From Dolly Parton to Megadeth: A Flickering Tribute to Mason’s Music Scene

ver the past 30+ years, Mason’s 10,000-seat arena has been a big part of campus life and the Northern Virginia community. Since its 1985 opening, the Patriot Center (now EagleBank Arena) has been visited by more than 12 million patrons for more than 3,600 events that have ranged from ultimate fighting to the Harlem Globetrotters. InO 2010, Billboard magazine ranked the Patriot Center No. 8 nationwide and No. 18 worldwide among top-grossing venues with a capacity between 10,001 and 15,000.

As the venue for both Disney On Ice and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, the arena has been the place where many area children saw their first circus or their favorite animated movie come to life. Many have graduated from high school and college there.

Adults also have fond memories of their concerts. We recently asked a Fairfax, Virginia, group on Facebook to tell us about their favorite Patriot Center concert, and received 82 responses. The list of performers is long and diverse, running the gamut from Dolly Parton to Megadeth.

10 | FASTER FARTHER: THE CAMPAIGN FOR GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY WARNING: READING THIS LIST MIGHT MAKE

YOU WANT TO RAISE YOUR LIGHTER

IN MEMORY. Facebook mentions talked

about Poison, Chicago, Tears for Fears,

Green Day, The Cult, Lenny Kravitz,

Ronnie Milsap, Sarah McLachlan, One

Direction, George Jones, Mumford and

Sons, Vanilla Ice, Beastie Boys, Randy

Travis, The Wiggles, Phish, Dan Fogelberg,

Kenny Rogers, Duran Duran, The Killers,

the Moody Blues, Tom Petty and the

Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, Bruce

Springsteen, and Prince, among others. PHOTO BY CRAIG BISACRE BY CRAIG PHOTO

Ludacris headlined the 2014 Mason Day concert at the Patriot Center. Spring 2018 MASON SPIRIT | 11