The Ledge is Minnesota's over-the-top new music venue near St. Cloud

WAITE PARK, MINN. – Avid music fan Erik Moe of Burnsville beamed as he admired the Ledge Amphitheater, Minnesota's newest music venue.

"This is Minnesota's Red Rocks," he said referring to Colorado's legendary music venue in the Rocky Mountains, considered the nation's most picturesque amphitheater. "This is the perfect outside venue. The greenery, the rocks. We didn't know what to expect. This is amazing."

Moe and his daughter Alanna, 16, showed up Tuesday for the Ledge's first big concert, Dropkick Murphys and Rancid, two veteran punk bands kicking off their Boston to Berkeley II Tour.

"It's been 563 days since we last played, but who's counting?" Dropkick Murphys singer Ken Casey told the 3,000 fans.

Waite Park Mayor Rick Miller can count the years that this city-owned amphitheater has been in the works — seven.

The 20 acres of land were donated by a local quarry owner, Martin Marietta. Five years ago, Waite Park city administrator Shaunna Johnson connected with Chris Fritz, a Kansas City promoter and venue operator, and hammered out plans for the Ledge, which was built between two granite quarries at a cost of nearly $15 million, including city, state and private funding.

The Ledge is not one of those big 20,000-capacity amphitheaters that promoters have proposed for the Twin Cities for decades but never built. This is a modest outdoor concert venue like Mankato's Vetter Stone Amphitheater or Moorhead's Bluestem Amphitheater. The Ledge can accommodate 4,200 for a seated show like the Beach Boys on Wednesday, or 6,000 for general admission (standing only) like on Tuesday.

The Ledge's stage is massive, big enough to accommodate Foo Fighters' arena show, Fritz points out. The site's concrete seating/standing area is inclined slightly downhill toward the stage so you can see over the person in front of you; an elevated VIP section with lounge chairs is in the back.

Not surprisingly, Dropkick Murphys and Rancid kept the mosh pit hopping all night long on Tuesday. Although the musicians are in their 50s, they haven't lost their punkish energy and attitude. Boston's Dropkick Murphys seasoned their Celtic punk sound with bagpipes, banjo and accordion while Berkeley's Rancid, celebrating its 30th anniversary, added reggae and melodic touches to its punk blueprint.

These longtime road warriors were a good choice to inaugurate the Ledge, which had soft openings with theater and community events. Tuesday's show went off without a hitch, Fritz said.

Road signs guided concertgoers from I-94 into Waite Park to a parking lot on a lumpy field next to a car dealership adjacent to the Ledge.

Sparkling with corrugated metal infrastructure, the amphitheater has plenty of concession stands selling drinks ($8 and $9 beer, $11 and $13 cocktails, $5 bottled water and soda) but no permanent food stands. There were two food trucks on Tuesday. Fritz says food booths and giant video screens flanking the stage will come eventually.

Excited to see so many people enjoying Tuesday's rock concert, Miller sees the Ledge as one of the major accomplishments of his 20 years in office, along with the Rivers Edge Park with its eight lighted baseball fields.

"This is quite an establishment, especially for this area," said Jason Urzi, a Waite Park firefighter who attended Tuesday's concert as a fan.

Other concertgoers were crowing.

"It sounds good, it looks good, the amenities are good," said Matt Greuel of St. Cloud, who brought his 14-year-old son to his first concert to see one of Dad's favorite bands, Rancid. "We're in disabled seating, and we're 250 feet from the stage. I'm quite happy here."

Jeff Gannon of nearby St. Augusta has eclectic tastes. His last big concert was Metallica in the Twin Cities, and he has plans to attend Winstock, the annual country fest in Winsted, Minn., next week. He was excited to have a prominent venue in his neck of the woods.

Phyllis Peters and Katya Hales didn't mind making the drive to central Minnesota from Bloomington for Dropkick Murphys and Rancid. Regulars at First Avenue, Rock the Garden and other Twin Cities concerts, they made a mini-vacation/birthday celebration out of it, staying in a St. Cloud hotel and swimming in a local quarry. They gave thumbs up to the Ledge for several reasons, including one often overlooked at outdoor venues.

"They have nice bathrooms," said Hales, referring to the permanent restrooms, not the portable toilets.

Said Peters, who brought her son as a birthday present: "We'll definitely come here again."