Published: 7/14/2021 3:48:03 PM
CHARLEMONT — Berkshire East Mountain Resort is welcoming three musicians to its main stage on Friday for the second concert in its new summer concert series.
The first concert, held on Independence Day, saw people of all ages, provided acoustic sets and created a comfortable, open-air environment following health safety guidelines, according to Jon Schaefer, owner of Berkshire East.
While Berkshire East has had musical guests before, it has never focused on hosting dedicated concerts before this series. Friday will be the second of what Schaefer hopes is the beginning of more musical and community-based events. After seeing such success at the July 4 event, Schaefer wants to organize more concerts for the fall, possibly around September or October.
The first concert proved popular, though the series wouldn’t be possible without the connections Schaefer and Berkshire East were able to make during the pandemic. Schaefer founded Goggles for Docs, a program that sent ski goggles to medical professionals who were treating COVID-19 and did not have adequate eye protection. The program allowed the adventure sports world to connect with health care providers, Schaefer said, and directly helped those in need of personal protective equipment.
Under Schaefer’s direction, Berkshire East helped ship thousands of pairs of ski goggles around the world, and used a nonprofit called REVERB to help distribute funds. REVERB — run by musician Adam Gardner and his wife, Lauren, both of the band Guster — works to create a more environmentally-friendly music industry, working with everyone from musicians to venues to reduce concert and tour footprints.
Gardner and Schaefer met during that time, and this Friday, Gardner will be one of the performers at Berkshire East. Gardner is also one of the reasons, according to Schaefer, that he felt Berkshire East was ready to venture slightly outside of the world of adventure sports.
“We felt that with those connections developed last spring, that we could swing above our weight class (or) what we usually would be able to book,” Schaefer explained.
Between said pandemic involvements, as well as some online concert connections, Schaefer decided to give music events a try. He has yet to be disappointed.
“We had about 250 people,” Schaefer reported of Berkshire East’s first concert on July 4. “We were very happy with that. The sun came out (and) I think we had an eclectic group of locals, pass holders and friends.”
The three musicians that kicked off the resort’s concert series will be replaced by three different artists on Friday to create an acoustic atmosphere. Folk and pop rock singer-songwriter Pete Kilpatrick will open at 4:30 p.m. as the park is winding down for the night; Adam Gardner of Guster will follow; and Marc Roberge of rock band O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) will headline. Also available to audience members will be food and beverages for purchase, and Adirondack chairs, picnic benches and ample standing room for viewing.
By creating such an environment, Schaefer wants to “get the community back outside interacting with each other and having a good time.”
“This is really about adding something else for our community, giving access to artists who might not otherwise play in Charlemont,” he said.
Tickets are available in advance online at berkshireeast.com/summerconcerts or at the gates.
The Concert FAQs page on the website details what attendees are not permitted to bring. Lawn chairs and blankets are encouraged. The event will occur rain or shine.