On Saturday night, June 1, the historic Bearsville Theater reopened in Woodstock, N.Y., under the new ownership of concert promoter and multi-venue proprietor Peter Shapiro. Taking the converted slot as the initial band to grace the renovated stage were Don Was & The Pan-Detroit Ensemble, who livened the first-time occasion, treating guests to covers and originals.
When asked about the location, Was offered, “You pull onto the lot here and it’s peaceful and you feel good. I felt good from the minute I stepped off the bus. Everything smells like wood. It felt like going to summer camp. I just love being here.” As for the theatre, he remarked, “The theater looks incredible. There were two things that stood out. There is an incredible intimacy between the people on the stage and the people in the audience. You can really see them and feel them and they’re right up close and you can exchange energy, which is a big deal. The sound system is incredible.”
Was continued, “Normally, you play a theater, you get the sound bouncing back and it’s just not in tune with what you’re doing and it’s not harmonic, it’s dissonant. You’re fighting the room a lot of the time. This theater was such a pleasure. Everything that came back to the stage sounded great and really enhanced. It was like putting on really good headphones. Everything felt and sounded good. I actually can’t think of a comparable room. It’s great. It’s a fantastic room. I wish I could play here for the next month.”
First opened in the ‘60s by Albert Grossman, the Bearsville Center has long been home to a revolving community of musicians, artists, creatives and cultural pathbreakers. Beyond the auratic power of its hallowed halls, the space is well-known for its exceptional sound quality, boasting an acoustically unparalleled auditorium with timeless charm, constructed from an 18th-century ‘Dutch’ barn by architect and acoustician John Storyk, creator of Jimi Hendrix’s famed Electric Lady Studios, adding to the historic intrigue.
Following the new Bearsville Theater’s official launch at the start of summer, the venue will offer an array of high-profile performances through the end of the year, including appearances by Guster, Dawes, Guided By Voices, Drive-By Truckers, Mdou Moctar, The Beths, The Mountain Goats, Andy Frasco & The U.N., Karina Rykman, Dresden Dolls, The Zombies, The Jayhawks. Further performances are still to be announced. View the schedule and purchase tickets here.
Scroll down to view photos courtesy of Bahram Foroughi and Chase Pierson.
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