28-05-2025
Traffic tips: Get to Kendrick Lamar's concert at State Farm Stadium with less stress
Kendrick Lamar and SZA drew more than 55,000 fans to a recent co-headlining date at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Now their Grand National Tour is coming to Glendale, Arizona, where it will play State Farm Stadium on Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
It's one of the year's biggest tours, making the most of the massive publicity boost Lamar enjoyed in February as the star of the Super Bowl halftime show, where SZA was his special guest.
The Grand National Tour is in support of 'GNX,' a surprise release that topped the Billboard album chart in late November, the fourth consecutive Lamar release to do so.
The excitement surrounding the April tour launch caused SZA to return to No. 1 on Billboard's album chart with 'SOS,' an album she released in 2022.
All that excitement means tens of thousands of people headed to the same place at the same time during Tuesday's rush hour. That's just a bottleneck waiting to happen.
But there are ways to minimize the stress.
Tony Abbo is a city traffic engineer for Glendale. He spoke to Arizona Republic before The Weekend launched his tour at State Farm Stadium in early May.
The Lamar and SZA concert starts with an opening set by DJ Mustard at 7 p.m., which, as Abbo says, 'happens to be at the tail end of the weekday rush hour.'
The best way to avoid the brunt of that traffic crunch, Abbo says, is to show up at the stadium as early as you can.
Stadium parking lots are set to open at 3:30 p.m. and there are plenty of things you can do at Westgate Entertainment District while you wait for the stadium doors to open at 5:30 p.m.
'I would say show up as early as possible,' Abbo says. 'There's always things to do in the Westgate area – shopping, dining, entertainment. If they get there a little bit early, they can enjoy what Westgate has to offer and then make their way to the concert.'
As you approach State Farm Stadium, Maryland Avenue will be closed between 93rd and 95th avenues and 95th Avenue will be closed between Maryland Avenue and Cardinals Way, the same as for any football game.
If you purchase parking in advance, your parking pass comes with directions to those lots.
'Don't be distracted by your cellphone,' Abbo says.
'You're going to need to pay attention to the directions provided by folks managing the parking areas as well as the Glendale police department. And make sure you follow the messages on the ADOT message signs as well as any portable message signs that we have on the side of the road directing people to the appropriate parking areas.'
There will also be a lot of foot traffic as you approach the stadium.
'We just want to make sure folks are exercising caution,' Abbo says.
'There are pedestrians. There are city staff and contractors working this event. We want to make sure everybody gets in and out safely. And by allocating enough time to get there, hopefully that will alleviate that safety concern.'
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(This story has been updated to add a gallery.)
Ed has covered pop music for The Republic since 2007, reviewing festivals and concerts, interviewing legends, covering the local scene and more. He did the same in Pittsburgh for more than a decade. Follow him on X and Instagram @edmasley and on Facebook as Ed Masley. Email him at
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kendrick Lamar's Phoenix concert: Traffic tips you need
