no hydroflask or anything of that kind. They sale food such as bbq ribs & drinks. The concert itself was amazing, very intimate, the speakers were clear.

This venue is right behind Rock n' Brews by Cal Expo. It's essentially a parking lot with a stage. There are no indoor bathrooms, only porta potties. They have a few food trucks on site and a couple of bars. There is a VIP area, it's referred to as "the hill" because it's slightly elevated so you should be able to see over the crowd. Parking is $20 (bring cash) and you enter through Gate D at Cal Expo, if the parking lot in front of Rock n' Brews isn't full they have you park there. The two times I went I was there early so I was able to park close. Try to avoid going to a concert during or after the State Fair. The Backyard is near the stables where they keep the livestock during the fair, which means there are a LOT of flies when the fair is going on. I've only been to two daytime shows (Sad Summer and Summer School Tour) so I can't say what it's like to to go a regular nighttime concert. The shows I went to were standing room only, and they were on very hot days. I will say the venue did an excellent job keeping everyone cool and hydrated. For Sad Summer it was over 110 degrees, they had setup a white tent, had misters, plenty of free water and a few large trash cans filled with water so you could wet a cooling rag (they also provided new towels for those who didn't bring one). They let you bring in one empty water bottle or a sealed one. You were allowed to bring in sunscreen, but it had to be lotion, it couldn't be aerosol. The staff was very friendly and helpful. It's definitely not my favorite venue but it is new, so there may be some improvements.

We went for the first time here to see Yachtly Crew. We love the band. Have seen them multiple times. Venue was nice. Very spacious. Sound was quality. Friendly bartenders. They had a couple food vendors. They weren't very busy. Easy to get inside the venue as well. I saw people sitting on lawn chairs they brought in the general admission area. Nice to know you can bring them. We will be back.

The Backyard itself is a GREAT venue. First time there to see Michael Franti. The music was incredible and everyone was having a good time. Every employee and security were friendly and delivered great Customer Service. 5 STARS. However.... If you get hungry there, I highly encourage that you eat a big meal before you get there. They only had two food trucks with long lines. I stood in line for 40 minutes for 3 chicken tacos $15. I wish I had taken a picture because the tacos had barely any chicken on it. Gave $20 cash but the vendor claimed she didn't have enough $1's or a $5 dollar to give change back to me. She only could give me $3 back. Odd, but I always tip anyway. It just felt like she was forcing me to tip. Didn't understand why people were not allowed into Rock and Brews restaurant. There are so many ways to keep track of concert goers vs only restaurant patrons. Hopefully they get that figured out. For now, add more food trucks. So the food experience was lacking for me, THE BACKYARD is great place to see your favorite band.

Had a great time seeing Yachtley Crew and Raynes! Love that we have a new outdoor venue to go to!!

Service was fantastic! Drinks and food were good and they have a great selection of beer. Location makes it great for a reservation before a concert.

Food options are okay and overpriced, but the entire venue is centered around a restaurant that the website leads me to believe I both cannot eat at because of no re-entry upon entering and no entry through the restaurant but I can get free parking by making a reservation? Artist packages are priced highly to include VIP access to venue areas generally. This wasn't clearly laid out. My wife and I bought VIP upgrades through Ice Nine Kills' website and they didn't have an option to even purchase the venues VIP, which led us to believe they were the same. My wife is heavily pregnant and when asked, no accommodations were made to help with seating. The actual stage setup and decoration/ area surrounding it is more or less a festival stage popped up behind the parking lot. Nothing to shake a stick at. Concrete all the way through, with some fake turf in this outdoor venue. "VIP Hill" has an umbrella which blocks view to other concertgoers who can't be in the crowd and VIP purchasers get to see the right stack of monitors instead of the band they bought overpriced tickets for. The water refill stations are nowhere near the stage, and neither are the misters. I watched at least five people faint during just ONE opening act. On top of everything, the venue is listed as a NO SMOKING venue and ZERO action was taken by staff or security to help stop people from smoking; there are multiple children and pregnant concertgoers. Extremely disappointed. The audio sounded muffled and the mixing was off, not sure if that was a band or venue issue. I have seen each of the bands I saw tonight before, and have had none of these problems at other venues. That being said the bands performed great!

This is a great venue! Large enough to hold a good sized crowd, yet, still an intimate space to enjoy the entertainment!