Powder Ridge Owner Hopes To Resurrect Music Festival

MIDDLEFIELD - They say you can't go home again, but Sean Hayes wants to ride the magic bus back to 1970, when 30,000 young people invaded the Powder Ridge ski area for what became known as 'the greatest rock concert that never happened.'

Hayes is one of the owners of Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort, which last year revived downhill skiing on Besek Mountain after a lull of half a dozen years.

Now, Hayes hopes to resurrect the spirit of the Powder Ridge Rock Festival of 1970, in which hordes of shaggy-haired youths from across the country sprawled on the sylvan slopes from July 31 to Aug. 2 waiting for bands that never came.

The rock festival promised the same headliners as a second Woodstock - Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Van Morrison, Sly and the Family Stone, and more. But all were no-shows, except for the folk singer Melanie, who sang her anthem, 'What Have They Done To My Song Ma,' her amplifier plugged into a Mr. Softee Ice Cream truck.

'We want to start small, no more than 4,500 people over two days,' Hayes says of his plans for a music festival, planned for Oct. 4 and 5. 'Already, 15 bands have contacted me saying they want to perform.'

Hayes said no decisions have been made yet on music, except for Shakedown, a Grateful Dead cover band. He said the lineup will be finalized in the coming weeks and ticket sales will begin Sept. 1 via an announcement on the website at powderridgepark.com and Facebook page at http://ift.tt/1nWuZKu

Hayes was 5 at the time of the Powder Ridge Rock Festival 44 years ago.'I think you can honor history but in a respectable way,' he said. 'This will be a family-friendly event, but with a hippy feel and attitude.'

Hayes has experience 'leveraging history,' as he describes his philosophy. In 2009, he and several partners started Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park, which now draws thousands for zip lining, kayaking, wake boarding and scuba diving in the old Portland brownstone quarries.

The same vision inspired the purchase of Powder Ridge in 2012, when he and four investors bought the defunct 225-acre ski area for $700,000, according to published reports. 'We want to make this a destination, a full-service urban sports facility, with not only skiing and snowboarding, but mountain biking and tubing,' Hayes said when he bought it. In its first season, Powder Ridge drew about 40,000 visitors, Hayes said.

Powder Ridge opened in 1959 under the name Powder Hill. It was started by brothers Herman and Lou Zemel, successful appliance salesmen from New Haven. Lou Zemel was also known for his left-wing politics, which brought him into contact with the folk singers Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and the Weavers.

Lou's son, David Zemelsky, ran the 20-trail ski area in the 1980s, before selling to White Water Mountain Resorts, which operated the facility until 2006. In 2008, the town of Middlefield purchased Powder Ridge for $2.55 million.

Zemelsky, who now runs an organic farm in Durham, said he supports the idea of bringing music back to Powder Ridge. 'The place is just ideal for music,' said Zemelsky, who was present at the 1970 event. 'It's a natural amphitheater and a beautiful setting like Tanglewood. I hope Sean succeeds.'

Zemelsky said the idea for the original festival sprang from a curious mingling of his father's political views and the practical problem of running a ski area in southern New England with just a few months of cold. 'That's the problem with a ski resort,' Zemelsky said. 'What do you do in the summer? My dad saw music festivals as a way to get some cash flow in the offseason.'

Lou Zemel's friend Pete Seeger played at Powder Hill in 1965, followed by Joan Baez. However, when neighbors complained about traffic, he decided to take a break.

Then, in 1969, Woodstock happened. A few months later, Zemel was approached by a group of New York businessmen, who offered a handsome sum to lease the ski area for a Woodstock-like rock festival. Zemel agreed, and 50,000 tickets went on sale. Half were sold in just a few weeks.

But the fear of a Woodstock youth invasion prompted a Superior Court judge to issue an injunction barring the concert from taking place and threatening musicians with arrest if they set foot on stage. Meanwhile, the mysterious New York promoters were nowhere to be found, having made off with perhaps $500,000 in ticket sales.

