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Hipster fest moves from Upstate to Jersey. Ouch!
Jan 28, 2011 6:48 am
The indie-rock festival All Tomorrow's Parties, which was held at Kutshers Country Club in the Catskills for the past three years, is moving on to Asbury Park, NJ next summer, according to reports throughout the media this week, and picked up locally at both the Watershed Post and Daily Freeman. "This is a huge blow for the Borscht Belt," WP said of the shift, and an old name for the Sullivan County part of the Catskills where ATP was. "Just last summer, a new investor attempted to revive Kutshers with an infusion of new cash and some much-needed improvements to the crumbling infrastructure." Last summer, ATP attracted 2,300 people for a bill that included Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, and films and music curated by Greene County landowner Jim Jarmusch.
According to the New York Times, Kutshers outGreene County attack monkey dies peacefully of cancer-of-the-way and moldy charm stopped being so charming to ATP's organizers last summer, who noted that “It was a little bit beyond the pale.” Economics, the paper of record added. was also a factor. Kutsher’s location off the beaten path, and its relatively small concert capacity, meant that costs were high and the potential return was low. Its total capacity was 3,000, but last year only 2,300 people attended. By contrast, the Convention Hall in Asbury Park holds 3,600 people, and the Paramount 1,600. Next year's festival has been announced for the last weekend in September and will be curated by Portishead.
Later, in an update today, the Watershed Post noted a newly uncovered e-mail that refers to ATP holding $one million in debt, much of it to Kutshers, as part of its reason for the New Jersey move.