Concerts' success at Smith Mountain Lake may lead to second act

Country music star Blake Shelton picked up his guitar and grinned before thousands in a field near Smith Mountain Lake.

Under the late August stars, the 32-year-old singer with four No. 1 hits told the crowd there is something right about playing “in a pasture down by a lake.” He also spoke of how advisers in Nashville said they didn’t think he should do the show because the rural setting wasn’t “country enough.”

“What are they talking about?” laughed Shelton as he ripped into a fast-paced lyric to loud cheers.

The crowd’s euphoria in the open space of Bedford County resembled a CMT music video.

Couple Darren Snyder and Holly Sweet are pushing for the scene to become a common occurrence in Moneta.

The natives of the lake area, who tapped into the Nashville music scene as musicians, are still planning the Sweetwater Amphitheater — a 7,000-seat outdoor venue on Hendricks Store Road near Virginia 122.

They organized the concert series featuring Shelton and a number of other performers, including Styx and Sara Evans, as sort of a tune-up for what the amphitheater could feature.

There were a total of seven shows in August that drew fans by the thousands, most of whom brought their own chairs. Grand Funk Railroad, Diamond Rio and Christian performer tobyMac were among the artists.

A week removed from the last show, Sweet said Thursday morning that workers were still cleaning up the site. Everything went well and she said organizers were still catching their breath.

“It was definitely a great trial run into the market and whether people would support the outdoor shows,” said Sweet. “Everything ran smoothly. For six of the shows, the weather was great.”

The weather was rainy for the Aug. 28 tobyMac show.

Local law officials stepped up to organize parking and traffic, which Sweet said flowed well without any disturbances.

Sweet said she was humbled and overwhelmed by the family and friends who came out to support the more “labor intensive” effort than they plan to have at the 56-acre site where the amphitheater is proposed.

She didn’t give an opening date for the future venue but said the shows were a good indication of the caliber of performances it plans to attract.

“A lot of people didn’t know what to expect,” said Sweet. “I think everybody who walked out felt like they got a great show for the ticket price.”

The performers themselves seemed to soak up the area as well, she said, as some went boating on the lake and played golf at nearby resorts. For most, it was their first time performing near the lake.

When Sweet and Snyder went through a rezoning process for 40 acres of their planned site a year ago, Bedford County officials passed it without any significant public opposition.

The couple promised to have a tight monitoring of noise, lighting and alcohol distribution. One county supervisor called it a “jewel” of what the county could offer in terms of entertainment. Another stated he would like to keep the tax benefits on the Bedford side of the lake.

As for Sweet and Snyder, they have said all along they just want to help blossom a music scene that could entertain lake tourists while at the same time giving opportunities for locals who want to forge a start.