{"id":938812,"date":"2026-07-16T12:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/938812\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T12:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:36:17","slug":"why-readers-top-phoenix-midsize-concert-venue-might-surprise-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/938812\/","title":{"rendered":"Why readers’ top Phoenix midsize concert venue might surprise you"},"content":{"rendered":"

The votes are in and our readers have chosen Gila River Resorts & Casinos \u2013 Wild Horse Pass as the best midsize music venue in metro Phoenix with 29% of the vote.<\/p>\n

“To be recognized by the people who actually walk through our doors is incredibly special,” Anastasia Palmer Johnson, Wild Horse’s corporate director of entertainment, replied when told the casino had won The Arizona Republic poll.<\/p>\n

“Over the last three years, we’ve been intentional about building more than a venue \u2014 we’ve built an experience. From the artists we bring in, to the hospitality behind the scenes, to the incredible team that makes every show happen, we’ve worked hard to create a place guests want to come back to again and again.”<\/p>\n

Being named best midsize venue is “an honor,” Johnson says, and “a reminder that putting the guest experience first is always the right investment. Thank you to everyone who voted for us. We can’t wait to show you what’s next.”<\/p>\n

Gila River Resorts & Casinos \u2013 Wild Horse Pass\u00a0is a AAA Four-Diamond Award-winning hotel neighboring 36 holes of Golf, Aji Spa, Koli Equestrian Center and Phoenix Premium Outlets less than 20 minutes from Sky Harbor Airport. It’s located at 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd. on the Gila River Indian Community near Chandler.<\/p>\n

It\u00a0features several restaurants and lounges including Prime Steakhouse.<\/p>\n

Best large music venue in Phoenix was crowned last week<\/p>\n

Arizona Republic readers voted Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre the best large music venue<\/a> in metro Phoenix with 34% of the vote.<\/p>\n

See the Top 5: <\/strong>These are Phoenix’s best large concert spot, according to readers<\/a><\/p>\n

Top 10 midsize music venues in metro Phoenix\"Robin<\/p>\n

Robin Thicke onstage at Gila River Resorts & Casinos \u2013 Wild Horse Pass in 2026.<\/p>\n

Voting for the Valley’s top venues was divided into categories based on venue size because a place as big as State Farm Stadium is clearly checking different boxes than a jazz club on Roosevelt Row or a dive bar known for hosting loud garage-rock bands.<\/p>\n

The 10 venues topped our list of midsize concert venues in the Valley:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
  2. \n
  3. \n
  4. \n

    Arizona Financial Theatre 13%<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  5. \n
  6. \n
  7. \n
  8. \n
  9. \n
  10. <\/ol>\n

    Seven other venues split the remaining 6% of the vote.<\/p>\n

    Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at\u00a0ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why readers’ top Phoenix midsize concert venue might surprise you<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The votes are in and our readers have chosen Gila River Resorts & Casinos \u2013 Wild Horse Pass…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":938813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,378040,5643,58460,1587,25723,63992,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,378039],"class_list":["post-938812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix","tag-america","tag-anastasia-palmer-johnson","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-republic","tag-az","tag-metro-phoenix","tag-music-venue","tag-phoenix","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-wild-horse-pass"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116929692272104045","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/938812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=938812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/938812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/938813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=938812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=938812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=938812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}