The Long Beach Amphitheater is set to open on Saturday, June 6, in style — when legendary rapper and Long Beach native Snoop Dogg kicks off the new venue’s grand opening with a performance.
Construction on the new waterfront amphitheater near the Queen Mary began in January, with city officials touting the venue as an opportunity for Long Beach to leverage its rich music history to boost local tourism, generate new revenue, and expand the city’s brand as an entertainment hub.
There’s arguably no one more representative of the city’s deep ties to the music industry than Snoop Dogg, who grew up in the Long Beach and helped define the iconic West Coast hip-hop sound in the 1990s alongside other icons including Dr. Dre, Warren G, Tupac Shakur, Nate Dogg, and more.
Snoop Dogg’s legacy and career are also deeply intertwined with Long Beach’s VIP Records — a cornerstone of West Coast hip-hop.
Long Beach native Snoop Dogg is escorted to the stage on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, for a performance at a special event on the beach in Belmont Shore. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Snoop Dogg playing basketball with the kids of the Long Beach Boys & Girls Club at the refurbished basketball gym at the Wallace Petrolane Center in Martin Luther Park. (Photo by Courtney Pierson, Under Armour)
Rap icon and Long Beach native Snoop Dogg will perform a special Saturday night set at the Cali Vibes Festival in Long Beach on Feb. 18. (Photo by Amy Sussman, Getty Images)
Snoop Dogg headlines the sold-out Summertime in the LBC music festival at the Queen Mary in Long Beach on Saturday, July 7, 2018. Thanks to the use of augmented reality, the Long Beach native appears as a hologram and answers questions from people who purchase a bottle of Snoop Cali Red wine.
(Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer)
Long Beach native Snoop Dogg comes home July 27-28 to headline the Once Upon a Time in the LBC concert at the Queen Mary. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Rapper Snoop Dogg, third from bottom right, and Blacc Sam, middle right, get ready to cut a ribbon celebrating the opening of a Marathon Burger in downtown Long Beach on
Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Snoop Dogg will perform at the grand opening ceremony for the new Long Beach Amphitheater on Saturday, June 6. (Photo courtesy LB Amphitheater).
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Long Beach native Snoop Dogg is escorted to the stage on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, for a performance at a special event on the beach in Belmont Shore. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
“Long Beach built the culture — and now we’ve built the stage for it. The opening of the Long Beach Amphitheater is a defining cultural moment and a historic homecoming,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a Monday, March 30 announcement. “From our neighborhoods to the global stage, Snoop Dogg has always represented this city — and now we welcome him home to open a venue that reflects our culture and captures the vibe that defines Long Beach.”
Snoop Dogg will help welcome the Long Beach Amphitheater with a performance during the venue’s grand opening scheduled for Saturday, June 6. Snoop Dogg will also be bringing along special guests, according to the announcement.
The amphitheater, meanwhile, boasts an 11,000-person capacity, views of Long Beach’s waterfront, and more. Several shows for the venue’s inaugural season have also been announced, including:
Claypool Gold featuring Primus & more on July 3
Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz on Aug. 1
TOTO, Christopher Cross, and The Romantics on Aug. 14
Luke Bryan on Aug. 15
311 and Dirty Heads on Aug. 18
Jack’s Mannequin, Something Corporate, and Andrew McMahon on Aug. 22
Nas & The Roots on Aug. 28
Los Angeles Azules on Sept. 5
Deep Purple on Sept. 11
Five Finger Death Punch on Sept. 18
Mötley Crüe on Sept. 19
Tickets for the grand opening celebration and Snoop Dogg’s show will go on sale this week. Artist presale begins Wednesday, April 1 at 10 a.m., followed by a venue presale on Thursday, April 2, at 10 a.m., with general sales beginning Friday, April 3 at 10 a.m.
“Opening our doors with Snoop Dogg is the perfect way to celebrate Long Beach’s rich music legacy and signals our commitment to bringing world-class entertainment to this community,” said Tra Jones, general manager of Long Beach Amphitheater for Legends Global. “This venue will be built to honor the city’s creative spirit, and there’s no better artist to launch that mission.”
For tickets, go to longbeachamp.com.