Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park

Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park is a 5,000-capacity outdoor room in downtown Austin, built into the 11-acre northern reach of the Waterloo Greenway. Its defining feature is a floating canopy of steel, aluminum and glass: five miles of those materials form the roofline above a stage designed as part of the park landscape. Shows unfold amid gardens, trails and Waller Creek restoration, giving the venue a civic-park setting beyond the usual concert bowl.

A park reborn around a stage

The amphitheater arrived when Waterloo Park reopened on August 14, 2021, completing the first phase of the City of Austin and Waterloo Greenway Conservancy’s greenway project. The site had operated as a city park and festival ground; in 2011, it closed for construction of Waller Creek flood-control infrastructure, including an intake building and tunnel. After the tunnel opened in 2018, renovation continued through the park’s August 2021 return, transforming largely open green space into a designed landscape with a purpose-built concert stage.

Six days after the reopening, Gary Clark Jr. played the first ticketed concert on August 20–21, 2021. The booking connected the new amphitheater to Waterloo Park’s earlier music use, including the Austin Symphony’s 1978 Street Dance fundraiser, headlined by Willie Nelson.

Built for changing crowds

Booking flows through Waterloo Greenway’s partnership with C3 Presents and Live Nation, bringing touring acts alongside local artists and community-centered programming. The event mix spans rock, alternative, pop, country, hip-hop, jazz, indie and metal, plus festivals and cultural events. Configuration shifts with the bill: the amphitheater can run as a fully seated concert venue or as an open-lawn space for performing arts and festivals. Outside event hours, the surrounding park remains open for public use.