From classic concerts to family festivals
Connecticut venues adapt to changing industry
Hundreds of people filled Ives Concert Park Saturday night, but instead of dancing to classic rock bands as they might have years ago, attendees gathered to decorate and launch paper lanterns into the pond.
Saturday’s water lantern festival is just one example of how the Ives in Danbury is adapting to the changing industry that has priced it out of the acts that used to perform there, such as Tony Bennett, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, the Beach Boys, ZZ Top, the Moody Blues and Earth, Wind and Fire.
“We’re kind of morphing into a new way of offering cultural experience that doesn’t cost $200,000,” said Phyllis Cortese, executive director of The Charles Ives Authority for the Performing Arts.
Ives isn’t alone. Smaller theaters and venues across the state are constantly looking at how to offer these cultural experiences in an ever-changing industry, either by adapting their programming or refurbishing their often outdated facilities.
Cortese said she’s seen the costs to book these classic rock bands increase in the past 10 years — to more than $100,000 each in some cases. She surmised the increase is due to the loss of revenue from album sales as music is streamed more.
The Ives is an outdoor venue and Cortese said that as a nonprofit, it can’t risk spending that kind of money in the chance the event gets canceled due to bad weather.
The Ives instead has started hosting more festivals, including one focused on reggae, its annual Ecuadoran event and a Grateful Dead festival and car show. It’s also attracting new types of events like the upcoming psychic show, a new partnership with Treehouse Comedy and a more intimate coffeehouse-style series that is launching this summer.
“These are homegrown festivals because we partner with the community,” Cortese said.
Cost to host
Concert promoter Keith Mahler said he doesn’t think album sales factor into the cost to book a band. His company, Premier Concerts/Manic Presents, works with the College Street Music Hall in New Haven, the Space Ballroom in Hamden and the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk.
“Everything’s inflation,” Mahler said. “It’s all driven off ticket prices and demand. It’s purely economics.”
He said his company rarely books classic rock bands but has had no trouble at all getting artists from other genres to play.
“The live music industry is as robust as ever,” Mahler said.
Allison Stockel, executive director at The Ridgefield Playhouse, said the price fluctuation is nothing new when booking musical acts and it’s smart to adapt the business model.
“Acts ebb and flow,” she said. “It’s the nature of the beast.”
She said the bigger cost associated with musical acts is the equipment needed for the performances, all of which the Playhouse is able to keep in-house, unlike the Ives.
Mahler said the equipment and quality of the venue is key. He said his company will progress the acts through the different spaces, increasing the audience capacity as they go.
College Street Music Hall, the Space Ballroom and Wall Street Theater were all recently refurbished, which has contributed to their success because the bands are looking for state-of-the-art production capability, he said.
“That’s what draws talent,” Mahler said.
Adapting
With the emergence of more venues and newer venues, Stockel said it’s important to review what is offered and how models need to change to be competitive.
Once the Prospector Theater opened, The Ridgefield Playhouse adjusted its model while still maintaining its mission by showing fewer first-run movies and instead offering classic movies or the broadcast ballet and Metropolitan Opera series. They’ve also increased the number of live performances, starting a Broadway Cabaret series, that features legends, such as Kristin Chenoweth.
“We never really change what we do,” Stockel said. “We just tweak it to adjust to the changing climate.”
They recently decided to end their dance series after it underperformed and instead feature individual dance performances in the Broadway series.
“In any business or venue, it’s always smart to take a look what’s working and what’s not,” Stockel said.
Larger venues, like Mohegan Sun and the Xfinity Center in Hartford, don’t appear to face this same problem. Both have continued to attract big names, including Justin Timberlake, John Legend and Brad Paisley.
Webster Arena, the 10,000-seat venue in Bridgeport, recently partnered with Mohegan Sun and has been able to attract big names there through the deal, including Adam Sandler and Bad Bunny, who last month performed at Mohegan Sun.
Forming partnerships
When the Ives shifted its focus toward more festivals, it wasn’t the first time it had changed its offerings during its 45-year run.
The park opened in 1974 and tended to offer only classical music, keeping in tradition with the center’s namesake, Danbury native Charles Ives. Once the stage was built 10 years later, more bands and different genres were added.
“We try to keep the programming as diverse as possible so we can serve the community,” Cortese said, adding they’ve also extended their season from May through October. Between 20 to 30 events are held at the Ives annually.
The Ives now also works with the student-run radio station at Western Connecticut State University and books emerging and indie artists to attract a younger audience. The two groups hosted their first Wonderball festival this month, which featured these types of performers.
The original nonprofit also began partnering with the university and the city in 2007, forming the authority.
Cortese said these changes seem to be working. She had already seen about 2,000 pre-sale tickets sold for the lantern festival by last Wednesday, numbers she hadn’t seen in 10 years — since musician Jackson Browne performed there.
“Someone seems to like what we’re doing,” she said.