Respected country venue is in unusual place: NH (AP)

GILFORD, N.H. – R.J. Harding told his father he was nuts when he decided in 1996 to turn an 80-acre field next to the family's hotel into a concert venue by setting up a temporary stage and lawn chairs.

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He succeeded in bringing in names like Johnny Cash and Chubby Checker for that first summer, but the place alongside Lake Winnipesaukee struggled to survive. But Harding's dad stuck with it, and by 2002 the place was making a profit and drawing names like Bonnie Raitt, Sammy Hagar, Eminem, Hootie & The Blowfish and others.

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He succeeded in bringing in names like Johnny Cash and Chubby Checker for that first summer, but the place alongside Lake Winnipesaukee struggled to survive. But Harding's dad stuck with it, and by 2002 the place was making a profit and drawing names like Bonnie Raitt, Sammy Hagar, Eminem, Hootie & The Blowfish and others. "We just got clobbered, of course," Harding said of the early years. "We lost tons of money. But my father caught the fever," he said.

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Respected country venue is in unusual place: NH (AP)