Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre

Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (originally known as the Desert Sky Pavilion and most recently known as Ak-Chin Pavilion) is an amphitheater located in Phoenix, Arizona, which seats 8,106 under a pavilion roof and an additional 12,000 on a hillside behind the main stands. It officially opened on November 9, 1990 (Billy Joel was the venue's inaugural performer). The naming rights sponsor is Talking Stick Resort (the venue is not located on tribal land). Its total capacity of over 20,000 is higher than that of Mortgage Matchup Center and Desert Diamond Arena. The amphitheater's season starts in April and closes in October.

Whitney Houston performed at the venue on May 19, 1991, during her I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour.

Steely Dan played their Alive in America tour here in 1994.

The lawn at the amphitheater contains several video screens.

R.E.M. recorded two tracks off their 1996 studio album New Adventures in Hi-Fi there.

Wheel of Fortune taped 2 weeks of shows there in 1997, which featured the final episodes of the old puzzle board.

The Spice Girls performed at the venue on August 22, 1998, during their debut Spiceworld Tour.

The amphitheater has been used to hold many famous concerts and tours, especially in the summer months of July and August, it has hosted Nine Inch Nails, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Janet Jackson, The Vote for Change Tour, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath, The Vans Warped Tour, The Gigantour, Lollapalooza, Lilith Fair, Crüe Fest, Ozzfest and Projekt Revolution. It has hosted the Phoenix date of the annual Mayhem Festival since the tour's inception in July 2008.