Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort Press Conference
Middlefield, Conn.
May 5, 2023
What do you do at a place like Powder Ridge when there’s no snow on the ground? As it turns out, you come to get your groove on.
I visited Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort Thursday as the sun blazed in a cloudless sky above me to learn more about a Mountain Music Series that the resort is hosting beginning in mid-June. It’s a partnership between Powder Ridge and Premier Concerts/Manic Presents.
But why a concert at a ski resort? I asked.
“Because you can’t ski in the summer,” promoter Keith Mahler said with a laugh. He co-runs Premier Concerts/Manic Presents, which is helping to produce the shows.
“But seriously, It’s a natural concert amphitheater, a sloped hill. It’s just the perfect site. When you go out and see that stage and you can look up to that hill, it doesn’t get better than that.”
The Mountain Music Series is part of Sean Hayes’ plan to not only attract non-skiers like me, but also demonstrate how Powder Ridge is a year-round mountain resort. He’s the president and CEO of Powder Ridge.
Powder Ridge has some history as a music venue. Hayes has been hosting concerts at the resort for a couple of years, but this is his first time hiring a professional production company like Premier Concerts/Manic Presents to pull out all the stops.
Then there’s the infamous “Concert that Never Happened”: Prior owners of Powder Ridge attempted to put on their own massive rock concert in 1970 to capitalize on the success of Woodstock a few years earlier. Nearly 30,000 people bought tickets, and the owners had managed to secure some of the top talent of the day, including Janis Joplin, Chuck Berry, and Fleetwood Mac. Local residents concerned about the wild partying and property damage that would ensue got a court injunction to stop the concert.
This time around, Hayes has worked with the residents of Middlefield to ensure that his concerts are welcomed by all.
“I don’t want to scare everyone. You know, we’re doing four or five shows a year during the summer this year. We’ll grow it eventually to seven, maybe eight shows a year. If it’s a weekday show it ends at 10 p .m., if it’s a weekend show it’s done at 11, and we’re still honoring the residents and the community.”
I asked Hayes and Mahler to take me to the area where the concerts would be held. As we walked I couldn’t shake the feeling of deja vu.
Once I reached the lift area where the stage was being built, I knew for certain I’d been there before. I’ve been afraid to ski ever since my friend in 4th grade broke his leg, so how had I ended up at Powder Ridge?
Then I remembered: I’d been there in the dead of night for the Haunting at the Ridge a couple of years ago. The resort looked very different in the light, but I still recalled the thrills and laughs I had working my way down the hill through the woods that night.
“I mean, you think about Middlefield, Connecticut. It’s centrally located in the heart of Connecticut with 72 holes of the best golf there is in the state,” Hayes said. “There’s Powder Ridge with summer mountain biking. water slides, zip lines, and a bunch of activities all summer long, never mind skiing and everything during the winter.”
The concerts this summer will include all the bells and whistles. Seating on the lawn will be general admission and handicapped accessible. There will be VIP firepit seating as well as special winter-themed “igloos” at the top of the hill. The site will also include an indoor shaded dining area, with food offerings ranging from brick oven pizza to a pig roast- and vegetarian and vegan options, of course.
I’d already found one reason to come to Powder Ridge despite my aversion to skiing. Now it looks like I have another one. Stay tuned for when I come back in June, when I report on how I enjoyed the rock in the mountains.
The Mountain Music Series at Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort:
June 18 — Michael Franti & Spearhead / Stephen Marley, Bombargo
Aug 16 — Dark Star Orchestra
Aug 22 — Blues Traveler / Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Aug 23 — Gin Blossoms / Toad the Wet Sprocket / Vertical Horizon
More shows will be announced soon
Tickets and info at manicpresents.com and powderridgepark.com
