![The sun sets behind the Beaver Dam Amphitheater as Joe Diffie takes the stage Saturday night.]()
[caption id="attachment_23080" align="alignright" width="300"]
![The sun sets behind the Beaver Dam Amphitheater as Joe Diffie takes the stage Saturday night.]()
The sun sets behind the Beaver Dam Amphitheater as Joe Diffie takes the stage Saturday night, Oct. 4.[/caption]
The new Beaver Dam Amphitheater (or Amphitheatre for you fancy types) is here and it was grandly opened in spectacular fashion by Insulated, Brasher/Bogue, Joe Diffie and Lonestar last Saturday night.
Yes, it was cold last Saturday, but if you bundled up and came out to see the show, I bet you left with a warm feeling inside. That warm feeling? It may have been excitement. It may have been the anticipation of things to come. It may have been the adrenaline of a great concert or it could have been the hot chocolate you bought at the concession stand. Whatever the case, concertgoers had to feel good about the potential for future shows at the amphitheater.
My brother and I went to check out the amphitheater and were blown away with what we saw. The facility is state of the art. It wouldn’t look out of place in Evansville or Louisville. It really is that good.
Those of us who attended the opening show know this for a fact, including Diffie and Lonestar. Those who stayed home may have their doubts about the amphitheater and some have expressed those doubts on our Facebook page, as well as ocmonitor.com. I’d like to try to address some of those doubts.
We had one reader suggest “big acts” like Rob Zombie, Insane Clown Posse (ICP) or Mushroomhead would never be brought in to play the amphitheater. First off, I’m not sure Ohio County, or the surrounding area for that matter, is ICP country. Some could also argue ICP and Mushroomhead aren’t “big acts.”
So, what qualifies as a “big act?” At one time, you couldn’t get bigger than Joe Diffie and Lonestar for country music fans.
Is Metallica a big act? Luke Bryan? U2? Springsteen? While the amphitheater is state of the art and can seat around 4,000 to 4,500 people, I’m not sure it was built for stadium or arena level acts. Hence the title, stadium and arena level acts. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to see some of those “big acts” in Evansville or Louisville.
While a Luke Bryan or Springsteen coming to Beaver Dam is unlikely, isn’t it more of a possibility now that we have a facility like the amphitheater?
I’m not sure the Beaver Dam Tourism Commission (BDTC) could ever bring in one band or act that satisfied everyone in Ohio County. But, I can assure you the BDTC is committed to bringing in a variety of entertainment. We’ve already gone from Joe Diffie and Lonestar last weekend to the Carson and Barnes Circus this weekend and then to Confederate Railroad in two weeks. The BDTC has already expressed their plans to have gospel, bluegrass and rock concerts in the near future.
Some people have complained about the lack of hotels and places to eat or get gas after 10 p.m. (Why local folks seem to be worried about this, I'm not sure.) While I’ll admit Ohio County doesn’t have a plethora of hotels, I would be willing to bet, with the help of the amphitheater, that could change in a few years.
The phrase, if you build it, they will come, is ringing in my ears.
Hotels will only be built if tourists or out-of-towners come to Ohio County. Almost half the crowd on Saturday night appeared to be from out-of-town. The BDTC confirmed visitors from Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Connecticut, Indiana, Ohio and 13 different counties, just to name a few. (That's tourism, by the way.)
You can see, in the video we posted from the concert, WBKR’s Chad Benefield asked out-of-towners to raise their hands. While you can't see it in the video, almost half the crowd raised their hands and you could tell Benefield was very surprised by it.
Once hotel owners see more people coming to Beaver Dam, to enjoy events at the amphitheater, then you'll see more hotels pop up. The same applies for gas stations or restaurants that don't stay open past 10 p.m. (Though Denny's, Wendy's, Minit Mart, the Valero Truck Stop, the WK Parkway Travel Center and McDonald's, just to name a few, would love tourists to know they're open past 10 p.m.)
For those who complain about the restaurant tax, my suggestion is to take advantage of what the BDTC is doing with your tax dollars. The circus is in town this weekend thanks to the restaurant tax. Confederate Railroad is coming Oct. 24 with the Shades of Blue Art & Music Festival the next day, thanks to the restaurant tax. The downtown Christmas celebration in December will be brought to you by the restaurant tax. The amphitheater is brought to you, thanks to the restaurant tax.
If you have to pay the tax, you might as well get something out of it.
I know some of you believe the concerts should be free to the public, but let’s be realistic. These acts aren’t coming to town for free and the tourism commission will certainly take a loss on most events. With that being said, last Saturday, $20 bought six hours of music, by artists you know, right in your backyard? That's cheap and anyone who has gone to a concert in the last several years knows this to be true. Plus, there will be plenty of free events to enjoy throughout the years ahead.