The trouble didn't stop thousands of young people from flooding into Middlefield for what they hoped would be another Woodstock. For nearly a week they camped on the hillside, strumming guitars, pounding drums, and - it was later reported - ingesting various illegal drugs. (Life Magazine would describe the drug scene at Powder Ridge as far worse than Woodstock, with hundreds of 'bad trips.')

Sanitation was another problem, and the pond at the foot of the slopes, where crowds stripped naked to cool off, was closed due to high bacteria counts.

The failed festival was a blow to Zemel, who spent years trying to make it up to people, offering free lift tickets to kids stiffed by shady concert promoters.

David Zemel, who adopted the original family name of Zemelsky, likes to think about all the good times at Powder Ridge - how the crews were like family, and love that blossomed on the ski slopes. 'You wouldn't believe how many marriages Powder Ridge is responsible for,' Zemelsky said. 'It's really amazing.'

Entities 0 Name: Hayes Count: 8 1 Name: Zemelsky Count: 6 2 Name: Woodstock Count: 5 3 Name: Powder Ridge Count: 4 4 Name: MIDDLEFIELD Count: 3 5 Name: Lou Zemel Count: 3 6 Name: Zemel Count: 3 7 Name: Joan Baez Count: 2 8 Name: Pete Seeger Count: 2 9 Name: New York Count: 2 10 Name: Superior Court Count: 1 11 Name: Tanglewood Count: 1 12 Name: Lou Count: 1 13 Name: Sean Hayes Count: 1 14 Name: Life Magazine Count: 1 15 Name: New England Count: 1 16 Name: David Zemel Count: 1 17 Name: David Zemelsky Count: 1 18 Name: Melanie Count: 1 19 Name: Durham Count: 1 20 Name: Herman Count: 1 21 Name: Family Stone Count: 1 22 Name: Powder Ridge Mountain Park Count: 1 23 Name: Van Morrison Count: 1 24 Name: Powder Hill Count: 1 25 Name: Besek Mountain Count: 1 26 Name: Weavers Count: 1 27 Name: New Haven Count: 1 28 Name: Powder Ridge Rock Festival Count: 1 29 Name: Joe Cocker Count: 1 30 Name: Sean Count: 1 31 Name: Janis Joplin Count: 1 32 Name: Portland Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/UR2aDm Title: Oregon's Pickathon Points the Way to Music Festivals Going Green Description: When the stage goes quiet at the close of pretty much all summer music festivals, there comes a new kind of chorus known to anyone who's tromped back to a campsite alongside 10,000 other weary music lovers: the crunch of a sea of disposed water bottles.

Powder Ridge Owner Hopes To Resurrect Music Festival

MIDDLEFIELD - They say you can't go home again, but Sean Hayes wants to ride the magic bus back to 1970, when 30,000 young people invaded the Powder Ridge ski area for what became known as 'the greatest rock concert that never happened.'

Hayes is one of the owners of Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort, which last year revived downhill skiing on Besek Mountain after a lull of half a dozen years.

Now, Hayes hopes to resurrect the spirit of the Powder Ridge Rock Festival of 1970, in which hordes of shaggy-haired youths from across the country sprawled on the sylvan slopes from July 31 to Aug. 2 waiting for bands that never came.

The rock festival promised the same headliners as a second Woodstock - Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Van Morrison, Sly and the Family Stone, and more. But all were no-shows, except for the folk singer Melanie, who sang her anthem, 'What Have They Done To My Song Ma,' her amplifier plugged into a Mr. Softee Ice Cream truck.

'We want to start small, no more than 4,500 people over two days,' Hayes says of his plans for a music festival, planned for Oct. 4 and 5. 'Already, 15 bands have contacted me saying they want to perform.'

Hayes said no decisions have been made yet on music, except for Shakedown, a Grateful Dead cover band. He said the lineup will be finalized in the coming weeks and ticket sales will begin Sept. 1 via an announcement on the website at powderridgepark.com and Facebook page at http://ift.tt/1nWuZKu

Hayes was 5 at the time of the Powder Ridge Rock Festival 44 years ago.'I think you can honor history but in a respectable way,' he said. 'This will be a family-friendly event, but with a hippy feel and attitude.'

