All Tomorrow's Parties abandons Kutshers for New Jersey

Monticello just lost one of its coolest attractions -- the indie-rock festival All Tomorrow's Parties, which was held at Kutshers Country Club for the past three years. This year, the festival's organizers told the New York Times on Tuesday, ATP will be held in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

This is a huge blow for the Borscht Belt. 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. ATP was one of the biggest events of the resort's season -- last September, the festival attracted 2,300 people.

In its announcement about the move, ATP's organizers expressed sorrow about leaving Kutshers:

Everyone who came to our three events at Kutshers knows how special the place was and how lucky they were to have been a part of our events there and while we are sad to not be returning, we are excited to be moving to the iconic Asbury Park.

According to the NYT, Kutshers out-of-the-way and moldy charm stopped being so charming to ATP's organizers last summer:

Barry Hogan and Deborah Kee Higgins, the married couple who run the festival, say that leaving Kutsher’s is painful but necessary.

“It was deteriorating into a state where it wasn’t kitschy and funny anymore,” Ms. Higgins said. “It was a little bit beyond the pale.”

Economics 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.

Whether or not the move makes economic sense for the festival, it's indisputable that something will be lost now that hordes of indie-rock fans won't have to schlep to the Catskills and bunk there for a long weekend. The article recognizes this:

Mr. Hogan and Ms. Higgins had originally chosen Kutsher’s because it allowed them to recreate the sleep-away-camp character of their British events. But with no resort connected to the theaters, this aspect will be lost, so the concerts are being labeled as a sister event, All Tomorrow’s Parties Presents I’ll Be Your Mirror.

But the loss will be even bigger for Monticello, which enjoyed being the epicenter of hip for three days every summer. Our correspondent, Barry Thompson, was there for the 2010 festival and filed dispatches along with video clips and acerbic commentary. Little did we know that he was covering the end of an era.

Photo of the Flaming Lips' set at ATP NY 2009 by Flickr user Rick Webb. Published under Creative Commons license.

2pm update: In my original post, I wrote that a statement from ATP sounded condescending because it stated that Kutshers was "lucky to have been a part of our events there." An alert commenter on Facebook has pointed out that I probably misunderstood ATP's statement -- the organizers likely meant that the festival's attendees were lucky to come to Kutshers.

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