simsbury meadows

Our family has attended Willie Nelson, 3 Hartford Symphony performances and Jazz 'n' Blue Festival last weekend. The shell is beautiful and well supports top tier performing artists. The Broadway series had well over 10,000 attendees. The sound system and lighting is fantastic especially given the outdoor setting. With Talcott Mountain as a backdrop and the picturesque town of Simsbury as the host it's a great venue. Parking is a challenge when it gets to the big audience but the shuttle bus service to the junior high parking lot works as an alternative to paying 10$ for a local parking in private lots. For the well attended concerts there are tables setup just in front of the stage and you can order great picnic dinners from a local high quality restaurant ( Metro Bis) or you can bring lawn chairs blankets and coolers for beverages and bring your own food. We got a great salad and sandwiches and desserts from a local cafe. We setup a modest spot just in front of the stage setup our dinner with a couple of bottles of wine and enjoyed a pleasant picnic dinner buffet for 2 with our lawn chairs and blankets. One family had an very elaborate setup with over a dozen people in the group. By the time 'Down To The Bone' started people were dancing and clapping to the funk throughout the audience. Down to the Bone is the greatest Jazz/Funk band in the UK and they lived up to the billing. What a great place to enjoy this level of performances in such a relaxing setting.

Recently saw Susan Tedeschi play on a Thursday evening at 7 in this beautiful outdoor venue. Quickly learned we weren't able to bring in any kind of food or beverage so we opted to visit a local pub nearby. Returned to the venue just as the show was to begin and the rudest of staff greeted us at the gates. Asked for help in locating our seats, they told us to "Find them!" We proceeded towards the front, having paid 78.00 for prime seating, only to realize that the entire front ten rows were impassable due to crowds of folks standing. Nary an aisle to be found and not one person there to help, we found our way to the side of the stage and stood for a bit. Never even found our seats. Friends who had seats near us, were able to find theirs but couldn't see a thing as folks stood the entire time. We opted to move back and sit along a stone wall at which time a fellow visitor came along and barked at us to move because he couldn't see. We obliged at which point a woman suddenly manning that particular entrance gate demanded to see our tickets by grabbing my arm and wanting to know why our hands hadn't been stamped. We explained to her our evening experience thus far and she laughed, proceeding to stamp us. We'd had enough. While having paid a fortune to see Susan, it was time to go. Took some time to scout the venue and discovered there were countless vendors offering food. This would've been helpful knowing earlier on. Alas, we did discover a number of spots to park a lawn chair and hear the show...without even needing to purchase a ticket, just outside the venue. Plenty of outhouses too! So unless you're a die-hard fan, this venue just isn't worth the money. Even the 25.00 bucks needed for a lawn seat, unable to bring in a picnic, is a joke. Beautiful outdoor venue staffed by rude folks, located in a town drowning in wealth....I gave it two stars because it has the potential to be incredible if they would overhaul their entire staff or teach them a bit about customer service/professionalism and unify how things are run(stamp hands/don't stamp hands, etc..)