Hayes has experience 'leveraging history,' as he describes his philosophy. In 2009, he and several partners started Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park, which now draws thousands for zip lining, kayaking, wake boarding and scuba diving in the old Portland brownstone quarries.

The same vision inspired the purchase of Powder Ridge in 2012, when he and four investors bought the defunct 225-acre ski area for $700,000, according to published reports. 'We want to make this a destination, a full-service urban sports facility, with not only skiing and snowboarding, but mountain biking and tubing,' Hayes said when he bought it. In its first season, Powder Ridge drew about 40,000 visitors, Hayes said.

Powder Ridge opened in 1959 under the name Powder Hill. It was started by brothers Herman and Lou Zemel, successful appliance salesmen from New Haven. Lou Zemel was also known for his left-wing politics, which brought him into contact with the folk singers Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and the Weavers.

Lou's son, David Zemelsky, ran the 20-trail ski area in the 1980s, before selling to White Water Mountain Resorts, which operated the facility until 2006. In 2008, the town of Middlefield purchased Powder Ridge for $2.55 million.

Zemelsky, who now runs an organic farm in Durham, said he supports the idea of bringing music back to Powder Ridge. 'The place is just ideal for music,' said Zemelsky, who was present at the 1970 event. 'It's a natural amphitheater and a beautiful setting like Tanglewood. I hope Sean succeeds.'

Zemelsky said the idea for the original festival sprang from a curious mingling of his father's political views and the practical problem of running a ski area in southern New England with just a few months of cold. 'That's the problem with a ski resort,' Zemelsky said. 'What do you do in the summer? My dad saw music festivals as a way to get some cash flow in the offseason.'

Lou Zemel's friend Pete Seeger played at Powder Hill in 1965, followed by Joan Baez. However, when neighbors complained about traffic, he decided to take a break.

Then, in 1969, Woodstock happened. A few months later, Zemel was approached by a group of New York businessmen, who offered a handsome sum to lease the ski area for a Woodstock-like rock festival. Zemel agreed, and 50,000 tickets went on sale. Half were sold in just a few weeks.

But the fear of a Woodstock youth invasion prompted a Superior Court judge to issue an injunction barring the concert from taking place and threatening musicians with arrest if they set foot on stage. Meanwhile, the mysterious New York promoters were nowhere to be found, having made off with perhaps $500,000 in ticket sales.

The trouble didn't stop thousands of young people from flooding into Middlefield for what they hoped would be another Woodstock. For nearly a week they camped on the hillside, strumming guitars, pounding drums, and - it was later reported - ingesting various illegal drugs. (Life Magazine would describe the drug scene at Powder Ridge as far worse than Woodstock, with hundreds of 'bad trips.')

Sanitation was another problem, and the pond at the foot of the slopes, where crowds stripped naked to cool off, was closed due to high bacteria counts.

The failed festival was a blow to Zemel, who spent years trying to make it up to people, offering free lift tickets to kids stiffed by shady concert promoters.

David Zemel, who adopted the original family name of Zemelsky, likes to think about all the good times at Powder Ridge - how the crews were like family, and love that blossomed on the ski slopes. 'You wouldn't believe how many marriages Powder Ridge is responsible for,' Zemelsky said. 'It's really amazing.'

Entities 0 Name: Hayes Count: 8 1 Name: Zemelsky Count: 6 2 Name: Woodstock Count: 5 3 Name: Powder Ridge Count: 4 4 Name: MIDDLEFIELD Count: 3 5 Name: Lou Zemel Count: 3 6 Name: Zemel Count: 3 7 Name: Joan Baez Count: 2 8 Name: Pete Seeger Count: 2 9 Name: New York Count: 2 10 Name: Superior Court Count: 1 11 Name: Tanglewood Count: 1 12 Name: Lou Count: 1 13 Name: Sean Hayes Count: 1 14 Name: Life Magazine Count: 1 15 Name: New England Count: 1 16 Name: David Zemel Count: 1 17 Name: David Zemelsky Count: 1 18 Name: Melanie Count: 1 19 Name: Durham Count: 1 20 Name: Herman Count: 1 21 Name: Family Stone Count: 1 22 Name: Powder Ridge Mountain Park Count: 1 23 Name: Van Morrison Count: 1 24 Name: Powder Hill Count: 1 25 Name: Besek Mountain Count: 1 26 Name: Weavers Count: 1 27 Name: New Haven Count: 1 28 Name: Powder Ridge Rock Festival Count: 1 29 Name: Joe Cocker Count: 1 30 Name: Sean Count: 1 31 Name: Janis Joplin Count: 1 32 Name: Portland Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/UR2aDm Title: Oregon's Pickathon Points the Way to Music Festivals Going Green Description: When the stage goes quiet at the close of pretty much all summer music festivals, there comes a new kind of chorus known to anyone who's tromped back to a campsite alongside 10,000 other weary music lovers: the crunch of a sea of disposed water bottles.

