'Otis Mountain' fest to draw over 2,000

ELIZABETHTOWN — There is only one event that attracts over 2,000 people and 30 live acts to Elizabethtown every year, and it's coming up fast. Otis Mountain Get Down. The festival is back for its fourth year on Sept. 9-11, and with the venue almost booked to capacity, organizers expect it to be the biggest year yet. For the uninitiated, Otis Mountain is a music and arts festival hosted on an old ski hill in the heart of the Adirondacks. The venue, now simply called Otis Mountain, was once the Elizabethtown Ski Center, a public ski hill operation that ran from 1940-1959. In a 1940 editorial on the ski hill, reprinted in "Lost Ski Areas" by Jeremy Davis, a writer gushed about the beloved place: "It is refreshing that so many of both adults and younger sports fans are taking a real interest ... The Elizabethtown Ski Club merits the congratulations of the entire community. This reporter joins heartily in its recommendation." Otis Mountain was lost for nearly 16 years, according to "Lost Ski Areas," until Jeff Allott purchased the property and reopened it as a semi-private ski area and music venue. Over the years, the Otis Mountain festival has seen acts of all genres and from all levels of notoriety. This year, the lineup will feature artists from as close as Elizabethtown, to as far away as France. "Personally, I'm looking forward to Kepa," said Zach Allott, an organizer for the event and son of landowner Jeff Allott. "He's a super cool singer-songwriter from southern France." Kepa's twangy, steel-sliding string sound will join the many bluesy, soulful acoustic acts playing at Otis Mountain, including the Suitcase Junket, Whisky Shivers, Upstate Rubdown and City of the Sun to name a few. But this isn't your average, run-of-the-mill bluegrass fest: The lineup also features acts like hip hop/house DJ SnakeFoot, wild rock and rollers Ron Gallo, synthpop outfit How Sad, indie-punks Vundabar and Mosaic Foundation, a reggae group from the Finger Lakes. "Otis brings together lots of different people, because there are so many genres represented," said Allott. "[This year] we'll be pushing activities like hiking to round out weekend. There will also be more art." For $50 per ticket, this weekend experience is "mind-blowingly cheap," according to Elena Childers of Break Thru Radio. But tickets are selling out fast: As of Monday, just general admission tickets are left. "We are already close to our capacity of 2,500," said Allott. Those tickets can be found at otismountain.com. When asked where they hope the festival will be in five years, organizers said: "We hope to keep bringing people into the area to see the town." Next week: The Sun will speak with headliners Lewis Del Mar, the Columbia Records artists who have performed at Otis Mountain in years prior, and have since been signed by one of the biggest record labels in the country. The Otis Mountain Get Down will begin Friday, Sept. 9 and run until Sunday, Sept. 11. The festival will feature three stages and over 30 artists. For more information, visit otismountain.com.

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'Otis Mountain' fest to draw over 2,000

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