The Brookhaven Amphitheater Arts & Cultural Center at Bald Hill is an outdoor concert venue owned by the Town of Brookhaven, and located in Farmingville, New York, United States. It has approximately 7000 seats, and a capacity including lawn seating of over 15,000.
Though outdoor concerts have been held at Bald Hill since as far back as 1965, the current amphitheater was built in the late 1980s (replacing earlier portable and simpler stages) on the location of the former Bald Hill Ski Bowl, and modeled after venues such as the PNC Bank Arts Center in New Jersey. It has been compared to such arenas as the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
The venue does not share the same popularity as the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater also located on Long Island, however many concertgoers have praised the sight lines.[] Throughout the years the theater has hosted musical acts such as Blondie, James Brown, B. B. King, Pat Benatar, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Twisted Sister and the 2002 Metal Edge Rockfest.
The venue also hosts family-friendly movie nights held on Wednesdays in July and August.
The Town of Brookhaven's management of the facility has not always been smooth. One black mark occurred in the early 1990s, when a local promoter booked several high-profile shows that never happened, and failed to issue refunds, causing lawsuits to be brought against the town. Another venue manager was allegedly fired in 2002. From 2004-2008, the venue ran a deficit of more than $3.9 million.
