City: Red Rocks venue safe after rocks injure 7 (AP)

By STEVEN K. PAULSON, Associated Press Steven K. Paulson, Associated Press – 1 hr 53 mins ago

DENVER – Denver officials insisted Monday that the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater is safe after rocks fell on concertgoers, injuring seven people and sending four of them to the hospital.

Witnesses told KMGH-TV ( http://bit.ly/o5opZC) that rocks rained down on people sitting near the front left side of the stage during a concert, injuring some severely on Sunday. A spokeswoman for West Metro Fire Rescue said the names of the victims and extent of the injuries were not immediately available.

The naturally formed amphitheater tucked in the foothills west of Denver has two, 300-foot sandstone monoliths, dubbed Ship Rock and Creation Rock. A half dozen or more rocks fell from Creation Rock on the north side of the theater.

The stage has served as a venue for top-flight performers, ranging from the Beatles to John Denver. Former President George Bush and other politicians made campaign stops there, and it has been the backdrop for a number of movies.

Denver cultural affairs spokeswoman Kristin Rust said investigators may never know what caused rocks to fall on spectators around 1 a.m. Sunday during the last segment of a concert by the band Sound Tribe Sector 9. Some witnesses reported seeing people climbing on the rocks before the incident.

"At this point, we still do not know what cause it, human or nature," she said.

She said about 100 staffers, including security, medical attendants and police, attend major events at the venue. She said more security officials will be assigned to the monoliths for the rest of the year, and her department will see if more permanent changes are needed next year.

Yenter Companies, a contractor that specializes in drilling, blasting, rock and soil stabilization, has been called in to inspect the rock formations.

On Monday, tourists and joggers roamed the facility, despite the yellow crime tape that blocked off stairways closest to the rocks.

Rust said a number of people have been injured or killed climbing rocks in the park outside the amphitheater, but this is the first time in at least 23 years that anyone can remember injuries caused by falling rocks inside the venue.

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Online:

http://www.redrocksonline.com/PURENATURE/HistoryGeology.aspx

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Respected country venue is in unusual place: NH (AP)

GILFORD, N.H. – R.J. Harding told his father he was nuts when he decided in 1996 to turn an 80-acre field next to the family's hotel into a concert venue by setting up a temporary stage and lawn chairs.

He succeeded in bringing in names like Johnny Cash and Chubby Checker for that first summer, but the place alongside Lake Winnipesaukee struggled to survive. But Harding's dad stuck with it, and by 2002 the place was making a profit and drawing names like Bonnie Raitt, Sammy Hagar, Eminem, Hootie & The Blowfish and others.

"We just got clobbered, of course," Harding said of the early years. "We lost tons of money. But my father caught the fever," he said.

The Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion in Gilford, a small venue surrounded by quaint lake resort towns, puts on about 25 shows a summer from a variety of artists. But it has gained an especially ardent following in country music.

The pavilion, which can accommodate an audience of up to 6,500, has been named by the Academy of Country Music as one of the top country music venues in the nation for the last few years, competing with much larger arenas in Nashville, Chicago, Kansas City and Oklahoma. It's also been named one of the best small amphitheaters by Pollstar, based on box office attendance.

"I think we're on the radar because we started doing country up here before country was really cool up here," Harding said. "We've always done pretty well with it." He noted the growing popularity of country music on "American Idol," where both winner Scotty McCreery and second-place finisher Lauren Alaina were country singers.

This year's country concert lineup includes Trace Adkins, Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum and Reba McEntire.

"I just love it over there," said Sally Oliver, 51, of Concord, who's been attending concerts at the pavilion for over 10 years. "I never miss a country concert if I can help it."

Oliver, who also goes to see concerts in Nashville, said she would love to see her hometown venue actually get an award for being the best.

"They do offer good music and excellent service," she said.

