Never been to a casino where alcoholic drinks were not allowed on the floor. You can go upstairs to the sports bar and go into the gaming room where there is the crap games that no one wants to play. read more

The view is amazing but man, Sandia, you have us packed in our seats like sardines. You have to stand up if someone needs to get by you. It's miserable. I was hoping with your recent upgrade you would change that but it actually seems worse. The added bathrooms are nice though. No waiting in long lines. So, not my favorite concert venue anymore. read more

See all

SO... this USED to be the absolute best outdoor venue in the city. I've seen Tears for Fears, Journey, and others here and it freaking blew my mind. Amazing sound and not a bad seat in the house. Unfortunately, the latter is no longer true. I bought my wife front row tickets to see one of her 80s faves CULTURE CLUB for her birthday. Amazing, right? WRONG. So, evidently, according to one of the security guards - about "3 shows ago" the event board, or whomever, made an executive decision not to let anybody in the middle down to the front floor sections STAND UP.... what the??? Imagine our surprise when Culture Club came on, in full on 80s upbeat danceable glory, and we stood up and were approached by security and told to sit down! You could see it happening all over the front half of the audience - the security team, literally, SCURRYING around telling people to stop standing and clapping and to SIT DOWN! Now I could understand if this was a Sarah McLachlan or some folky show - but it was like an 80's PARTY BUS - stuck at a redlight ALL NIGHT! So here's where insult is added to injury. The even sadder thing is that we paid the big cash for the PREMIUM FRONT section tickets - but, because we couldn't stand, and the stage being about 5ft high - then add the lights on the edge - we could NOT SEE ANYTHING!! Look at the pics I've included. I could've NOT paid a dime to stand outside the gate and listen to a great show that I can't see. I'm actually writing this review WHILE the show is going. I can't see anything. I paid $175 for two tickets, so I might as well get this review done because I'm SO bummed. BUYER BEWARE - only buy the cheap seats! The further back you are the better. Premium seats are a rip off. read more

Sandia Casino Amphitheater - Front row view. NOTHING. Not allowed to stand!! - Music Venues Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

See all

Saw the Goo Goo Dolls and Collective Soul concert here on 7/20/16. Tickets are cheaper than counterparts across the nation; you get an amazing view of, what else, the Sandias; and I appreciate that I was able to bring in my own bottled water. Sure, it's a little small, but that means that no matter where you sit you have a decent view. I was in Section F which is the second rightmost section (stage right), and I did not feel that my view of Johnny Rzeznik was lacking. The one thing that sucks is that there's no awnings in case of rain. Nothing for protection on a windy day either. Can't bring umbrellas in either, so hope for good weather when you visit. Thankfully, mine was a nice day. If your thing is the biggest current name in the music industry, you probably won't find it here. But I appreciate that some of the biggest names when I was in high school are visiting this summer like not just the Goo Goo Dolls and Collective Soul but Melissa Etheridge as well. Maybe that's why tickets aren't overpriced. Goo Goo Dolls? Collective Soul? Melissa Etheridge? Smash Mouth at the Alameda County Fair in California? Ayyy, I'm getting old. read more

Sandia Casino Amphitheater - Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, 7/20/16. - Music Venues Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

See all

Loved this amphitheater This is a fairy small venue without lawn areas so there's no bad seat in the house. Caution though.., if you get a front center seats, you will have about 10 deep people standing in front of you. Good news is if you get any seat in the front block, you'll get access to the rails or the "pit". Very small area so you'll get a good Pit experience. Don't expect to pay front row seats and expect a first line view... and complain about it! You're gonna go to a concert in front row, expect to dance the night away and have FUN! I had the side seats 3rd row, unobstructed view with. One standing in front of us so that worked out great Can't wait to go back to another show!! It was so easy to get out too because the parking lot attendants controlled the traffic going out so it made it an easy exit. Awesome experience all around!! read more

