Blossom Music Center
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| Address | 1145 W Steels Corners Rd. |
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| Location | Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 41°11′29″N 81°33′38″W / 41.191298°N 81.560678°W |
| Owner | Musical Arts Association (non-classical booking by Live Nation) |
| Type | amphitheater |
| Capacity | 23,000 |
| Website | |
| http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/plan-your-visit/blossom-music-center/ | |
Blossom Music Center (referred to locally as Blossom) is an outdoor amphitheatre located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The pavilion is composed of slate and tubular steel, and seats 6,051 people. Behind the pavilion is the general admission lawn, which can seat 15,000 people.[1] It is the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra, which performs its annual Blossom Festival there. The venue is also host to a full summer schedule of popular music acts and symphonic performances. It is owned by the Musical Arts Association, the orchestra's non-profit parent organization.[2]
Blossom Music Center is named after the family of Dudley S. Blossom, who served as president of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1936 to 1938. The site's natural parabolic setting, the pavilion's sloping slate roof, and the area's natural wooded surroundings distinguish it from other contemporary amphitheatres. The facility, designed by architect Peter van Dijk, is located on 800 acres (320 ha) of natural woods inside the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, about 10 miles (16 km) north of downtown Akron and 33 miles (53 km) south of downtown Cleveland. There are currently[when?] plans to sell 580 acres (230 ha) of Blossom's undeveloped acreage to the National Park Service to add to the park. As of March 2011, 233 acres (94 ha) have been purchased by the National Park Service for US $4 million,[3] with hopes for NPS to purchase the remaining unused land in 2012.[needs update][4] This would financially benefit the owners and serve to protect the natural setting of Blossom. In 2003, the venue underwent a $17 million renovation.
The annual Carnival of Horrors has been held every October since 2003.
The amphitheatre has played host to many music festivals, including All That! Music and More Festival, Buzzard Festival, Country Throwdown Tour, Crüe Fest, Crüe Fest 2, Curiosa Festival, EndFest, Furthur Festival, H.O.R.D.E. Festival, Honda Civic Tour, Lilith Fair, Lollapalooza, Mayhem Festival, Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution, Uproar Festival and Vans Warped Tour.
The largest recorded show attendance at Blossom was for a Blood, Sweat and Tears concert in 1969, just one year after the venue's opening, totaling in 24,364. An unofficial estimate to a Pink Floyd concert in 1973 claims 32,000 were in attendance.[5]
The Michael Stanley Band, intensely popular in Northeast Ohio, but virtually unknown elsewhere, set an attendance record, of 74,404, with four sold-out shows, on August 25–26 and 30–31, 1982.[6]
Rock artist James Taylor was the first artist to play double nights at the amphitheater in 1979, with a combined attendance of over 42,000. Since then, artists including Jimmy Buffett, Barry Manilow, and Luke Bryan have also accomplished selling out two nights in a row at Blossom.
See also
References
- ^ "Blossom Music Center". Retrieved 2018-09-15.
In the pavilion, we seat six thousand and fifty-one people, and on the lawn we can seat up to fifteen-thousand people.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "History of Blossom Music Center". Cleveland Orchestra. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ Ewinger, James (March 17, 2011). "Cuyahoga Valley National Park buys chunk of Blossom Music Center land". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ^ Nichols, Jim (October 31, 2009). "Land around Blossom goes to Cuyahoga Valley National Park if Obama signs bill". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ^ Hullett, Julie. 'Five things you don't know about ... Blossom Music Center" Fresh Water July 11, 2018: L1
- ^ Faris, Mark. "Breaking up is hard to do" Akron Beacon Journal December 14, 1986: L1
External links
