Ruoff Music Center

Ruoff Music Center, which I still refer to as Deer Creek, just reflects my age. We don't attend many concerts here now because it's a brutal and congested trip as many know. The parking, drinks, and food prices are outrageous but normal for most venues now. I understand the price increases, but parking at this amount does limit many people from attending.

We usually purchase seat tickets and occasionally lawn tickets. The lawn is less restrictive and fun to spread out on a blanket and occasionally dance.

The audio isn't bad, and it's nice to have the large video screens to view the stage better.

One thing you can always count on is that they have many great bands throughout the season. Be patient, don't rush, and be polite and thoughtful when driving. Enjoy!

Fantastic outdoor facility.
Seen concert. Amphitheater has a covered concrete floor with comfortable uncovered armchair seats and a second uncovered is grass no seats.

Facility held 23k people.
Fantastic village style concessions and food.
Beer and alcohol available.

Parking is ample yet a bit confusing if you don't do your homework.

We have finally come to a close on the 2023 concert season! I waited to write this review because this was the first summer I purchased the summer pass. I had access to over 30 concerts I think. I attended 18 this summer... when I say it was a lot, I mean it.

The plus about Ruoff is they allow you to bring in your own lawn chair and food (as long as it fits in a 1-gallon ziplock bag). I love having these options because it can really save you money. The downfall to Ruoff is that their drinks are very expensive and the restrooms can get pretty gross. I know it is a concert venue so I know what I am getting myself into, but sometimes they are pretty bad. The parking is also so chaotic at the end of the concert. We tend to leave before the last act just to beat some of the horrendous traffic.

I do think that they do a good job bringing in large-name entertainment but their seasonal line up. you can even buy cheaper tickets for upcoming concerts while there. Which is nice! As the years have gone by I do think they have shifted to their lineups being more in line with an older generation. They bring in a lot of "classic or seasoned" performers.

CHEERS!

Very smooth concert experience at Ruoff! I make it up to the amphitheater every few years for a show and they have things down to a science. They are always very clear on their social media about times, items you can bring and traffic flow. As someone who likes to plan things out, I definitely appreciate this.

We went to the MB20 show and the security line moved pretty quickly as did the merchandise lines and the bathroom lines.

They've really expanded their food options with different vendors than I remember before. We ate dinner elsewhere, but there were plenty of food spots I would try if I needed to grab something to eat at the show.

A great setting for an outdoor concert - we really like sitting in the pavilion and even the upper portion has a good view.

Premier parking is worth it! It's $55 but when your concert is over, you miss the mass exodus. For $80, you get out even earlier.
If you like the musical line up, the Lawn Pass s worth it. I buy individual tickets personally. The venue offers a wide variety of concessions from the usual bottomless popcorn to BBQ by Trax to pizza (just average) to nachos to Mexican entrees! There's ALL kinds of liquor including Top Shelf selections (no Remy cognac though, sorry honey).

If we were to survey Central Indiana music lovers, there's a pretty good chance that Noblesville's Ruoff Music Center would be declared the "go to" venue for live music in Central Indiana. While there are likely better venues, okay there actually are better venues, few venues here in Central Indiana combine all the major necessities into one setting.

This is why Ruoff tends to be the desired destination for most national music acts who enter this market despite actually being outside of Indianapolis. I will admit that this is why I've never frequented Ruoff - it's just a little birth farther than I tend to travel for a concert, especially those that tend to end later at night. However, if you're a music lover in Central Indiana you're eventually going to end up at Ruoff.

I'm not such a devotee that I say "It'll always be Deer Creek," a reference to the facility's original name of Deer Creek Music Center. After that, it was sponsored by Verizon Wireless followed by Klipsch. Now, of course, it's Ruoff.

Located on 228 acres in Noblesville, Ruoff has long been recognized as one of the top amphitheater stages in the country. Ruoff is a Fort Wayne-based mortgage company that signed a sponsor agreement in 2017. The facility has 6,147 seats under the pavilion and around 18,000 general admission lawn seats. The facility is an open-air music venue.

In terms of accessibility, Ruoff is good but not great. I will note that it has improved over the years.

Service animals are permitted under ADA guidelines.

ADA tickets can be purchased at LiveNation.com. Every price range offered has accessible ticket options (of course, they can sell out).

Accessible parking is available in the east and west lots. One thing I don't like is that Ruoff does not require a vehicle to have an ADA placard or plate - if the need is identified, then staff will steer you toward it. This can be great for those with temporary issues, however, it's also easily exploited (and doesn't follow ADA). What happens if someone shows up with a genuine need and spots are taken by someone without an actual certified need? It's a weird and inappropriate policy.

You can request an interpreter with a two-week notice (there is no charge for this beyond the ticket).

Accessible seating permits for the guest with the accessible need and one companion.

Assisted listening devices are available with a two-day notice.

All venue bathrooms, concession stands, and merchandise stands are accessible.

You can also check the website for all other regulations about what you can take in (I am a little concerned about the need for clear bags/backpacks - I get it completely and respect the need for safety, but for those with disabilities who have more personal supplies this can be challenging).

I find that I prefer the pavilion over lawn seating (which I find very hit-and-miss due to varying grades). Most employees are great and I find that Ruoff works much better around disability with advanced planning (this is true of most music venues in Central Indiana). The screens are easily visible. The sound systems are typically solid and the atmosphere is always quite winning.

Since some recent health issues, I've been doing more bucket list concerts and this has meant visiting Ruoff more frequently. It has given me a better appreciation for the venue. While not flawless, it has greatly improved over the years and hopefully as my health stabilizes I'll be able to return even more often.