See all

This is the best venue for concerts that I have ever been to. You've got the Sandía Mountains as a backdrop, you get to see the sun set and a beautiful breeze serves as natural air conditioning while you enjoy your show. My most recent visit was for Juanes on May 31 and the weather was perfect. Juanes brought down the house and had the place going berserk and this despite the fact the place hadn't sold out. One thing I really appreciate about this venue is that no matter where you sit or stand you still have a great view and even though we hadn't paid premium price for out tickets we were still remarkably close. If we'd gone to see Juanes in Madison Square Garden we surely would've paid five times as much for out tickets and still wouldn't have had half the view of what we did on Friday night. As for food and drinks, we didn't sample the former but I did have three beers and a wine with each costing $7. The wine was run-of-the-mill and I couldn't tell you what brand it was, but it was a dry white with a very thin flavor profile. As for beer, there was little to get excited about, but I was thankful for Marble Brewery IPA being on tap to save me from ordering some pee water. A few things I'd ask of the folks that run this place: 1) Add one more food/liquor booth to mitigate the ridiculously long lines that can form. 2) Get more local and craft beer on tap, starting with La Cumbre Elevated IPA. 3) Continue to bring acts like Juanes to Albuquerque. Oh and I should note that the sound system in here is pretty damn good. Almost too good. We brought our daughter and we had to get her earplugs to ensure that she wouldn't go deaf. read more

See all

My first time at the Sandia Amphitheater Sorry it has taken so long! Beautiful facility! Located right out side of the casino, park either Out side or in the parking ramp The staff was excellent The restrooms were spotless Comfortable stadium seats, drink holder I do recommend a jacket as the evenings are chilly I am so impressed and the view of Sandia is spectacular! read more

We really enjoyed seeing Flo Rida here recently. It was our first concert in New Mexico and I was really very impressed with this small, quaint, but GREAT venue. There really are very few bad seats in the house. The prices are ridiculously reasonable for this wonderful little outdoor venue. My only complaint was the less-than helpful girl at the box office, but even her little attitude couldn't detract from the 5 star rating. I can't wait for the next show! read more

Sandia Casino Amphitheater - Fantastic, small outdoor venue! - Music Venues Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

the amphitheater itself is lovely. very well decorated. the beer prices are a bit high, but that's any concert venue. the reason for my lower rating is the absolutely atrocious foot traffic and vehicular traffic management after a concert. there is absolutely no logical reason that people sat in the parking garage for 45 minutes in line waiting to leave. i will never return to sandia amphitheater for that fact. isleta amphitheater has their traffic management down to an art, maybe take a few notes. read more

we ordered room service from the cantina and the entire order was wrong, we ordered the classic breakfast burrito for $15 dollars with potatoes, eggs and hash browns. (green chile and red chile on the side) Explicitly letting the restaurant know that we are vegetarians and instead they brought us a sausage burrito. No green or red chile on the side and for some reason eggs and hash browns that we never ordered. An absolute waste of hard earned money read more

This is a cool little venue, and one of the places I prefer to see concerts. It's beautiful outside of the casino, and the amphitheater is small enough that pretty much all the seats are good. They manage to get some pretty decent shows, too. The last one I saw there was the 80s Replay (Taylor Dayne and Starship among others) but I've also seen Boston there, which was epic. Yes, drinks and food are expensive but that's a problem everywhere. Pro tip: Buy your tickets at the box office and avoid all the Ticketmaster fees! read more

My husband and I went to see Fluffy at the new renovated amphitheater. It's a great show and a great venue except for the seats. OMG they crammed as many tiny seats as they could making the whole experience terrible. The seats are so small you feel like you're sandwiched between the strangers next to you. Solely on how uncomfortable and tiny those seats were we will not be going back to that venue. read more

Went to see Gabriel Iglesias "Fluffy" last night. He's so darn funny and such a class act. It was the first night since the remodel. Doesn't look too different except for the concession stands. The seats do appear to be smaller than before. Perhaps they took a page out of the airline companies handbook and squeezed more seats into the rows to make more money. Not nearly as comfortable as before. However, this is still my favorite venue. Great view of the stage no matter where you are seated, well organized, clean and love that it's outside. read more

Just saw Peter Frampton there and it was great. Whoever says they don't allow standing at the front of the stage is mistaken. People rocking out on their feet all night. One thing is, if you have tickets in the first few rows you will be forced to stand because people from the seats behind you will just come down in front of you and you can't see anything if you don't stand. It is what it is. Great show tho. Bathrooms for the ladies suck. Us guys had four commodes and five urinals in our. The ladies bathroom next to the men's had ONE toilet. Maybe there was more somewhere else but the wife wasn't interested in hiking for more. read more

Sandia Casino Amphitheater - Peter Frampton at Sandia - Music Venues Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

