For those who are still not used to referring to the big concert venue on Savitt Way as The Meadows Music Theatre again after years as the Xfinity Theatre or the Comcast Theater, the Meadows name will soon be embedded in concertgoers’ brains simply due to the number of shows happening there.
In a two-day span this week, the 30,000 capacity venue (including 22,500 lawn spots) announced three more major shows happening this summer: Kid Cudi, Dave Matthews Band and co-headliners Ne-Yo and Akon. The other shows previously announced are MGK (Machine Gun Kelly) on June 6, Riley Green on Aug. 14 and Pitbull on Aug. 28.
On June 3, rapper/songwriter Kid Cudi, who is also a bestselling memoirist, has performed stand-up comedy and is about to open his first exhibit as a visual artist, will play the Meadows on his “The Rebel Ragers Tour.” Kid Cudi is joined on the tour by M.I.A., Big Boi (from OutKast) and A-Trak. Kid Cudi has been performing in Connecticut since 2009, when he performed twice at Toad’s Place in New Haven in the same year. He also performed at UConn in Storrs in 2010, Sacred Heart University in 2011, Foxwoods in 2013 and the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford in 2017. Kid Cudi’s latest album is “Free,” featuring the song “Maui Wowie.” His most successful song remains his breakthrough 2008 hit “Day ‘n’ Nite.”
One of the most popular touring bands of the past quarter-century, Dave Matthews Band, will return to The Meadows on July 25. The band played the venue (under all its different names) nearly every year between 1995 and 2022, one of them as part of Farm Aid in 2018 but the others as the headlining act and often for two or even three nights in a row. The July concert will be a homecoming for Dave Matthews Band at The Meadows, as the band’s last two visits to Connecticut, two-night stands in 2023 and 2024, were at Mohegan Sun Arena. Dave Matthews Band shows were one of the things that once defined The Meadows, and now the ever-popular world music pop/rock jam band has returned.
On July 26, The Meadows welcomes the co-headlining tour by Ne-Yo and Akon. Both had major chart successes in the mid-2000s. Akon’s biggest chart hit was “Smack That” (featuring Eminem) in 2006, and Ne-Yo’s was “So Sick” in 2005. Both acts played the old “Hot Jamz” series at what is now PeoplesBank Arena: Ne-Yo in 2006 (when it was Hartford Civic Center) and Akon in 2008 (when it was the XL Center). Ne-Yo has also toured through Connecticut recently, playing the XL Center in 2025 and the Xfinity Theatre (now The Meadows) in 2023. Akon and Ne-Yo’s “Night Like This” tour begins with five weeks in Europe before its two month trek through the U.S. and Canada.
Ticket prices haven’t been announced yet for any of the shows. Multiple VIP packages are available at vipnation.com. The full schedule is available online at meadowsmusictheatre.com.
