Not just country: Bank of NH Pavilion sees rock, alternative profile rise

GILFORD — The Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion has long been known as a destination for country music’s biggest names. The 2018 lineup is showing a new era for the outdoor music venue, as there are now marquee names in rock, pop and alternative.

“For many years, we’ve been able to attract the A-list of the country music genre,” said Mike Seymour, chief operating officer at Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion. The venue has also been a reliable place to catch classic rock acts. But there are only so many shows that local country or classic rock fans will see in a given summer. So, to grow the business, it needed to reach new audiences.

“Over the past few years, we’ve made a concerted effort to bring in different genres.”

This year, that effort is bearing fruit in the form of a diversified concert schedule. Seymour said that owner R.J. Harding, who does the booking for the Pavilion, has planted the seeds for such a lineup by scheduling a few out-of-the-ordinary performances in recent years. He brought in Twenty One Pilots when they were still an up-and-coming alternative act. That group has since seen its breakout album “Blurryface” make music industry history by seeing each individual track on the album reach gold, platinum or multi-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Harding threw another curveball by hosting a multi-day electronic dance music festival featuring Pretty Lights in 2016. That was so successful that they came back last year for another two-day sellout event.

Whether Twenty One Pilots or Pretty Lights, the point of either of those was to reach new fans, both locals who aren’t interested in country or classic rock, or people who normally wouldn’t travel to central New Hampshire except for the chance to catch a particular act. If they could get someone to come to Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion for one show, they could get them to return, Seymour said.

Now, with a broader base of fans who have previously experienced the venue, the Pavilion’s 2018 schedule boasts top acts to tempt just about anyone. For classic rock, there’s Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. Alternative fans will take notice of Paramore, Thirty Seconds to Mars, and 311. Hard rock shows include Poison, Dropkick Murphys, Slayer, Kid Rock, and Godsmack. And, of course, there’s country: Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson.

Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, which began as Meadowbrook, which hosted its first concert in 1996, has grown into a venue of its own kind. It’s an open air experience, allowing summer breezes to pass through, but most of the fans are covered by a roof. It isn’t a festival site, but it does have a midway and offers 180 camping sites.

“We’re kind of a hybrid in some ways,” Seymour said. “Once people have had the chance to experience the venue, they enjoy the experience here.”

Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion scored another win last year with a multi-day stop by Dave Matthews Band, which is returning for shows on June 12 and 13. Whether they were coming to the Pavilion for the first time or hadn’t been there for years, the thousands of fans who walked through the gates saw a venue that had benefited from decades of careful self-examination.

“Every year, we’re trying to reinvest back into the programming and the experience here,” Seymour said. Every aspect of the fan experience has been analyzed, including the ticket purchases, parking, security screening and entry, food and beverage options, pre-show entertainment, and exit traffic.

Seymour said the team’s goal is to not to just have fans leave saying, “What a show!,” they want them saying, “What a great place to see a show!”

“When a customer walks through the gates, what can we do to capture them as a customer for the next time around?”

Food and beverage are a big part of that analysis, and the Pavilion’s answer is to offer a wide variety. Fans can find a taco and a margarita, Bud Light and hot dog, pulled pork and craft beer, or even a fresh tuna steak.

“Anything they like, we want to make sure there’s something like that here,” he said. “We’re trying to open ourselves up to a wide variety of audiences.”

There’s even more going on behind the scenes. As much attention that is paid to the fan experience, the same amount is given to the headliners and their crew.

Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion can only seat around 8,500, which is a far smaller crowd than big acts draw when they play at stadiums. What the Pavilion can offer, though, is the Lakes Region experience.

Backstage, artists have access to a long list of amenities: food and beverage service, a super-sized chess board, bicycles to ride around on, even a playground for their children. A bit removed from the stage, there’s a beach volleyball pit, grassy lawn, fire pit and swimming pool, which Seymour said are favorite spots for artists to unwind after their show.

It’s those touches that allow the Pavilion to punch above its weight when it comes to booking acts: They want to stop in Gilford because it offers a bit of a mid-tour vacation.

“We really have two customers,” Seymour said. “The patrons that walk through the gates, and the artists that come here to play.” Artists don’t get this kind of treatment at a big-city stadium. “It’s all about, how do we differentiate ourselves?”

Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion will have between 35 and 40 shows this year, which is about how many they’ve had for several years; but, thanks to the increasing notoriety of the performers, and because of growing notoriety of the venue itself, they’ve seen more and more people walk through their gates.

“Every year we hope to increase year over year (attendance),” Seymour said. “This year’s schedule has the makings for that.”