Ambitious plans for the new Mount Jefferson Resort in Lee
A Massachusetts ticket broker, who purchased the Mount Jefferson Ski Area with plans to turn it into a year-round resort, announced that he has lined up 10 musical acts to perform at the inaugural Matrix Music Festival at the newly renamed Mount Jefferson Resort in July.
Kevin Zimmerman, owner of Bostonian Tickets, told the Bangor Daily News that mountainous areas like Mount Jefferson are often ideal for multi-day music festivals with natural acoustics providing high-quality sound while preventing complaints from neighbors about noise levels.
“You feel the bass sound a long way up the mountain. I have been to other festivals on mountains and you can really enjoy the sound. All the trees will help muffle the sound [from disturbing neighbors] and keep it full,” Zimmerman told the BDN. “It’s almost like a natural amphitheater.”
Zimmerman purchased the 160-acre Mount Jefferson Ski Area and a six-acre plot adjacent to the area in January for an undisclosed price. He expects to spend nearly $100,000 this year turning the ski area into a music venue — his crew has already cleared five acres of trees on the property and have started renovations to the facilities.
Lee town officials have said that they are hopeful that the year-round resort, which will also include activities like night skiing, camping and snow tubing, will bring new businesses to the small northern Maine town with a population of approximately 920, according to a 2010 census.
Zimmerman told the BDN that eventually upwards of 30,000 people could come to the concerts hosted at the resort, but is happy to provide a smaller, more intimate venue that can seat 1,500, drawing some of the same acts that play at Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion in Bangor.
“I have been to festivals on other mountains that are almost the same size as this,” Zimmerman told the BDN. “It’s the same layout, it’s the same thing. As a ticket broker for the last 10 years, I have seen the live entertainment business grow and how festivals are going to be becoming big. It’s like taking my career, my business, to the next level.”
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Massachusetts business owner purchases Mount Jefferson Ski Area
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