Hudson Valley Music Venue Plans Major Upgrades

A Hudson Valley music venue plans to make upgrades which will allow concerts to be held there year round. Hudson Valley One reports Ulster County Performing Arts Center (UPAC) will attempt to raise more than one million dollars to fund the effort.

Due to an antiquated heating and cooling system, the venue cannot book events from July to September and only has a few select events during the dead of winter. These upgrades could allow the venue to bring in 10,000 or more additional people through the course of a season, which is a huge benefit to local businesses.

Originally opened in 1927 as a movie house, the 1500 seat theater was named to the National Registry of Historic Places in the late 70's. Just two years after earning the designation, the theater closed due to declining business. The theater eventually reopened in 2002 after extensive renovations. Chris Silva and the team that runs The Bardavon operates both venues.

I've seen several great shows there but by far my favorite was Chris Cornell solo acoustic in November of 2013. Gov't Mule playing there as part of the Woodstock Film Festival several years ago was a great gig too.