When Riverbend opened in 1984 , it was one of only 16 outdoor music amphitheaters in the United States and it helped revive the Cincinnati concert scene . Many concert promoters avoided Cincinnati following the December 3 , 1979 , The Who rock concert tragedy , in which 11 people died at Riverfront Coliseum . The city passed tough crowd control ordinances , which kept major acts away . Despite those factors , promoters gave the venue a chance and the fans were excited to see acts who had been avoiding the city since 1979
The Who rock concert tragedy
The Who concert disaster
Riverbend Music Center