I always love coming to Ruoff for concerts. If anyone calls it Klipsch or Verizon or Deer Creek, this is the venue that they are talking about. It's been renamed so many times so it's a little confusing lol.

There are gigantic parking lots, so make sure to take a picture of the sign you are next to, or you will get lost on the way back to your car. The security here makes you feel safe as there are 2 scanners you have to walk through. Inside the gated area itself are plenty of booze and food options. Drinks are VERY expensive here, so if you are a drinker, I would advise pregaming in the parking lot before going in, then maybe having one at the show. If you pay for lawn tickets, there is a HUGE lawn section where majority of people stand, but you can rent chairs. It's open seating so if you want closest to the stage, get there early! This area is not covered; however, if you purchase seats, that area is in fact covered. Traffic is always bananas at the end of the night getting out, so if you can, cut out a song or two before the show ends. Otherwise you will be sitting there for an hour.

I would definitely check this place out for a show! Always a great time.

Went to see Janet Jackson in 2023.

Tried to get all the VIP options but many were sold out a few days before the concert. Not unexpected.

The ads for VIP options, and the navigation in the app/web, is not great. Confusing and did not provide the info I needed to fully take advantage of our upgrades.

Like, when we got there: Employees said keep left, the premier club with our upgrades was to the right. So we never saw it and figured it out as the show was ending.
Anyway,

Paid for Premier Parking.
Seemed close but you still had to go through the bottle neck security check point.
This is not planned well, leading to chaos, confusion, and coercion whereas I cut 100 people in line and talked my way into the gate because things were off the chain trying to get past the checkpoint.
The entirety of everyone parking on this side is funneled into three lanes of metal detectors, with lawn chairs that set them off, and poor employees who had no hope of controlling this poorly planned situation.
Bless the poor souls who had to man this lying, drinking, heaving sea of humanity.
We asked every employee we saw where we would use our VIP access to get in, and they all said keep left.
So we did, but it did not matter. It all led to the same bottle neck.
Anyway, we got in, bought drinks, rented chairs, had lawn seats.
Once settled, I noticed the overlooks and "sold out" VIP sections were barely half full. I hunted and I had an opportunity to buy my way in to the Coors deck for a lower price by talking to a ticket-selling employee roaming the lawn. However my group was already settled in chairs and the show was starting, so they rained on my upgrade parade and we didn't get upgrades.
My point: never give up on upgrades, never assume "sold out" means sold out. You just are not talking to the right salesperson.
Ok so that was all about the venue and getting in...

The show:
It was great! She sounded great, the stage show was really cool, you could tell they were live, and they ROCKED!

During the show... back to the venue...
The truly UGLY: there are signs on the side of the stage building that are as bright as the surface of the sun.
These signs ruined EVERY intimate and theatrical light-aspect of this show.
Janet is intimately singing in a red spotlight...
BOOM! Blinded by "Coors Light on Sale now!"
BOOM! Blinded by another stupid ad...

This. Was. Super. Annoying.
Turn. Down. The. BRIGHTNESS!!!!!!!
I took a pic to show how terrible this aspect is.

People were very nice.
Weed-vaping is everywhere in the lawn, which is fine,
You can only bring short chairs.
Blankets are a whopping $20 and are about 5' x3' so barely enough to cover yourself if you are cold. (There WILL be wind)
Bring your own bigger blanket.
Also,
Use Google maps to plan your trip and to choose your VIP upgrades. We read that premier parking with the premier club pass was the way to go. Easy in and out, private restrooms, etc.

Reality is:
Premier parking has a poorly communicated dedicated entrance/exit. Use the map.
Premier club entrance is for VIP parking, not Premier Parking. This was poorly communicated, confusing, and I ended up paying $135 to park completely across the venue from the entrance I thought I was paying for.
Best deal is going to be the highest VIP option(s). If you are not doing that, consider doing nothing.

While I may have gotten out 20min before someone else, I would have paid a LOT more for Properly
Managed and implemented VIP options.
And let's just call this Deer Creek.
No one can remember how to spell "Rouff".

So I'm conclusion:
There are two entities here, the venue and the traveling show:
The show was amazing.
The venue is nice, cool, and the people are nice. But it has some work to do before I give the venue 5 stars. Especially with their VIP experience.

Summer concerts is there anything better? Deer Creek, Verizon Wireless Music Center, Klipsch Music Center and now Ruoff Home Mortgage Center. Those are quite a few names that this venue has been named. Aerosmith, Shania Twain, Dave Matthews Band, Alabama are a few of the performers that I've seen here. It's a great venue.

Most recently Tears For Fears held their Tipping Point World Tour at Ruoff along with the band Garage as the opening act. What a great concert! They sounded great live! We lucked out because the weather was so nice! We weren't sitting in the sun either so that helped. You can rent lawn chairs to sit in the lawn. They have a wide array of alcoholic beverages, tour merchandise, and food located throughout the venue.

If I lived closer I would definitely work here seasonally. I would love to listen to all the great bands that come from all around the world!

I'm not from the area so last visited Ruoff's back when it was Deer Creek. The venue is in great shape and I'm impressed with the variety of shows that come through. We saw the Dobbie Brothers and the show was a blast. I thought the parking staff were very helpful with guiding cars in and out. Parking is free which is nice.
There is at least one area with a dedicated row for handicapped parking. It's not the closest to the entry so that might be an issue for some.
Tailgating is allowed.
There is covered prime seating and a large lawn area. The lawn is lots of fun and gives you more room. You can even rent lawn chairs for $10 if interested.
Plenty of food and drink options. Most items are credit card only and pricey like any other event venue. Vendors come through with Jell-O shots, beer, pizza, etc.
Lots of concerts in the $30 range the rest of the summer.