“Now the bricks lay on Grand Street
Where the neon madmen climb
They all fall there so perfectly
It all seems so well timed
And here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all these things twice”
— Bob Dylan
From Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Praise be the performance deities that Bardavon/UPAC executive director Chris Silva was able to sign such a box-office favorite and former Woodstock resident Bob Dylan for an outdoor concert at the Hutton brickyards property on North Street on the Hudson River waterfront. Dylan, who has in recent years held rehearsals at the other two Hudson Valley venues, will be appearing at the sold-out outdoor brickyard space on June 24 at 8 p.m.
The event doesn’t need an additional Kingston city permit, according to assistant corporation counsel Dan Gartenstein. It’s covered by the permit the owner of the brickyards, MWest Holdings, obtained last year for Smorgasburg, the open-air food and flea market that will also conduct events there again starting May 20 this year.
“We couldn’t be happier that a legend like Bob Dylan will be kicking off our 2017 season,” the publication The Music Universe quoted MWest president Karl Slovin as saying. “This is what one will come to expect at the Hutton Brickyards: world-class entertainment from our friends at the Bardavon, incredible curated cuisine from groups like Smorgasburg, and frankly, we’re just getting started.”
Silva is a busy man these days. In December, UPAC LLC received an authorization of support from the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency to secure a private partner for a lease-back arrangement in connection with a $4.759-million renovation at UPAC.
The Bardavon Opera House seats 940, and UPAC 1500. The Hutton Brickyards provides Silva with a third, larger venue. Some 3550 tickets were sold to the Dylan concert at price levels of $125, $75 and $55.
The gross take from the night’s sellout should be in the $300,000 range. That number may be enough to please the impresario, the landowner and hopefully the artist.
Chris Silva has been the savior of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Orchestra and The Ulster Performing Arts Center.
His long tenure at The Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie has also been marked with great success.
The Hutton Brickyards as a performance venue is a spectacular location. We all should look forward to more events there. Congratulations to Mr. Karl Slovin.