This year's summer season also features rock, jazz, hip-hop, children's performances and comedy. Some of the other artists performing are Bob Dylan, Chicago, Peter Frampton, Miranda Cosgrove, Wiz Khalifa, Slightly Stoopid and Selena Gomez & the Scene. There's also the fourth annual "Greenerpalooza" concert on Aug. 5, which brings together energy efficient programs and renewable energy companies.

"It's really family oriented," said Katrina Morse, 32, of Twin Mountain, who has five children. "I feel comfortable bringing my kids there."

She added that she likes that a second stage before the main concert features up and coming performers.

The property was once known as the Meadowbrook Farm. The family that owned it built cottages on the land in the early 1900s and held family concerts; each member of the family played a musical instrument. The family passed along ownership of the land hoping that it would be kept as a park for anyone to use.

"We sort of got into concerts by accident, when a good friend of ours needed a place to host a really small Beatles tribute show. We loaned him our field," said Harding, who inherited the venue from his dad after he died in 2008.

"It's a tough industry to make money, but once you're in it, you're addicted," he said. "We don't usually make money until we've sold halfway up that lawn."

Last year, Meadowbrook made a modest profit, which allowed for a new VIP restroom area and a new LED screen and audio system. Meadowbrook also has helped raise money for charities, including music materials and scholarships for students.

The Meadowbrook is in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, a longtime haven for summer homes and watersports.

"It's definitely an important tourism driver for our region," said Carmen Lorentz, executive director of the Belknap County Economic Development Council. "It certainly brings a group of visitors that might not otherwise be coming. ... They are probably staying overnight, going out, eating, purchasing things at our local stores."

The venue has a lot of fans, including the performers themselves, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and Garrison Keillor.

"It still blows my mind to drive to this seemingly remote location, only to find it is summer getaway central for people who live within driving distance," Tommy Shaw of Styx wrote in a letter to the venue. "Beautiful lakes all around, populated by those out to have a good time. ZERO tension to be found ANYWHERE."

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Online:

http://www.meadowbrook.net

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Labor dispute outside Tony Awards venue solved (AP)

NEW YORK – The stagehands' union and producers of the Tony Awards reached an agreement Friday on how the show's red carpet area will be staffed, ending a labor dispute that threatened to derail Broadway's biggest night.

Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees had vowed to picket near the Beacon Theatre, where the award show will be held Sunday evening. They were angry that producers of the show had nonunion workers setting up the red carpet area.

A deal between both sides was announced Friday afternoon, though no details were immediately disclosed. The union won its biggest demand — for union workers to staff the area.

"Both labor and management are satisfied with the terms and conditions of the agreement which will not be publicly disclosed," both sides said in a statement. "The red carpet staging area for this and future Tony Award shows at the Beacon Theater will be staffed by union labor."

The change in the Tony Awards' venue this year has put stress on producers. The ceremony was forced to leave its longtime home at Radio City Music Hall because Cirque du Soleil took over the art deco theater for its new show and Tony producers picked the 3,000-seat Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side, which has only about half as many seats as Radio City.

The stagehands have traditionally set up the red carpet and tent outside the annual event, but because the show was moved to a new theater this year, the red carpet was moved a block south — outside the perimeter where the union is ensured jobs.

The dispute could have made celebrities uncomfortable crossing a picket line — complete with a giant inflatable rat — to be photographed on the red carpet.

Some of the big names invited to the Tonys include Daniel Radcliffe, Alec Baldwin, Christie Brinkley, Matthew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg, Kelsey Grammer, Joel Grey, Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones, Chris Rock, Brooke Shields, Robin Williams, Vanessa Redgrave and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The deal does not mean that the Tonys will be drama-free, however. Musicians plan to perform outside the theater to protest what they say is the replacement of live music with recordings.

And members of the Freedom Party said they also will be protesting outside the Beacon Theatre, upset that "The Scottsboro Boys" received 12 Tony nominations. The musical frames the 1930s-era story of nine black teenagers wrongfully put on death row as a minstrel show, which the Freedom Party finds offensive.

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