Madison Square Garden is located at Penn Plaza, which is between 7th and 8th Avenues and 31st and 33rd Streets (32nd Street stops at 7th Avenue), adjacent/connected to Pennsylvania Station, as well as Theater at MSG. It is part of Cablevision’s owned-and-operated circle of major Manhattan venues, including Theater at MSG, Radio City Music Hall, and Beacon Theatre. Events are held there both through Madison Square Garden itself, as well as being booked by others like Live Nation and Bowery Presents. Called “The World’s Most Famous Arena”, in addition to concerts it holds home games for numerous sports teams, most notably The New York Rangers and New York Knicks, as well as serving as a convention center (such as for the 2004 Republican National Convention).
Entrances to Madison Square Garden lie on all sides of Penn Plaza, but it is the 7th Avenue entrance that is the standard audience entrance. More akin to a sporting arena, there are multiple levels of seating that circle around a central pit/floor. For concerts, the stage is usually placed at one of the smaller sides, with no seats sold behind the band (occasionally bands perform ‘in the round’, without a backdrop, wherein seats all seats are on sale). The floor is usually divided in two, with one standing room pit close to the stage, and another farther back near the soundboard (sometimes the farther section is seated, or rarely, both). But MSG can be arranged in many different ways, including risers for bands that can rise or fall during a performance. Naturally for such an important venue, the lighting and soundsystem are top-notch, with bands playing there often taking advantage of both, as well as utilizing the numerous big screens.
While there may be some venues in the world that are larger, and it’s ‘only’ the third-busiest arena in the world (after London’s O2 Arena and Manchester’s M.E.N. Arena), there really isn’t a venue more significant that Madison Square Garden. Outside of CitiField and Yankee Stadium, MSG has long been the only true full-time ‘arena’ in the five boroughs, though is now challenged by Barclays Center – but is still the only one in Manhattan. The bands that play there are usually the biggest of the big – even those artists that can fill larger spaces outside of Manhattan will still try to vary their tours by sometimes booking dates at MSG instead (especially during winter months, when outdoor spaces can’t be used). But the Manhattan location and capacity limit do mean that the headliners don’t have to be the absolute biggest bands in the world – Paul McCartney can play there, but so can the biggest alternative acts out there, such as Radiohead, R.E.M., or Arcade Fire. Like any arena, the fans are far away, though the pit is at least relatively close. Once you’ve played Madison Square Garden, there’s really no place more important to go from there.
Capacity: 20,000 (concert)
all ages
Address:
8 Penn Plaza (8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets)
By Subway:
QRO Coverage:
-The Postal Service, with Death Cab for Cutie, September 20th, 2023 – live review
-Depeche Mode, with Stella Rose & The Dead Language, April 14th, 2023 – Depeche Mode photos, Stella Rose & The Dead Language photos
-Stromae, with Sho Madjozi, November 21st, 2022 – Stromae photos, Sho Madjozi photos
-Panic! At the Disco, with Marina and Jake Wesley Rogers, September 23rd, 2022 – Panic! At the Disco photos, Marina photos, Jake Wesley Rogers photos
-Rage Against the Machine, with Run the Jewels, August 14th, 2022 – Rage Against the Machine photos, Run the Jewels photos
-Swedish House Mafia, August 3rd, 2022 – photos
-Machine Gun Kelly, June 28th, 2022 – photos
-Peter Frampton, with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, September 13th, 2019 – Peter Frampton photos, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening photos
-The Who, September 1st, 2019 – live review, photos
-The Who, May 13th, 2019 – photos
-Robyn, March 8th, 2019 – photos
-Interpol, with Snail Mail and Car Seat Headrest, February 16th, 2019 – Interpol photos, Snail Mail photos, Car Seat Headrest photos
-Smashing Pumpkins, with Metric, August 1st, 2018 – Smashing Pumpkins photos, Metric photos
-Phish, December 28th, 2017 – photos
-Depeche Mode, with Warpaint, September 11th, 2017 – live review, Depeche Mode photos, Warpaint photos
-John Mayer, April 5th, 2017 – live review, photos
–Game of Thrones Experience, March 7th, 2017 – photos
-The Lumineers, February 3rd, 2017 – photos
-Brand New, with Modest Mouse, July 14th, 2016 – Brand New photos, Modest Mouse photos
-The Avett Brothers, with Brandi Carlile, April 8th, 2016 – The Avett Brothers photos, Brandi Carlile photos
-Fall Out Boy, with AWOLNATION, March 4th, 2016 – Fall Out Boy photos, AWOLNATION photos
-Phish, December 30th, 2015 – photos
-alt-J, with Phantogram, March 30th, 2015 – alt-J photos, Phantogram photos
-Diplo & Skrillex, with Rudimental, December 31st, 2014 – Diplo & Skrillex photos, Rudimental photos
-Bob Seger, December 19th, 2014 – photos
-Eagles, September 18th, 2014 – photos
-Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, September 10th, 2014 – photos
-Billy Joel, April 18th, 2014 – live review, photos
-Passion Pit, with Matt & Kim and Icona Pop, February 8th, 2013 – live review, Passion Pit photos, Matt & Kim photos, Icona Pop photos
-The Arcade Fire, August 5th, 2010 – photos
-Muse, with Silversun Pickups, March 5th, 2010 – Muse photos, Silversun Pickups photos
-Mötley Crüe, March 16th, 2009 – photos
-Weezer, with Tokyo Police Club, September 24th, 2008 – Weezer photos, Tokyo Police Club photos
-All-American Rejects, July 15th, 2009 – photos
-R.E.M., with Modest Mouse, June 19th, 2008 – R.E.M. photos, Modest Mouse photos
