No comp tickets yet for Dylan concert
Shows scheduled for June 23, 24
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> Only Bob Dylan has received complimentary tickets to distribute for two concerts he is set to perform in late June, according to the executive director of the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, which is promoting the concerts at the Hutton Brickyard property.
Chris Silva said in an email Tuesday that no one else has received complimentary tickets — so far.
The Bardavon also owns and operates the Ulster Performing Arts Center, in Kingston.
“Not right now, there aren’t,” Silva said in response to a question about whether any complimentary tickets were being distributed. “Dylan has access to some comps for both shows, but don’t know what they plan to use yet.”
Silva said that “we may do some press comps, too, but haven’t yet.”
Dylan is scheduled to perform two shows at the Hutton Brickyard at the city’s waterfront on June 23 and 24. MWest Holdings of California, which is a cosponsor of the concerts, is the owner of the 60-acre property.
Mayor Steve Noble and the city’s legal office have said the property can be used for the concerts despite not having received any approval specific to concert use from the city Planning Board.
On Thursday, the company held a party for invited guests billed “Cocktails By the River,” which featured Noble advertised as the “special guest.”
The company described it as a get-to-know-the-community affair, allowing invited residents to meet MWest President Karl Slovin and his family.
MWest owns the 60-acre Hutton Brickyards site at 200 North St. along the river, where the summertime Smorgasburg Upstate market is held.
A promotional video for the site talks about lodging, ice skating, horseback riding, a farm-to-table restaurant and lecture center, among other things, possibly coming to the site in the future.
Any such future development of the site presumably would need city approval, but Noble has said that saw nothing wrong with him being the “special guest” at the cocktail party.
“I do not see this as inappropriate,” the mayor said in an email. “Attending special events like this is consistent with my responsibilities to support economic and community development by engaging with potential developers, businesses, not-for-profits and community leaders.”
As part of that effort, Noble said, he often attends fundraisers, informational events and tours, among other things.
MWest Holdings has not submitted any significant building plans for the site to the city Planning Office. But in a promotional video, Slovin says: “This rare riverfront property is waiting to rise again, reimagined as the perfect destination retreat for the 21st century. Envision a venue that is part Camp David, part yoga retreat and part TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talk spread out over 75 bucolic acres.
“Imagine a place infused with the vision of the Hudson River Valley school of artists, philosophers and poets who preach discovery and exploration while living in balance with nature,” Slovin adds. “A place that will attract a global community of thinkers, makers and doers coming together to break bread to teach each other to better themselves and the world we all share.”
The online invitation for the May 18 event asked for donations, which the invitation said would go to Friends of Historic Kingston, a decades-old city preservation group.
The two concerts by Dylan, announced in March and April, can be held at the Hutton site without any permit beyond the one that allows the Smorgasburg operation, the mayor and the city attorney’s office have said.
But members of the city Planning Board have expressed concern that such concerts were not envisioned at the site when the board renewed the Smorgasburg permit fir the property last November.
The 23-page operational plan used as the basis for that permit approval makes no mention of concerts.
“The applicant, Smorgasburg Productions LLC, is seeking site plan and special permit approval from the city of Kingston Planning Board to construct and operate Smorgasburg Upstate, a seasonal flea market and food vending use on the city of Kingston waterfront at the former Hutton Brickyards located at 200 North Street,” states the plan, prepared by The Chazen Cos. of Poughkeepsie.
There is one reference in the plan to “occasional smaller one-time events” being held at the site in addition to Smorgasburg.