Louisiana is known for its musical offerings. New Orleans is world renowned as the birthplace of jazz. Influential blues guitarist Buddy Guy hails from Baton Rouge. Bob Dylan named his classic album Highway 61 Revisited after Airline Highway.Yet in a strange twist, Louisiana has recently gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to concerts. Year after year, tour after tour, bands constantly skip over Louisiana on their schedule, especially during summer months.Not only do they skip Louisiana, but also the Gulf states of Mississippi and Alabama. Most tours go straight from Texas to Florida or vice versa.The grand majority of the live music industry takes place during summer months. Baton Rouge does indeed have the River Center, which holds up to 12,000 people for concerts. But there is just something about having a cool breeze through open air while you boogie down.The only outdoor venue Baton Rouge really has is at Blue Bayou/Dixie Landin’. Unfortunately, the only artists that place attracts are emo has-beens like Good Charlotte who are just trying to make quick cash off pre-teens who have spent a little too much time in the wave pool.I absolutely stay away from country music with its alcoholic lyrics and overall repetitiveness of its twangy guitar, but I did like the idea of the Bayou Country Superfest that was held in Tiger Stadium earlier this summer.Obviously I wasn’t in attendance but heard from camouflage and cowboy hat-wearing revelers that it was a great time. My only concerns for future events in Death Valley are the treacherous heat and less-than-stellar acoustics.We need a real amphitheater. A place the heavy hitters like Radiohead and hell, even Miley Cyrus, can go do their thing in front of thousands of fans.Amphitheaters go back to the Roman days, when Pompeii was home to the world’s first amphitheater.An amphitheater in Louisiana would have great cooperation with the weather. Of course it rains like an Indian monsoon here every summer.The modern amphitheater nearly always has a roof covering a pavilion, however. The pavilion generally seats a few thousand patrons. Beyond the pavilion is a roofless lawn section that can provide space for even more guests.The closest major amphitheater to Baton Rouge is the Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion in the Woodlands neighborhood near Houston. Atlanta boasts two such venues in the legendary Lakewood Amphitheater and the brand new Verizon Wireless  Amphitheater at Encore Park.An amphitheater is a major construction project. It would require a decent amount of land to occupy. Traffic after concerts would also be a concern, so a smart choice would be to put the amphitheater in a suburban or somewhat remote area located near a metropolis.Several areas in southeastern Louisiana could serve as a host to this project. North Baton Rouge seems to fit this bill. That particular area currently lacks any entertainment worth driving to. Another possible location could be in eastern New Orleans near the old Katrina-stricken Six Flags park.The construction of the amphitheater would create jobs. More jobs would be available once the amphitheater opens, such as stage production, ticket sales, concessions, health and management staff. The transportation industry would also benefit, as shuttles and taxis would see much business bringing customers to and froth the venue.–Contact Cory Cox at [email protected]