Cambodian Music Festival focuses on positive messages

For Seak Smith, 37, producing the first-ever Cambodian Music Festival on Sunday at the Ford Amphitheatre has been a labor of love - and duty.

The child of ethnic Cambodians who lived in Thailand, called Khmer Surin, Smith has spent most of her life in the United States, and in some ways felt disconnected from her heritage.

Music was one of the ways she could get in touch with her Khmer soul. So, with the help of her husband, Brian, Smith set out to present her vision.

The music festival, which brings together artists from across the United States, speaks to the Cambodian-American experience.

Smith took time to answer five questions:

A: 'I wanted to connect with my roots and background. I was inspired by a revival of arts (at the Season of Cambodia in New York) and I thought, 'What's next?' How can I stay connected and do more?' I thought 'Why not a music festival?' My father was a drummer and I grew up on classic Cambodian rock. It was the soundtrack of my youth.'

Q: What makes modern Cambodian music unique?

A: 'It's a very unique sound. Cambodian history and culture were built on music and the arts. It's a good tapestry of Cambodian arts infused with other influences. You can hear a lot of lacing of traditional (Khmer) beats into the music that brings a fresh sound.

Q: What did you look for in choosing the artists who will perform?

A: 'We wanted musicians with messages of unity and positiveness. In the past, we've struggled with a lot of negative images of the people and because of the genocide. We want to change the dialogue. It's about a revival of our legacy, about participating, about healing and rebuilding. I feel a sense of duty that we're trying to rebuild the image of Cambodia.'

Q: What kind of response have you gotten, and what kind of crowd to you expect?

A: 'At first, we didn't know what we were wandering into. We knew we wanted to expand to a newer audience. It will be a very mixed crowd from all over the country - there will be people from Rhode Island, Brooklyn, Minnesota, Canada. People are hungry to see something like this. People have been hashtagging on their own. It's been very organic.'

Q. What is your hope for the future of the festival?

A: 'A lot of people have been asking us to bring the show east, so there's a possibility it could become a traveling festival. I didn't expect that. Some Cambodian artists and businesses have talked to us about bring it (to Cambodia.) If there's interest, maybe that could happen in 2016. I don't want to get ahead of myself though. It kind of depends on how this goes. The idea is for the festival to become its own brand. We're making a CD and a camera crew will be documenting the weekend for a DVD that we'll produce and merchandise. The T-shirts have been very popular.'

Contact the writer: gmellen@lbregister.com

Entities 0 Name: Smith Count: 3 1 Name: Cambodia Count: 3 2 Name: Cambodian Count: 3 3 Name: United States Count: 2 4 Name: Canada Count: 1 5 Name: Seak Smith Count: 1 6 Name: Ford Amphitheatre Count: 1 7 Name: Minnesota Count: 1 8 Name: Rhode Island Count: 1 9 Name: Brian Count: 1 10 Name: Brooklyn Count: 1 11 Name: New York Count: 1 12 Name: Thailand Count: 1 13 Name: Khmer Surin Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1oPseLa Title: George Town Festival Is Making Its Name as Major Asian Arts Event Description: KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Four years ago, officials in George Town, a city on the island of Penang off the northwest coast of peninsular Malaysia, thought it would be a fine idea to hold an arts festival to mark its listing as a Unesco World Heritage site.

