Concert Review: Snoop Dogg Turns Long Beach's F&M Bank Amphitheater Grand Opening Into a Visual History Long Beach, CA — June 6, 2026

Zharmaine Boatman
1 hour ago
6 min read

Snoop Dogg headlined the grand opening of the F&M Bank Amphitheater on June 6, 2026, and the whole night felt less like a tour stop than a reunion the city had been waiting on for years. Kurupt was there. So was Lady of Rage, Tray Deee, RBX, Soopafly, Tha Eastsidaz, OT Genasis, Kalvin Love, and Ray Vaughn, plus a rotating cast of guests I gave up trying to keep a mental list of somewhere around the third surprise appearance. By the time Mayor Rex Richardson walked out to hand Snoop the Key to the City, it didn't even feel like the finale, more like the city just finally saying the thing out loud that everybody already knew.

A Gathering Built on History

North Long Beach. Westside. Eastside. The Wrigz. Cambodia Town. Zaferia District. Not one neighborhood getting the spotlight while the rest watched from home, but the whole city showing up at once, and I'll admit some of that hit different for me personally since I grew up in North Long Beach and spent the night doing the math on how many people around me probably grew up a few blocks from where I did.

The VIP Records sign kept reappearing across the screens like a piece of punctuation the production refused to let you forget. Rightfully so. The City of Long Beach actually designated that sign a historic landmark back in 2017, so it's not just nostalgia at this point, it's official history. Walter Pyramid and Long Beach Airport got woven into the visuals too. During "Summertime in the LBC," Nate Dogg showed up on the screens and the entire section around me had their phones up before the second line of the hook.

Even the name on the venue fit the story.

Farmers & Merchants Bank has been part of Long Beach since 1907, growing alongside the city for more than a century. Still led by members of the Walker family, the bank has built its reputation on long-term relationships and community involvement rather than rapid expansion. For many Southern California residents, F&M is one of those institutions that has simply always been there.

That made the amphitheater's name feel particularly appropriate. This wasn't a night about a national brand attaching its logo to a building. It was a celebration of Long Beach, and the venue itself carried the name of a company whose history is deeply connected to the city. The same emphasis on community and relationships that helped define the bank for generations felt consistent with a venue built to bring people together through live music and shared experiences.

On a night centered around one of Long Beach's most recognizable artists, the connection felt natural. The city's newest entertainment venue carried the name of a Long Beach institution whose roots run just as deep as many of the references woven throughout the show.

The more I sat with it, the more the whole night started to feel like one long history lesson disguised as a concert. A brand new historic amphitheater getting its grand opening. A bank with roots back to 1907 putting its name on the building. A record store sign that's been an official historic landmark since 2017 lighting up the screens all night. And the man headlining the whole thing being one of the biggest reasons anybody outside of California even knows where Long Beach is

Ray Vaughn is NOT from North Long Beach

Ray Vaughn opened things up while half the crowd was still finding seats or making a final run for food. He's a Long Beach native himself, signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, the same label that helped launch Kendrick Lamar's career, founded by Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith with Terrence "Punch" Henderson serving as co-president alongside him. I'll admit I spent a chunk of his set convinced he was from North Long Beach like me, mostly because of a line on "KLOWN dance" with Jay Rock where he name-drops Carmelitos. Turns out he's repped Eastside his whole career, not North Long Beach, so that one's on me, but it's the kind of detail that makes you listen a little closer to where an artist is actually from versus where you assumed. Going back and watching the music video for that song after the show, it's clearly shot around Poly Burger, which sits just down the street from Long Beach Poly High School, the same school Snoop graduated from in 1989, a year ahead of fellow alum Cameron Diaz.

A rapper from the Eastside and a Hollywood actress coming out of the same hallway pretty much sums up Long Beach in one sentence.

LET’S GO!

Then the lights dropped, a helicopter sound came in over the speakers, and smoke started rolling across the stage while black-and-white footage played overhead. Snoop walked out to "Deep Cover" and by then most of the amphitheater was already standing, including the guy next to me who'd spent the last ten minutes complaining about the parking situation and forgot about it instantly.

Kurupt, Lady of Rage, and More Friends for a Reunion, Years in the Making

Kurupt showed up early and stuck around most of the night. Lady of Rage followed not long after. Then it became a blur in the best way: Tray Deee, RBX, Soopafly, and Tha Eastsidaz turning entire stretches of the set into something closer to a family reunion than a regular concert. Nobody around me reacted like they were seeing strangers. People reacted like old neighbors had just walked through the door at a cookout.

OT Genasis brought a different kind of energy later with "Cut It" and "Push It," and while he had the crowd moving, Snoop was up on top of a lowrider just dancing and grinning like a proud uncle that he is.

Snoop Regroups, Rebuilds, Rewinds & Creates

The set never sat still. Jail cells became lowriders. Lowriders became a rooftop with palm trees lining the horizon. At one point the whole stage turned into a courtroom, and that's when things got heavier than a typical concert. Footage tied to Snoop's murder trial played across the screens while red light covered the set, and for a few minutes the mood in the amphitheater genuinely shifted. You could feel people go quiet.

Then Tupac showed up. A conversation between him and Snoop played before old archival footage took over, leading into "Gangsta Party" and "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted." It was the one stretch of the night that didn't feel like a party but in Long Beach, we regroup, rebuild, and rewind.

Legacies Made Official, Better Late than Never

Kalvin Love joined his father for "Compromise" while old family photos played behind them, and that's when the show slowed down for the first time all night. Album covers, old TV clips, movie stills, and awards rolled across the screens afterward. This was an intimate moment that allowed you to feel like a part of the family.

The final therapist segment closed with one question. What advice would Snoop give his younger self? Stay young, wild, and free, came the answer, and green smoke filled the stage right before he walked back out to perform exactly that song.

When the music stopped, Mayor Rex Richardson came out to give a speech and presented Snoop with the Key to the City of Long Beach, and shortly after that he received the 2026 Citizen Artist Award for his philanthropy, community work, support of the Olympic movement, and overall impact on music and culture. Snoop thanked the crowd, thanked his family, and made sure to give a special thanks to his queen, Mrs. Shante Broadus, as his family joined him on stage for photos.

$8 and a Dream

And then, walking out, there it was. The LA style hot dog vendors lined up greeted me, eight bucks for a bacon wrapped hot dog with grilled onions and bell peppers piled on top like clockwork, and somehow worth every dollar after a night like that. Because honestly, did you even go to a concert if you didn't walk out into that smell on your way out?"

The concert may have ended, but the history didn't, not really, not for a city that's been adding chapters to the same legacy for decades, through a record store sign that's now officially historic, a bank that's been here since 1907, and a brand new amphitheater that just opened its doors for the first time and immediately handed out a key to the city. For one show, the city was able to bring the city all together.

The only thing I could've asked for was to also see the paletero and elote men waiting out there with everybody else.