You just bought tickets for a concert at the Ironstone Amphitheatre, tucked way out in Calaveras county. You thought you were in for a chill, bucolic night of music and wine. But then you check the Yelp rating.
Three stars??? What have you gotten yourself into?
Relax! While concerts at Ironstone winery have some rules and idiosyncracies, it’s a beautiful spot. This post will tell you what to expect at Ironstone Vineyards concerts, and how to make the most of them.
Note: This post may contain affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I could make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Win/win!
What concerts at Ironstone Ampitheatre are like
Before getting into the negative reviews, let’s paint a picture of Ironstone winery as a venue: rural, beautiful and chill, but not fancy. It’s a great place to kick back with a glass of wine to enjoy a show, but it does have a few quirks.
The physical layout of Ironstone Vineyards and Amphitheatre
This winery is not a huge venue. You park in a well-maintained dirt lot. The audience sections are all grass. The front section has numbered rows and seats, but the seats are just plastic chairs lined up. The back two sections are lawn seating. Although it’s called an amphitheatre, the seating is not steeply terraced. While it’s easy to see the stage from the back lawn section while everyone is sitting down, once people in front of you start to stand, you won’t see the stage from your lawn chair.
The amphitheatre has two large screens to help you see the action even if your view of the stage is blocked. However, given the size of the venue, you’re never too far away to see the performers on stage — if you stand up.
The seating area is surrounded by a larger swath of grounds lined with vendors. There are banks of porta-potties on either side of the amphitheatre.
The experience of going to a concert at Ironstone
Summer nights in Calaveras county, California, range from chilly to hot. On a recent July night during a heat wave, the temperature never dipped below 80 degrees before 11 p.m. This was a little uncomfortable until about 7:30 p.m., after which the air felt balmy and pleasant.
The sound system was reasonably good and we could hear the band — Cake — well. Very few insects bothered us, even though we hadn’t used bug spray. Given that the band was older, the crowd was quite chill, with a lot of people who were — like us — over 40.
Our group sat in the lawn section. We arrived relatively early, and when we got to the seating area, there was planty of space to spread out. We put out chairs and a couple blankets, saving seats for three more friends who came later. Even as the audience filled up, we never felt crowded or had anyone infringe on the space we’d staked out.
The Ironstone Vineyards Amphitheatre was not sold out when we went. We might have felt more crowded if it had been a sell-out.
The concessions at Ironstone winery
Most of the concessions take cash only. There are ATMs on the property. However, the lines for the ATMs can be long!
They have two different concession stands selling Ironstone’s wine: one for premium vintage and one for regular wine. My friend and I bought a plastic carafe of chilled non-premium chardonnay for $25. They gave us some plastic cups with it.
Refills come at a discount, and you can bring the empty carafe back to get the discounted refill price at future shows.
The chardonnay tasted fine. It was nice and cold. Each carafe holds a full bottle. $25 for a bottle at a concert seems like a fair price.
One of the kids with us purchased a cup of soda for $5, which came with free refills. Other friends bought a huge bag of kettle corn and a serving of fries. Everyone thought the snacks were good. The prices seemed fair.
I had read that the lines for food and drink could be really long at Ironstone Vinyards, but that wasn’t our experience. Before the opening act started, my friend and I walked right up to the wine stand with no wait. No one who got food later in the evening had to wait very long either.
Drawbacks of Concerts Ironstone Vineyards
There are a few complaints about Ironstone that I read on Yelp that I agree could be better:
- You can’t bring in food or drink. We originally planned to pack a picnic to eat on the lawn, and we were disappointed that we couldn’t. While I understand that venues that serve alcohol usually can’t let people bring their own, it would be nice of them to allow picnics or just snacks for the kids.
- There aren’t real bathrooms. Only porta-potties are available for the crowd to relieve themselves. That said, staff stood by to keep those portable toilets really clean, and they never smelled bad.
- You can only bring one sealed bottle of water. I always carry my own reusable water bottle. But at Ironstone winery’s ampitheatre, you have to bring sealed plastic water bottles, which I hate. Also, while they didn’t limit the size of the bottle, the rules state you can only bring one bottle per person. Add to that the fact that there is no running water for refilling the bottles.
- It takes a while to leave after a show. The parking lot only has one or two routes in and out, so be prepared to wait, unless you leave the show early. I left a cooler of sparkling water and some snacks in the car so that we wouldn’t mind waiting so much.
Other Ironstone winery rules
Be aware that:
- Only low-profile chairs are allowed on the lawn. Check the web site for the measurements.