My first trip to the Sandia amphitheater and I have to say I am very impressed. It seats about 4000 people and is an amazing venue for concerts. There is no such thing as a bad seat here. Even in the last row of the last tier, you are still only about 100 yards from the stage... And since it is tiered, it doesn't seem far at all. My floor seats were phenomenal for the 311 concert tonight! They serve been and liquor and there is no charge for parking at the casino, which is within a two minute walk of the amphitheater entrance. This is my new go to location for live music.... And they book some great bands. Up next.... Ringo and his all star band! read more

Sandia Casino Amphitheater - This is floor seating! - Music Venues Near Me - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Visited here the first time on Aug 28th for Sara Evans concert. The venue is a great outdaoor experience. Staff was really helpful in finding will-call booth. It was easy to get in and around. Not too crowded. Beer and wine prices were reasonable by concert standards. We had seats on the ground level about 4 rows back. Awesome view and Sara was fantastic. Her voice seemed to get better as the night went on. She sang for an hour and a half, at least. Would stay away from the seats on the extreme left and right of stage, but otherwise all other seats looked to be pretty good. read more

I don't understand why you guys sale side seats if you are barely going to see the artist.

Used to be my favorite venue in Albuquerque. Now they have a no standing rule and ask you to go to the back of seating area if you want to stand or dance. When I went back there we found 3 managers and 4 workers standing at the rails blocking everyone's view (I posted it on ticketmasters website...very unprofessional). They no longer have a full bar either. You can get tap beer or bad wine in a sippy cup. They also have fruit punch and koolaid style canned drinks made with tons of sugar...it was nasty. Everyone in our party (6 people) were upset and chose to not purchase any alcohol. We will not be attending any more shows here until Sandia addresses these issues and implements a full bar...they only did this to expedite service...well, their attendance has been down this year so they really don't have any crowds to deal with. read more

Love this venue. Have been to many concerts here. In the future I will purchase the center seats, mid way up since I've noticed several aisles up many people standing/screaming/dancing (which should be the floor) Not sure why, could be the price difference, or maybe the artist. Acoustics are great unless it's windy. On a calm night it's amazing, but you never know what the weather will do (or the people right behind you) Unless you want to lose decibels (and I do not) don't purchase near the front on the aisles or bring your ear plugs! read more

Who goes to a Boy George concert to SIT!?! They tried to blame the 'staying seated for the whole concert' rule on him, but even he was surprised and mentioned it to the audience. Then my view was 75% obstructed with equipment and it never said 'limited view' seating. For the price of my ticket, this was unacceptable! Went from my favorite venue, to my least favorite. Too many rules and zero respect for concert patrons. read more

I want to start off by saying my review is for the buffet restaurant.I have visited this restaurant (5) many times. Why oh why do I keep going back?' Well one is I want to give it a real try an well the food isn't too bad. Pricey yes! But not bad. But the SERVICE, wow what a train wreck!!!. They need to revise the staff, or just get some people who actually care about their customers! Boo on them! read more

Sandia used to be one of my favorite places to see concerts, NOT ANYMORE!! We went to see Culture Club and we were not allowed to stand up or dance! Are you kidding me!!!! They are one of the all time dance bands of the 80's. I was so disappointed. DON'T go to the venue if you want to have a good time. DON'T waste your money!! read more

I love it when artist play at the Sandia Amphitheater. It is a more romantic/intimate concert. I love how the music sounds here. They need a better system for getting people drinks because it takes FOREVER! read more

Great for concerts! Saw train a couple months ago. No bad seat in the house! Can't wait for our next concert!

We've probably been to 100 shows here, and last night was the last. We will NEVER go back to this venue. I don't care who the headliner is. Culture Club. EVERYONE in our section was standing and dancing and singing and laughing and this mean, belligerent, INCREDIBLY ANGRY security guard told us all to sit. There was a very sweet older woman two rows in front of us having the time of her life, standing, singing and dancing, and the same security guard got in her face, pointing and screaming and told her to sit down -- this was after all of us around her told him she was fine and was not obstructing our view at all. He then started in on her friend, pointing and screaming two inches from her face -- we have a video of it if anyone would like to see. The stupidest part of it all? The guy was BLOCKING OUR VIEW every time he went to yell at this lady and her friend. Good luck in a couple weeks with Pitbull, you guys. You're gonna have to sit on your asses the whole time. FORGET THIS PLACE. What a shame. read more