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Some of my favorite summer memories have been at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Over the years, I’ve seen Depeche Mode, Def Leppard, Live and John Mayer perform here. There is just something so perfect about sitting outside listening to a great band/singer in the warm, summer breeze. I was absolutely thrilled when I found out EventChaser and RazorGator were providing me with concert tickets to see Jason Mraz. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite singers, and although I haven’t yet had the privilege of seeing him live, I had a feeling he would put on a great show.

Getting to Merriweather Post Pavilion
Merriweather is conveniently located just a short drive from both DC and Baltimore.

If you are coming from the DC area, I would recommend giving yourself lots of extra time because DC traffic is brutal. However, since we were coming from Baltimore, it only took us about 25 minutes and we didn’t hit much traffic at all.

From the North (Baltimore/Philadelphia): Take I-95 South toward Baltimore. Proceed through Ft. McHenry Tunnel. Remain on I-95 South. Merge onto MD-32 West exit 38B towards Columbia. Exit onto Rt. 29 North, exit 16A. Take the Broken Land Parkway North exit towards Merriweather. Do not take the Broken Land Parkway exit you see earlier while on MD-32 West. Merge onto Broken Land Parkway. Turn right at first stoplight into Main Parking Area.

From the South (Washington DC area) : Take DC Beltway 495 to I-95 North towards Baltimore. Proceed 16.2 miles. Merge onto MD-32 West exit 38B toward Columbia. Exit onto Rt. 29 North, exit 16A. Take the Broken Land Parkway North exit towards Merriweather. Do not take the Broken Land Parkway exit you see earlier while on MD-32 West. Merge onto Broken Land Parkway. Turn right at first stoplight into Main Parking Area.

Google Map of Merriweather Post Pavilion

Where to Park at Merriweather
Another perk of seeing a concert at Merriweather is that parking is FREE!! The only thing you need to know about this is that the lot isn‘t paved because it is essentially just a big field. If you do not want to drive your car on grass there is other parking garages in the area that are a short walk away.

The field provides a festive pre-concert location for people to gather. We saw a lot of concert-goers tailgating in the lot since you are not able to bring drinks into the venue. I think that if I were to come back with a large group of friends this might be a fun thing to do.

Where to Eat in Columbia
Merriweather is located just a few minutes away from the Mall in Columbia, which offers quite a few dining options for grabbing a bite to eat before the concert. There is a Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang’s and UNO Chicago Grill if you are looking to sit down and eat, as well as some other fast food options.

We opted to eat inside Merriweather because we wanted to get there early to make sure we got a great seat on the lawn. After finding a place for our blanket on the hill, we walked over to the concession area. We were pleasantly surprised to find a large variety of choices including sandwiches, burgers, snacks and dessert items. The prices of the food and drinks were on the high side, but I think that is to be expected.

We ended up deciding on splitting a pizza, some sushi and a grilled chicken wrap. Everything we had was very fresh and tasty. I thought that the quality of the food matched the price we paid. They also had many options for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. There was something for everyone, including soda, beer, wine, energy drinks and mixed drinks. I was tempted to get a mojito ended up just sticking with a Diet Coke. For a full listing of items sold at Merriweather, you can visit their Concession menu.

Tips for Enjoying the Concert
Merriweather has two seating options. You can purchase assigned seats under the pavilion or lawn seats. There are pros and cons to both seating choices, but I think if I were to see another show there I would probably pay the extra money and sit under the pavilion.

Pavilion seats are closer to the stage and give you a better view of the performer (and when the performer is as cute as Jason Mraz, this is extremely important), but my primary reason for choosing pavilion seats is that the concert goes on rain or shine. In the case of the Jason Mraz show, it rained and rained. Then it rained some more. If we were under the pavilion it wouldn’t have mattered, but since we were on the lawn we got drenched.

If you do have lawn seats, I highly recommend bringing an umbrella or rain poncho to stay dry in the event of bad weather. You should also bring a blanket or low back chairs to sit on. Gates open about 90 minutes prior to the show so it is definitely best to get there early to make sure you get a good spot on the lawn.

Seeing Jason Mraz
The show opened with two other acts: Eric Hutchinson , followed by G. Love and the Special Sauce. Both acts did a great job of warming up the crowd and I thought they fit well with the style of music that Jason Mraz plays. I really enjoyed their performances and definitely interested in hearing more of their songs.

After a brief intermission, Jason Mraz finally hit the stage. He opened with a cover of Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park”. I thought this was a perfect way to get the show started and a nice touch for a Saturday concert at Merriweather. He followed up with a good mix of his classic songs, as well as a lot of new stuff from his latest cd. I loved his reggae version of “The Remedy” and the extended version of “I’m Yours”. My favorite song of the night was probably “Dynamo of Volition“, which was ridiculously fun to dance to. I also loved his cover of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”. I was a little disappointed that he didn’t play “You and I Both” or “Geek in the Pink” but there were only so many songs that he could fit into the show so that is totally understandable.

One of the most exciting parts of the night was right before the encore. We noticed that everyone on the lawn was heading to a spot on the right lower side. He surprised us by performing a couple of songs on small side stage right there on the lawn. I thought that was incredibly cool. We weren’t expecting to get such an up close and personal performance and it was definitely a moment I won’t soon forget.

Overall, I thought he was a fantastic live performer and would definitely love to see another one of his shows again. Thanks to RazorGator for the Jason Mraz tickets!