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Music minus the mud

Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson becomes the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Resort” for jam-band fest this weekend

by Lynn Woods
March 31, 2011 10:44 AM | 0 0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend | print
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GFE --Granola Funk Express
The Hudson Valley Resort and Spa, located in Kerhonkson, takes on a jam-band persona this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 1 through 3. The entire place will be given over to more than 40 musical acts from around the country, in what is being billed as the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Resort” festival. The sounds will range from the funk band legends Lettuce and Deep Banana Blackout to electric jam-rockers Max Creek to seasoned maestros New Riders of the Purple Sage, who will perform twice: in the lounge on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at noon, accompanied by brunch (for $15 patrons get all they can eat and for $15 more, limitless alcoholic drinks). Day passes are $65 and a weekend pass, including three nights’ accommodation, is priced at $378, based on double occupancy; up to two additional roommates are $170 each. There’s no camping on-site, but you can hook up your RV.

Event producer Shannon Plaquet encourages everyone to wear pajamas at the Friday night jam; Saturday’s “super-funky” sounds are best accompanied by getups inspired by Sly and the Family Stone. Clearly, the traditional grunge of rockfests will be supplanted at this indoor venue with ample creature comforts, which, judging from Plaquet’s description, enable you to combine the free-form, tribal earthiness of a Deadhead with the carefree-but-suave lifestyle of a Rat Packer. “You can put on your pajamas and slippers, make yourself a drink and go back to the show,” said Plaquet, a former Eagle Scout who camped extensively as a teenager, helping form his taste for the itinerant.

The producer attributes his attendance at Woodstock ‘94 (he was 14 and brought there by his dad) as life-changing, sparking his passion for music and large-scale event planning. Most of the festivals that his company, Wicked Cool Productions, organizes cater to crowds of 1,500 to 3,000 people. Plaquet got the idea for producing all-inclusive festivals from more upscale events that he attended abroad. The “Jungle Jam” he visited in Costa Rica, for example, “was a different kind of audience, and inspiring.”

Plaquet, who’s based in Springfield, Massachusetts – his other LLCs include a web-hosting company and event coordination firm – said that he expects more than a thousand to show up for this weekend’s event; sales have been brisk, no doubt helped by the 15 percent discount that he’s offering to all high school and college students in the area. It kicks off with acoustic music at 10 a.m. on Friday and ends officially on Monday at 2 a.m. Other featured bands include the Pimps of Joytime, Eric Krasno, +Chapter 2 and Sophistafunk, some of whom will be participating in the funk extravaganza on Saturday afternoon. “It’s throwdown music,” Plaquet said. “This event is going to be wicked cool, unparalleled to anything you’ve experienced” – and hopefully the first in a series of annual rockfests at the resort. For detailed information, visit http://rocknrollresort.com.

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