Morristown hosts new 'Gig It' music festival

(WBIR- Hamblen County) Morristown is hosting ' Gig It,' a new three-day music festival Aug. 1-3.

Hamblen County Events Coordinator Jeffrey Dillard said this is an effort to bring tourism dollars to the community. He said people from all across the country have bought tickets for the event and many are staying in local hotels.

He said more than 1,000 pre-sale tickets have been sold. A single day ticket is $25, and a three-day pass is $65. This means at least $25,000 worth of tickets have been sold. Dillard said they are expecting a large walk-up crowd, and the money is used to fund other events in the county.

The festival will feature 32 bands. According to the 'Gig It' Facebook page, the event 'supports music of all types and fashions.'

Lisa Rose was the first person in line to get into the festival. She said she will be at the festival for all three days to see some of her favorite bands.

'I really hope that they have a great turnout,' she said. 'I hope it's something that really catches on where they can get a lot more bands interested and a lot more people interested.'

Local businesses in the community are also benefiting from the festival as well. The North Hamblen County Volunteer Fire Department set up a concession stand as a fundraiser.

'I think it helps the community a lot,' said Tony Trent, chief of the North Hamblen County Volunteer Fire Department.'[It] brings in a lot of people so in turn brings in a lot of tax dollars and more business to the businesses in the community.'

This is the first year for the festival, but the Dillard said they would like to see it continue and grow in the future.

'Obviously we're not trying to go after Bonnaroo but definitely want to give it a good run for its money,' Dillard said. 'We're a small town. And, it's something that we feel like we can offer a friendly service to everybody, and they'll want to come back and keep doing it.'

Read or Share this story: http://on.wbir.com/1rXoPMS

Entities 0 Name: Dillard Count: 3 1 Name: North Hamblen County Volunteer Fire Department Count: 2 2 Name: WBIR Count: 1 3 Name: Tony Trent Count: 1 4 Name: Hamblen County Events Count: 1 5 Name: Lisa Rose Count: 1 6 Name: Bonnaroo Count: 1 7 Name: Morristown Count: 1 8 Name: Hamblen County Count: 1 9 Name: Jeffrey Dillard Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1kbSIXb Title: An internet of bins: Networking Splendour in the Grass | ZDNet Description: Summary: Building a large temporary network in the middle of a remote field for a music festival presents some unique challenges to the Splendour in the Grass organisers. Bringing Eftpos services, internet connectivity, and broadcast capability to support 30,000 people a day in a field with no power or internet represents a unique challenge to Splendour in the Grass organisers.

Jon Waltz - Home (Southside) by HYPETRAK

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Fusion To Stream Lollapalooza Music Festival

News/pop culture network Fusion said it will offer a multichannel livestream feed of this weekend's Lollapalooza music festival.

Fusion will carry Red Bull TV's digital broadcast of the three-day festival beginning tonight across all of its digital platforms. The multi-channel livestream event will feature 100+ live performances from Chicago's Grant Park, as well as behind-the-scenes access, exclusive interviews, unique camera angles, and 200+ hours of exclusive content, said network officials.

Performers scheduled to appear during the Aug. 1-3 festival include Eminem, Outkast, Kings Of Leon, Lorde and the Avett Brothers.

Entities 0 Name: Outkast Count: 1 1 Name: Chicago Count: 1 2 Name: Red Bull TV Count: 1 3 Name: Eminem Count: 1 4 Name: Avett Brothers Count: 1 5 Name: Fusion Count: 1 6 Name: Lorde Count: 1 7 Name: Kings Of Leon Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1naLuxB Title: Check out the Lollapalooza live stream schedule Description: Get your schedule planners out folks because we've got one hell of a festival line-up this weekend and you won't want to miss a thing. From August 1-3, Lollapalooza 2014 will be taking over Grant Park in Chicago for a long weekend of musical shenanigans, and for the first time ever Red Bull TV will be broadcasting live with not one, not two but three channels chock-full of world-class artists and backstage interviews.

Open Highway Music Festival Expands to Five Days, Features Former R.E.M. ...