- Only small bags (like a fanny pack) or clear bags are allowed.
- No in-and-out. So once you enter the venue, you can’t go back to your car for a jacket.
What I’ll do differently next time I see a concert at Ironstone
The web site of Ironstone Vinyards isn’t all that easy to navigate, and some information isn’t there at all, as far as I can see. What I wish I’d known to do:
- Join the wine club! While we were waiting for the grounds to open at 7 p.m., a group of people entered ahead of us, carrying bottles of wine and glasses. Turns out that Ironstone wine club members get to enter first! Not only that, but they got to bring in their two bottles of wine! The web site also mentions they have “pre-concert parties” which would probably be fun.
- Arrive before 5 p.m. to check out the rest of the winery. Ironstone Vineyards has a museum and food service — but it closes at 5. Our concert began at 7, and the grounds opened at 6. So we pulled into the parking lot between 5 and 6. Next time, I might consider showing up at 4 for a tasting and to join the wine club, and maybe to get a bite to eat.
- Bring beverages for the line. The first concert we went to at Ironstone, our group showed up to wait in line carrying our one sealed water bottle per person. But many of us became thirsty waiting in the heat. We realized — too late — that we should have brought one disposable water bottle to drink in line in addition to the sealed one to carry in.
We also noticed some guests enjoying alcoholic drinks in the line. While this is probably against the rules, no one bothered them about it. So the next time we went, we brought canned cocktails to sip in the line. - Consider bringing food for the line. The entrance line was in a pleasant, shady area. Most of the people waiting ended up setting up their chairs. We realized then that we could have packed a picnic dinner to enjoy right there. Or, you could pack snacks or dessert to eat in line, to make kids less likely to ask to buy snacks once they enter the venue.
- Bring something for younger kids to do while waiting for the show to start. We sat on the grass for about an hour before the first opening act began. Then the band we came to see didn’t start until 3 hours after we entered. During that time, the adults and older kids enjoyed sitting back and chatting, but the younger kids were bored. While you’re not allowed to bring in large bags, we probably could have fit in a frisbee for them to toss or, I don’t know, a coloring book and crayons, or a book to read.
- Not worry about getting there early. Maybe this advice would only work for a partially-sold event like the one we went to, but I feel like if we had needed to arrive later, it would have been fine. We still could have found a decent spot on the lawn. After all, the venue is small and all seats were relatively close to the stage. Also, people were able to find infill spots event right before the main band started. Then there’s the fact that some people stood up and danced on the lawn and on the walkways during the show.
Would I go to a concert at Ironstone Ampitheatre again?
I’m really glad we didn’t let some of the reviews scare us away. I look forward to visiting Ironstone for another concert next summer! I went home with two empty carafes — one from the wine we bought and one someone else had abandoned — so I’m ready to buy some refills next time! Or maybe I’ll just join that wine club.
Where to stay for concerts at Ironstone Vineyards
Ironestone Vineyards Ampitheatre is in my favorite under-the-radar California vacation area: Calaveras county. If you are traveling to the Sierra Foothills for a concert, consider staying one or two nights to check out the other fun things to do in Calaveras, like exploring California Cavern or other caves, seeing giant sequoias and sinking into snowmelt swimming holes.
The best town to stay in for Ironstone concerts is Murphys, just 5 minutes down the road. Good hotels in Murphys:
The Victoria Inn. At 1.4 miles from Ironstone Vineyard, The Victoria Inn is walkable, which would save you some hassle getting out of the venue at the end of the night. This Main Street hotel is so charming! It has the style of a historic bed and breakfast, including a delicious continental breakfast, but the accommodations are also quite modern, with an en suite bathroom in each room.
Murphys Suites. Only 1.7 miles from Ironestone Vineyard, this hotel gets good customer reviews. People especially love the free homemade donuts and soft serve. Spend the hot part of the day before the concert in the swimming pool! Suites here range from about $350 to $500 a night.
Or, you could stay in a short-term rental in the Murphys area. There are some really close to Ironsone Vineyard, like the Coyote Creek Ranch & Poolhouse on VRBO. This place would be ideal for bigger groups, with a 3-bedroom, 1-bath main house and a 1/1 poolhouse. You get all that for around $700 a night, minimum 2-night stay.
Besides Murphys, Angels Camp would also be a great lodging choice for Ironstone concerts. Just 12 minutes down the road, this town is full of Mark Twain history and cute storefronts.
Personally, I would stay at Angels Inn, because it’s downtown, so you can stroll the historic Old West-feeling strip.