Bowie. Beyoncé. Brooks. (Or Garth, as he’s probably better known.)
These are just a few of the musical superstars who have performed at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium in its nearly 50-year history.
Others include Metallica, Backstreet Boys, One Direction, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Genesis, Pink Floyd, The Police and Taylor Swift as Kenny Chesney’s opener in 2009. (The Weeknd is about to add his name to the list.)
With a seating capacity of 56,400—and another 10,000 on the floor—Commonwealth is Canada’s largest open-air stadium. It’s a major stop for large-scale tours and is often the only stop on the prairies, attracting fans from other provinces and adding millions to our local economy.
Here’s a look at Commonwealth’s concerts over the years:
The influential icon came to Commonwealth twice—with his blockbuster Serious Moonlight tour in August 1983 and his Glass Spider tour four summers later.
Other repeat acts include Metallica, AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, U2 and Sarah McLachlan (with Lilith Fair in the late 1990s) and Foo Fighters (as part of Edgefest and Summersault).
The stadium, home to the Edmonton Elks football team, has hosted more than 40 concerts and 1.5 million music fans since it opened in 1978 for the Commonwealth Games. (The first gig? Rock Cirkus, a one-day festival featuring Heart, Peter Frampton and 42,000 fans on August 26, 1979.)
To put on a show requires more than 200 ushers, 300 security guards (plus 200 external contractors), 200 people for the merchandise tents, as well as ambulance services, members of Edmonton Police and first-aid volunteers from St. John’s Ambulance. Another 1,300 people are needed for the concession booths.
“Most of the booths are run by volunteers from church or community groups that are trying to raise money for their organizations,” says Seutter.
Most of Commonwealth’s concerts take place during Edmonton’s warmest months—June, July and August. The Stones, the original bad boys of rock, opted for something cooler.
The resilient rockers played twice in October 1994 as part of their Voodoo Lounge tour. During the first night, Mick Jagger “joked about the cool temperature, saying he’d put on extra layers—’of underwear,’” wrote The Edmonton Journal. (The mercury was just above zero.)
Undaunted, the Stones returned three Octobers later on their Bridges to Babylon tour.
Like the Stones, U2 is a three-time Commonwealth performer.
“How come we haven’t been here before?” Bono asked the crowd during the first of the band’s two Popmart spectacles in June 1997. “They didn’t tell us about you, that’s why.”
The Irish rockers came back in June 2011 with their 360° tour—accompanied by a circular stage and a structure nicknamed ‘The Claw.’
Edmonton was one of only two Canadian cities on Queen Bey’s history-making Formation tour. She was the first female artist to headline an all-stadium tour.
Her Commonwealth show on May 20, 2016 also carries another distinction.
“I have to say this is the coldest show I’ve ever done,” she told the crowd.
“But it feels incredible.”
(The temperature was unseasonably chilly—only 6 degrees.)
Photos courtesy of instagram.com/garthbrooks
Country legend Garth Brooks also made history with his two shows in June 2022. Some 122,000 tickets were sold—the most ever for a two-day event at Commonwealth Stadium.
“Try to remember that I’ve been doing this for 150 years,” he said at a news conference. “You’re at that place where you get to pick where you want to be, right? So, you pick Edmonton.”
Seutter credits Brooks for helping Commonwealth land other tours. “There are maybe five to 10 artists in the world that can do a stadium tour right now,” she says.
“It’s a big risk and artists want to make sure they have the ticket sales. The more times that we’re able to put on a successful show demonstrates to concert promoters that we can handle the volume. To have the two sellouts that we did for Garth Brooks in 2022 brought us Luke Combs in 2023—and now we get two shows with Morgan Wallen in September.”
These metal legends are also Commonwealth three-timers. Their August 2017 show was broadcast live around the world.
Metallica also played twice in August 2024, the first Canadian dates on the band’s M72 tour. Each night featured a different setlist and opening acts.
After the gigs, Metallica donated $50,000 each to Edmonton’s Food Bank and WIN House, a women’s shelter.
Photos courtesy of instagram.com/larsulrich.
No other artist will likely reach the same heights as P!nk did at Commonwealth. Her jaw-dropping vocals, aerial skills and Talus Dome-sized balls of steel were on full display during her Summer Carnival show in August 2024.
“When it’s a beautiful summer night, it’s pretty spectacular to hear your favourite music outdoors with 60,000 fans,” says Seutter.
“To be able to see P!nk flying around the upper deck of the stadium—you’re never going to see that anywhere else. It’s unforgettable.”
There’s nothing common about this stadium.
Editor’s note: the first image on this page features an aerial shot of fans attending the Luke Combs show at Commonwealth Stadium on June 3, 2023. Photo courtesy of instagram.com/lukecombs.
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Read about life in Edmonton—stories of business, innovation and the people who make it happen.
Read about life in Edmonton—stories of business, innovation and the people who make it happen.