Perhaps, the amphitheater will never lure a Brad Paisley or U2 to Beaver Dam, but to be able to go to a nice facility to see well-known and popular acts, at an affordable price, right in your backyard?
Who can complain about that?
The sun sets behind the Beaver Dam Amphitheater as Joe Diffie takes the stage Saturday night, Oct. 4.[/caption]
The new Beaver Dam Amphitheater (or Amphitheatre for you fancy types) is here and it was grandly opened in spectacular fashion by Insulated, Brasher/Bogue, Joe Diffie and Lonestar last Saturday night.
Yes, it was cold last Saturday, but if you bundled up and came out to see the show, I bet you left with a warm feeling inside. That warm feeling? It may have been excitement. It may have been the anticipation of things to come. It may have been the adrenaline of a great concert or it could have been the hot chocolate you bought at the concession stand. Whatever the case, concertgoers had to feel good about the potential for future shows at the amphitheater.
My brother and I went to check out the amphitheater and were blown away with what we saw. The facility is state of the art. It wouldn’t look out of place in Evansville or Louisville. It really is that good.
Those of us who attended the opening show know this for a fact, including Diffie and Lonestar. Those who stayed home may have their doubts about the amphitheater and some have expressed those doubts on our Facebook page, as well as ocmonitor.com. I’d like to try to address some of those doubts.
We had one reader suggest “big acts” like Rob Zombie, Insane Clown Posse (ICP) or Mushroomhead would never be brought in to play the amphitheater. First off, I’m not sure Ohio County, or the surrounding area for that matter, is ICP country. Some could also argue ICP and Mushroomhead aren’t “big acts.”
So, what qualifies as a “big act?” At one time, you couldn’t get bigger than Joe Diffie and Lonestar for country music fans.
Is Metallica a big act? Luke Bryan? U2? Springsteen? While the amphitheater is state of the art and can seat around 4,000 to 4,500 people, I’m not sure it was built for stadium or arena level acts. Hence the title, stadium and arena level acts. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to see some of those “big acts” in Evansville or Louisville.
While a Luke Bryan or Springsteen coming to Beaver Dam is unlikely, isn’t it more of a possibility now that we have a facility like the amphitheater?
I’m not sure the Beaver Dam Tourism Commission (BDTC) could ever bring in one band or act that satisfied everyone in Ohio County. But, I can assure you the BDTC is committed to bringing in a variety of entertainment. We’ve already gone from Joe Diffie and Lonestar last weekend to the Carson and Barnes Circus this weekend and then to Confederate Railroad in two weeks. The BDTC has already expressed their plans to have gospel, bluegrass and rock concerts in the near future.
Some people have complained about the lack of hotels and places to eat or get gas after 10 p.m. (Why local folks seem to be worried about this, I'm not sure.) While I’ll admit Ohio County doesn’t have a plethora of hotels, I would be willing to bet, with the help of the amphitheater, that could change in a few years.
The phrase, if you build it, they will come, is ringing in my ears.
Hotels will only be built if tourists or out-of-towners come to Ohio County. Almost half the crowd on Saturday night appeared to be from out-of-town. The BDTC confirmed visitors from Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Connecticut, Indiana, Ohio and 13 different counties, just to name a few. (That's tourism, by the way.)
You can see, in the video we posted from the concert, WBKR’s Chad Benefield asked out-of-towners to raise their hands. While you can't see it in the video, almost half the crowd raised their hands and you could tell Benefield was very surprised by it.
Once hotel owners see more people coming to Beaver Dam, to enjoy events at the amphitheater, then you'll see more hotels pop up. The same applies for gas stations or restaurants that don't stay open past 10 p.m. (Though Denny's, Wendy's, Minit Mart, the Valero Truck Stop, the WK Parkway Travel Center and McDonald's, just to name a few, would love tourists to know they're open past 10 p.m.)
For those who complain about the restaurant tax, my suggestion is to take advantage of what the BDTC is doing with your tax dollars. The circus is in town this weekend thanks to the restaurant tax. Confederate Railroad is coming Oct. 24 with the Shades of Blue Art & Music Festival the next day, thanks to the restaurant tax. The downtown Christmas celebration in December will be brought to you by the restaurant tax. The amphitheater is brought to you, thanks to the restaurant tax.
If you have to pay the tax, you might as well get something out of it.
I know some of you believe the concerts should be free to the public, but let’s be realistic. These acts aren’t coming to town for free and the tourism commission will certainly take a loss on most events. With that being said, last Saturday, $20 bought six hours of music, by artists you know, right in your backyard? That's cheap and anyone who has gone to a concert in the last several years knows this to be true. Plus, there will be plenty of free events to enjoy throughout the years ahead.
Perhaps, the amphitheater will never lure a Brad Paisley or U2 to Beaver Dam, but to be able to go to a nice facility to see well-known and popular acts, at an affordable price, right in your backyard?
Who can complain about that?