How often do we go a show to scream, laugh and cheer our faces off, and not give the venue itself the props it deserves? Some of the local shindigs to hold the most rockin' concerts, comedy shows and performances are just as worthy of the love as the acts they host.
Metromix gives you All Access to some of the coolest concert venues in the Hudson Valley.
Rockers from Bret Michaels to Hawthorne Heights have packed this Po-Town palace with screaming fans. What makes the Chance unique, other than it possibly being Poughkeepsie's best music venue, is its versatility. In addition to performing on The Chance's main stage, musicians also headline gigs at The Loft next door and the Platinum Lounge within The Loft. And as if that weren't enough, the owners also preside over The Nuddy Irishmen, the Irish pub on the same property. What's not to like?
This place has become a local legeng, and not just because it's such a beautiful throwback to the movie houses of old. At one point, the gorgeous art deco theater that hosts everyone from stand-up comedians to rock icons was to be demolished and replaced... by a parking lot! Thankfully the words of Joni Mitchell (more recently performed by Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton) didn't have to ring true: They didn't pave paradise and put up a parking lot.
Bethel Woods Center
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is a $100 million outdoor performing arts center and museum at the site of the original 1969 Woodstock festival. The 15,000-seat outdoor performing arts venue and The Museum at Bethel Woods are set on 2,000 bucolic acres.
In 1927, this place opened as the Broadway Theatre and was a vaudeville and movie house. Today, the venue that's also known as the Ulster Performing Arts Center is a venue for movies, music, comedy and dance.
Host to concerts, large expos and trade shows, this dual venue – comprised of Mair Hall and McCann Ice Arena – holds up to 3,050 seats and spans 15,475 square feet.
B.B. King has seen a lot in his career. To say the legendary jazz musician has been around the block a few times probably doesn't do his life odometer any justice. So for him to set up shop at the Paramount Center for the Arts, take a look at the Peekskill venue that opened in 1930 and declare, "Wow. Wow wow wow. What a beautiful theater," that's got to mean something. The place has got all that jazz, but plenty of rock and alternative, too. Everyone from the Derek Trucks Band to Indigo Girls has headlined here.
Good things come in small packages. For what this theater lacks in sheer size – just 275 seats – the Emelin in Mamaroneck isn't the most cavernous of performance venues, but it more than makes up for that with high-profile acts and great seats all around. It's been hosting big-time speakers, theatrical acts, film series and concerts since 1972, making it the oldest continuously operating performing arts theater in Westchester. Dar Williams, Paula Cole and Idina Menzel have graced the stage to perform, and celebs Nora Ephron, Anna Quindlen, Joyce Carol Oates and Ken Burns have been among the famous to hold speaking engagements on Library Lane.
Not just any movie theater, the Jacob Burns Film Center has shown the best indie, world and documentary films to more than 1 million visitors since the Pleasantville landmark opened in 2001. It's also got plenty of star power: In addition to JBFC board member and Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme, the center has hosted events with appearances by Alec Baldwin, Edward Norton, Hillary Swank, Stephen Colbert, Terrence Howard, Kevin Smith, Michael Caine, Jerry Lewis and countless other stars.
Home of the Hudson Valley Renegades, they also host concerts, events and more!
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