CMAC is an outdoor amphitheater on the Finger Lakes Community College campus in Canandaigua. It has 5,000 covered seats and lawn seating for up to 10,000 guests. Finger Lakes readers voted it FLX Finest Gold for Concert Venue / Live Music in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, five years running. FLX Finest is the yearly readers' vote run by FLX Local Media.
The venue opened in 1983 as the Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center. Marvin Sands, founder of Canandaigua Wine Company, started it with other community leaders. CMAC's own history says Sands saw the important role arts and culture play in the quality of a community. In early 2005, community leaders met with Richard Sands and Rob Sands of Constellation Brands so the center would not close. The nonprofit Friends of CMAC renovated the venue in 2006 and reopened it under its current name. CMAC says the 2006 facility cost $13.5 million, was privately funded through the sale of 54 VIP boxes, and that Constellation Brands secured the naming rights.
The 2026 season was billed as a celebration of 20 years under the CMAC stars. Nineteen shows ran from June 5, when Teddy Swims opened the series, to September 5, when John Fogerty and Steve Winwood played the final concert of the season. A sold-out Ella Langley show was expected to draw more than 14,000 people. A community concert called Red, White & Boom was scheduled for July 2 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and fireworks.
Students have a hand in the work. FLCC graphic design students submitted 13 designs for the anniversary season, CMAC staff chose five winners, and the designs appear on concert T-shirts, house credentials, beverage coasters, working passes and stickers. FLCC students also help operate the video cameras for images on the venue's large screens.
CMAC says it has hosted sold-out shows by Dave Matthews, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Lady A, Bob Dylan, The Lumineers, The Killers, Snoop Dogg, Hozier, Tom Petty and Journey. The Bowery Presents, a New York City firm, signed on as promoter ahead of the 2024 season, and WROC reported in April 2025 that it had helped bring in bigger acts. The Academy of Country Music nominated CMAC for Outdoor Venue of the Year in 2025 and again in 2026.
Tickets are sold through Ticketmaster. In 2026, CMAC allowed blankets and lawn chairs, required clear bags no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches, and barred camping and overnight parking. Accessible seating is listed under the ADA filter on Ticketmaster, and CMAC offers an accessible transportation shuttle. The season is over for now: the main box office is closed, and 2027 on-sales are to be handled from a temporary box office behind the venue.