Jon Gitchoff

Last August, Off Broadway concert promoter John Henry told RFT Music that he wasn't sure how big the hugely successful Open Highway Festival ultimately would become, but he shared that he and club owner Steve Pohlman wanted to continue to surprise concertgoers with a variety of musical genres and perhaps even lengthen the event's duration.

This year, Henry and Pohlman are making good on those promises.

Now considered a hallmark event at Off Broadway, the Open Highway Music Festival has been a showcase of local, regional and national talent since 2012. But what began as a four-day tribute to roots music now has become a five-day showcase of soul, rock, country, gritty americana and everything in between. The event, which runs August 5-9, also will include a special set at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room

See also: -All Roads Lead to Home: The Open Highway Music Festival returns to Off Broadway -Slideshow: Norah Jones' Secret Show at Off Broadway

'We feel very fortunate to have worked with a really great lineup of artists and bands over the past two years, and we aimed to continue that for this year's festival,' Henry tells RFT Music.

The festival begins Tuesday, August 5, at Off Broadway, with Cory Chisel's Soul Obscura serving as the main dish. Chisel performed his special brand of folk rock during the 2013 festival (joined by award-winning vocalist Norah Jones in an unannounced appearance), but he's planning to take things into a more soulful Stax Records-oriented direction for Open Highway.

On Wednesday, August 6, the festival moves to the Duck Room, where rockers the Baseball Project -- which features former members of R.E.M. in a lineup of noteworthy musicians -- will perform, with Water Liars opening the night. Sturgill Simpson will bring his vintage country aesthetic to Off Broadway Thursday, August 7, and the Dock Ellis Band and a duo of Brian Henneman and Kip Loui will perform sets earlier in the night.

On Friday, August 8, Americana songwriter Justin Townes Earle will hit Off Broadway, with Emily Wallace opening. Finally, reunited brothers in roots rock Dave and Phil Alvin will close out the festival on Saturday, August 9, at Off Broadway with their band the Guilty Ones. Candye Kane will open the show.

'The goal has always been to expand into a genre-wide festival that isn't necessarily specific to 'roots' or 'country' music. Water Liars and Cory Chisel's Soul Obscura are good examples of that, I think,' Henry says. 'It's very soulful and passionate music that is slightly outside of acts we've had in the past, yet it still works well within the framework of the festival.'

See also: Five St. Louis-Based Music Festivals that Draw Out-of-Towners

The configuration of days also has changed for this year's Open Highway Music Festival. The two prior events had begun toward the end of the week and continued over the weekend. This year, though, concertgoers can rock out all week long, as the festival kicks off on Tuesday and runs through Saturday. Henry is looking forward to how fans react to the festival's expansion and the inclusion of more musical genres and notable acts.

'I feel that more and more, people are open to music that isn't necessarily specific to what they normally listen to if it is done with feeling,' Henry says. 'We love working with bands like that.'

The Open Highway Music Festival will be held August 5-9 at Off Broadway, with one performance on August 6 at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room. Tickets are $14-$33 and can be purchased at offbroadwaystl.com.

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Location Info Entities 0 Name: Henry Count: 5 1 Name: RFT Count: 3 2 Name: Norah Jones Count: 2 3 Name: Cory Chisel Count: 2 4 Name: Water Liars Count: 2 5 Name: Duck Room Count: 1 6 Name: Hill Count: 1 7 Name: Brian Henneman Count: 1 8 Name: Pohlman Count: 1 9 Name: Justin Townes Earle Count: 1 10 Name: Candye Kane Count: 1 11 Name: Dave Count: 1 12 Name: Steve Pohlman Count: 1 13 Name: Dock Ellis Band Count: 1 14 Name: Blueberry Hill 's Duck Room Count: 1 15 Name: Justin Bieber Concert Count: 1 16 Name: Phil Alvin Count: 1 17 Name: Emily Wallace Count: 1 18 Name: R.E.M. Count: 1 19 Name: John Henry Count: 1 20 Name: Kip Loui Count: 1 21 Name: Sturgill Simpson Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1s9Llj8 Title: Instagram Contest Description: Post a 15 second VIDEO on Instagram explaining why you want to go to the iHeartRadio Music Festival and use the hashtag #iHRvegas and #contestentry