Even for someone who's outdoor-venue-averse, Ameris Bank Amphitheatre was a delightful place to see…read morea great show. I decided to see Hayley Williams only a few days before the show. Ameris is about a four-hour drive from Nashville, so it meant an overnight trip, and I wanted to be sure I'd be comfortable. The forecast called for rain and record heat, and I'm still recovering from a foot injury that makes long stretches of standing dicey. So on top of my pit ticket, I bought a cheap seat in Section 105 as a fallback.
You have to buy parking, since there are no options outside the venue. Standard parking usually runs around $10. I upgraded to $35 VIP parking, and it was well worth it for getting in and out. The VIP lot is a little hard to find because Google Maps sends you to the rideshare drop-off, but plenty of staff pointed me the right way. I arrived about 30 minutes before the headliner to limit my time in the heat, and a brief downpour during the openers had already cooled things off considerably. Ameris is about 45 minutes from Atlanta and having read lots of reviews, I'd braced for traffic, but there was no wait. It helped that I was coming from a hotel that was 5 minutes away, but even once near the venue I had no issue with a long line of cars to get into parking, as I had feared. Super close parking within VIP was still available, and it took me under 10 minutes to get through security, get my ticket checked, and walk to the far side of the venue for pit entry.
Seating in Orchestra is a mix of plush folding chairs and stadium-style plastic seats, tiered so the view is good from anywhere in the orchestra section. I checked out my orchestra seat at the start of the show, but never ended up needing to use it.
Pit attendees get a dedicated wristband that's scanned at the pit entrance. For this show, everyone in the pit had to pour drinks into plastic cups for the artist's safety. The pit is close to the bathrooms and to free water refill stations, and you can bring your own bottle or cup (huge plus in these record temps!) Ceiling fans under the roof overhang kept a breeze going, a godsend in that humidity. I like to stand near the back, and even at a sold-out show I had plenty of room. Any spot in the pit is a great view. When I needed to sit for a bit, there were benches just outside the pit near concessions that were much easier to get to instead of my orchestra seat.
Concessions were cheaper than at Nashville shows: $3 for a Liquid Death tallboy. Bathrooms were hot and a little worse for wear, but still had soap and toilet paper at the end of the night. I stayed through the last song of the encore and was out of the lot in under 10 minutes, felt incredible to get back so quickly! Staff really helped things along directing traffic, etc.
The surrounding area is safe and cute, prices are reasonable, and the staff were genuinely helpful in keeping the show and crowd manageable, rather than on a power trip like I've seen at other venues. It was absolutely worth making a weekend of it. Would come back in a heartbeat!