Waikiki Shell, open-air concert venue in Waikiki, Honolulu, United States
The Waikiki Shell is an open-air theater in Kapiolani Park featuring a distinctive shell-shaped structure that echoes the design of the Hollywood Bowl. The venue accommodates approximately 2,400 seated patrons in the main area with large surrounding lawns where another 6,000 people can gather for events.
The Waikiki Shell was built in 1956 in Kapiolani Park and seats 2,400 under the shell, with room for 6,000 more on the lawn. It is managed by the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. In 2018 it was renamed the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell for Hawaii's first rock DJ, later a concert promoter, who died in 2016.
The venue's name honours Tom Moffatt, Hawaii's first rock DJ and later a concert promoter, who died in 2016; it was renamed for him in 2018. Concerts here have ranged from Frank Sinatra in 1960 to Lana Del Rey in 2018, alongside Hawaiian acts.
The venue sits in Kapiolani Park between the Waikiki high-rises and Diamond Head, managed by the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. The covered shell holds 2,400 seated listeners, while the surrounding lawn takes another 6,000, so lawn ticket holders stand or sit on the grass rather than in fixed seats.
The venue was renamed the Tom Moffatt Waikiki Shell in 2018, two years after the death of Tom Moffatt, Hawaii's first rock DJ and later a concert promoter. Its 2,400 seats are modest next to the Hollywood Bowl, yet Frank Sinatra played here in 1960, Jimi Hendrix in 1969 and Miles Davis in 1989.
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