Concert Ad: Poughkeepsie Journal Dec 22 08

Rundgren will return to rock in Woodstock
By John W. Barry • Poughkeepsie Journal • December 22, 2008


A rock musician who helped build the mystical musical legacy surrounding the Town of Woodstock will return to his former community for a concert Tuesday.


Todd Rundgren for years ran Utopia Studios in Bearsville, in a building that sits across a driveway from the Bearsville Theater, where he will perform Tuesday night. Bearsville is a hamlet in the Town of Woodstock.

Rundgren tonight is scheduled to appear on "Late Night with David Letterman," which airs on CBS at 11:35 p.m.

Rundgren came to Woodstock through the efforts of Albert Grossman, the legendary Woodstock musical impresario and former manager for Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin. Rundgren was initially brought in as an engineer, but is known as much for his songwriting, which has found its way into the rock 'n' roll lexicon thanks to tunes such as "Hello, It's Me" and "I Saw the Light."

Rundgren is on tour in support of his latest CD release, "Arena."

To get a sense of the history with which Rundgren has been involved, consider Meat Loaf's classic album "Bat Out of Hell" was produced by Rundgren and recorded at Utopia Studios.

That building now houses WDST (100.1 FM) and Rundgren lives in Hawaii.

"It's hard to recognize now," he said of his old studio during a telephone interview with the Journal. "There are smaller rooms."

On returning to the region, Rundgren said, "It's not that odd, I don't think, for me. I don't have, for instance, some sort of lingering agenda about Bearsville. … When I left and finally sold my house, I did it without any regrets. I found that, even though I kept my studio there to come back and do projects in, it was just too much trouble, too much trouble to go back there."

He added, "I have to say that I've been back in the dead of winter - and I don't miss it."