[7] It later became a venue for popular music concerts, including performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, and The Who.

Led Zeppelin performed "Whole Lotta Love" live for just the second time ever, and allegedly ran long in their opening slot, resulting in their plug being pulled by The Who's production crew.

[12] Before the start of the 1970 season, loge sections were built (adding 1,800 seats) in order to book a seven-night run of Tom Jones, featuring Gladys Knight & the Pips as the opening act.

[13] In 1970, Columbia's manager Richard Anderson dropped bookings of rock groups after gate crashing and disturbances at a Steppenwolf concert.

[16] In the summer of 1974, Howard Research and Development manager Micheal Spear banned rock music after more incidents, listing Alice Cooper, Grateful Dead, and Edgar Winter as artists that were unacceptable.

[18] In 1978, and again in 1980 during his campaign against Ronald Reagan, President Jimmy Carter joined Willie Nelson on stage to sing a duet of "Georgia on My Mind".

[20] In 2003, development by General Growth Properties threatened to shutter the pavilion, drawing the ire of local Columbia teens, along with former bandmates Ian Kennedy and Justin Carlson, who launched and sustained a grassroots "Save Merriweather" campaign to keep the concert venue open.

In 2014, County Executive Ken Ulman proposed a bill to relieve Howard Hughes of the renovation expense including a $10 million grant.

VIP tickets were also available to purchase, with proceeds donated to the RE*Generation House homeless youth shelter in Washington, D.C. An estimated 50,000 people attended each year, which included guest appearances by Virgin's CEO, Sir Richard Branson, and such acts as Jack White, LCD Soundystem, Pavement, The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend, M83, TV on the Radio, MGMT, and St.

[31] In August 2014, the site made national news when two patrons died and twenty others were hospitalized from drug overdoses after a Mad Decent concert.

[35] In honor of its illustrious history, legendary artists from Paul Simon and Sarah McLachlan to Santana returned to the Merriweather stage in 2017, including an Anniversary show featuring Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Father John Misty, and Grace Potter.