Best Concert Venue: Colonial Life Arena

Colonial Life Arena spent 2023 celebrating its 20 successful years as Columbia’s premier live entertainment center. Its success continues into 2024, as it’s been voted Best Concert Venue yet again.

Regularly hosting major national musical and comedic acts, Colonial Life is nothing if not versatile. This past year, big names such as the Jonas Brothers, Janet Jackson and the Eagles graced the concert venue.

Fans routinely fill the arena with electrifying energy each winter to support the men’s and women’s basketball teams that call Colonial Life home. Those seeking a thrill in the off-season of college basketball won’t be disappointed, as events from WWE Smackdown to Monster Jam come to the venue throughout the year.

Owned by the University of South Carolina, the concert venue also plays a crucial role in student life. In the fall of 2022, Colonial Life hosted Cockstock, a lively homecoming concert featuring headliner T-Pain. Earlier that year, when the women’s basketball team brought home a national championship, the arena hosted a celebratory concert by USC alumnus Darius Rucker. Both events were completely free for students.

In August 2024, Colonial Life Arena will welcome back hometown heroes and Gamecock legends Hootie and the Blowfish for two nights in a row on their highly-anticipated Summer Camp with Trucks Tour.