KINGFIELD – When most people think of ski mountains, they picture snow-covered hills, bundled-up skiers and steaming hot chocolate. Sugarloaf and Bud Light, however, are seeking to change that perception with the Bud Light Concert Series at Sugarloaf.
On Jan. 28, Big Head Todd and the Monsters will perform at 8 p.m. in the King Pine room of the base lodge.
Big Head Todd consists of three longtime friends: Todd Park Mohr, Brian Nevin and Rob Squires. Mohr handles the singing, songwriting and guitar duties, while Nevin mans the drums and Squires rounds out the trio, playing bass.
The threesome met as teenagers in Colorado; and, in 1986, they had formed the band that would eventually take them all over the country.
In 1988, Big Head Todd released its first album, “Another Mayberry,” featuring country and folk guitar riffs with a slight pop twist.
This sound would become the band’s signature style, although it was more fully realized on later albums such as “Sister Sweetly” (1993), “Strategem” (1994) and “Beautiful World” (1997).
With the release of “Sister Sweetly,” Big Head Todd found some measure of commercial success. Widely considered the band’s best album, two singles from it, “Broken Hearted Savior” and “Bittersweet,” helped push sales of the record well past 500,000.
However, the band has also experienced failure in its lengthy career. In 1998, Big Head Todd’s record label, Warner, dropped the band after disappointing sales of “Live Monsters.”
In response to this slight, Big Head Todd took a break to regroup and rethink its career. It took four years; but, in 2002, the band returned with “Riviera,” an album released by its new record company, Big. In 2004, the band followed up “Riviera” with “Crimes of Passion.” Aside from recording the album, Big Head Todd also spent the summer on a 30-city tour with a number of different groups, including Steve Miller, John Fogerty and Blues Traveler.
Assembly of Dust opens for Big Head Todd. Reid Genauer, formerly of the Vermont-based band Strangefolk, leads the quintet, which has been favorably compared to Paul Simon and the Band. Formed in 2002, Assembly of Dust has two albums: its self-titled debut and “The Honest Hour,” released in 2004. Other members of the band include keyboardist and secondary songwriter Nate Wilson, drummer Andy Herrick, bassist John Leccese and guitarist Adam Terrell.
Two more concerts are scheduled for Feb. 25 and March 18, as part of the Bud Light concert series, although the performers have yet to be announced. Earlier this winter, The Samples played a successful sold-out show. The series is rapidly becoming a staple of Sugarloaf’s winter entertainment schedule.
Tickets for the concert, a 21-plus event, are $25. For tickets, call 1-800-THE LOAF or (207) 237-6939. Sugarloaf is offering ski-and-stay packages for the weekend, starting at $119 per person per night, that include lodging, lift tickets, adult Perfect Turn clinics and access to the Sports and Fitness Center.
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