This summer was full of live music. 

Although most high school students don’t normally get to meet their favorite celebrity, they can see them in concerts instead. 

The Morton Amphitheater opened on June 1st 2026 and was developed by Live Nations Global Venue development team. The theatre is sponsored by the Morton Salt Company, whose headquarters are nearby Overland Park, Kansas. According to the Morton Amphitheater website, the venue was a 135 million dollar investment with over 16,000 attendees, so far.

This venue has recently gained an immense amount of traction in Kansas City. Lawn tickets have cost as low as $16, attracting teenage customers. Even though the Morton Amphitheater is new, Kansas City also has the T-Mobile center where larger audiences are able to see more renowned artists. Some artists that have performed in Kansas City this past summer are Megan Moroney, J-Cole, Don-Toliver, Alex Warren and Ke$ha. The T-Mobile Center, after being renamed from the Sprint Center in 2020, opened on October 10th 2007 where Elton John performed three days after their grand opening. Since then there have been many live events hosted there like basketball games, monster truck shows and orchestra symphonies. 

The Morton Amphitheater can fit up to 60,000 people while the T-Mobile Center 20,000 people, according to each venue’s website. The T-Mobile Center is in downtown Kansas City and the Morton Amphitheater is in Riverside, Missouri, making both popular for a close and wide audience, geographically. 

Two big differences between the T-Mobile Center and the Morton Amphitheater are sizing and pricing. The T-Mobile Center ticket prices are significantly higher than the Morton Amphitheater. 

“Our friend knows a bodyguard, and they offered for us to meet Cardi B,” said senior Anna Bruyn. “The concert atmosphere was so nice, our friend made us shirts too.”

Bryun had family friend connections that allowed her to meet her favorite artist, hip-hop artist and rapper Cardi B, at the T-mobile Center, where about 13,000 people were in attendance. 

“My favorite concert was Tate McRae,” said sophomore Reese Nigro. “I went to Guns-N-Roses this summer at Morton Amphitheater and the tickets were 17 dollars, but the Tate McCrae tickets were $250 a piece.” 

The atmosphere at the Morton Amphitheater is different because of the outdoor environment, while the lawn makes the performances feel more intimate compared to sitting in the nose bleeds at The T-Mobile Center. 

“I like how Morton is run and how everything sounds,” Nigro said. “I prefer Morton over T-Mobile because Morton has better acoustics and seems bigger. I just prefer outdoor venues. Concerts are relatively cheap at the Morton Amphitheater and it is helpful to still be able to enjoy concerts and live music without spending a lot of money.”