The Grand Tour

Welcome to Our World

Welcome to Bearsville! As you pass through the front doors, on your right you will see the carefully restored, large gilded mirror featured in a 1972 video by Todd Rundgren. We have ghosted Todd’s face and words from that song ‘I Went To The Mirror’ onto the mirror and added gold leaf to the wood.

The Lounge

Trying to imagine how Albert might have envisioned it, we have created a stunning lounge in Mid-Century Modern style, a geometric bar and a cool comfortable vibe. With a small stage to host the jazz and folk artists who are such an integral part of the music scene in Woodstock.

The Auditorium & Stage

An intimate space where fans can get up close to the music and really feel the performance.

Roots, Rock, Reggae and Americana

Many of the artists – local, national and international – who have been fundamental in establishing the music legacy of Woodstoc, and many of whom have peformed at Bearsville Theater over the decades are celebrated on our walls. And none more so than the huge “Music Made in Woodstock” mural at the bottom of the stairs features more than 80 musicians who have made music in this small American town.

Rest and Relax in the Green Room

The Green Room is the place where performers relax before and after a show. At the heart of this room is shrine celebrating the spirituality of Woodstock. Many mystical leaders and scholars of theology have been drawn to Woodstock. The entranceway has a small shrine to Alberg Grossman and a collage of photographs of the hiddne people behind the success including the engineers, producers, administrators and builders who created the Bearsville center and the Studios.

Bearsville Records

Following a deal with the Ampex Company, Albert Grossman started the Bearsville Records label in 1970, to work alongside his new recording studio. During its first year, the label produced five albums, including Todd Rundgren’s debut, Runt, and Grossman’s clients Ian and Sylvia’s venture intocountry rock, Great Speckled Bird. Milton Glaser designed the label’s logo, and the office ran from the farmhouse next door to today’s Bearsville Center.

The Janis Room

The main dressing room of the theater is a tribute to the Queen of Rock, Janis Joplin. A frequent visitor at the Grossman home and a regular partier at The Bear Cafe, Janis came to Woodstock to recover and relax after touring and recording. The Van Morrison dressing room, illustrates the time he spent in Woodstock between 1969 and 1971 and when the songs of his award-winning Moondance album came to life here.

The Van Room

This room,  illustrates the time Van Morrison spent in Woodstock between 1969 and 1971, is used by supporting acts. The spectacular view of the Ashokan Reservoir from this house would have reminded him of Belfast Lough, in his native Northern Ireland, and was a likely catalyst for the references to mysticism and nature on the album

From ‘must-avoid’ to ‘must-visit’ – Janis and Levon Get it Together in the Bathrooms

Today the bathrooms are must-visit rooms rather than must-avoid! Larger than life murals of Levon Helm and Janis Joplin adorn the walls, with each stall featuring an important Woodstock musical legend.