An enthusiastic crowd singing along with Indigo Girls at The Bowl at the Pines at the Snow Pond Center of the Arts in Sidney on Aug. 18. Photo by Aimsel Ponti

The Bowl at the Pines amphitheater at the Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sidney closed out its season with its biggest show to date on Aug. 18.

The co-headlining bill of Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge drew 5,400 fans to the venue on the eastern shore of Messalonskee Lake (aka Snow Pond).

Director of development and events Christa Johnson was quick to share credit for a successful season with the venue’s partners Mass Concerts and Sweet People Productions.

New England Music Camp (open to children and adults) has been based at the Snow Pond Center for the Arts for 88 years, and the stage, built in the 1930s, has been used for camp-related performances for decades. Three years ago, the venue began hosting rock and pop concerts. A handful of concerts took place over the previous two summers. This year was the venue’s busiest, with five major acts, including The Beach Boys and Elle King.

“We started reinventing the bowl a couple of years ago, and it’s our local community in the Kennebec Valley who got behind it,” she said. Johnson watched the season-ending show from the bowl’s patio area. “To celebrate that night is a feeling I’ll never be able to describe.”

Melissa Etheride at The Bowl at the Pines at the Snow Pond Center for the Arts in Sidney on Aug. 18. Photo by Aimsel Ponti

The venue expects to book between eight and 12 concerts next summer.

To make the venue ready for large-scale shows, significant renovations were made over a three-year stretch. Power and rigging were added over the stage, ADA restrooms and two concession areas were installed, and a paved patio in front of the bowl were all part of the changes made.

Johnson said she sees a few ways to improve the experience for fans, including having at least one food truck available outside the gates for people waiting in line.

“At the end of the day, I think Snow Pond is special. You feel like it’s a close-knit show, even with 5,000 people, by the way our bowl is built,” said Johnson.

The bowl is landscaped with an incline that allows for sight lines regardless of where people are watching the show from.

A day after the Aug. 18 concert, Indigo Girls shared a backstage Snow Pond photo on Facebook with this caption: “Oh Maine! You are such a great community. We’ve never experienced a show like the one at Snow Pond Center for the Arts. The venue is in the midst of such a splendid area!”

Dave Gutter croons to the audience during Auburn’s New Year’s Eve celebration at Festival Plaza. Gutter won a Grammy last year and broke out the tuxedo he wore to accept his award, to the delight of Auburn New Years Eve revelers. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

SONGWRITING SCHOOL

Musician Dave Gutter is teaming up with Holy Donut owner Leigh Kellis to present a three-day songwriting workshop Sept. 13-15.

Kellis, who is also a songwriter, is hosting the workshop at her Scarborough home. She and the other students will leave the workshop with songs ready to record.

Gutter, of Rustic Overtones, Paranoid Social Club and Armies, said that he’s taught songwriting at Southern Maine Community College, University of Southern Maine, a number of elementary schools, and during private workshops.

Teaching is a natural extension in his repertoire. “I spent most of my life thinking about, talking about and making music. It’s truly a thing that I really love.”

Gutter finds catharsis in creating songs. “As the monetary part of music is devalued, I get more and more solace from the actual process of songwriting,” said Gutter.

One of Gutter’s goals as a songwriting instructor is to instill in his students how enjoyable the process can be. “I think for a lot of people, songwriting can be daunting and intimidating, and sometimes discouraging.”

Two songs co-written by Gutter are part of the curriculum at prestigious schools.

“Letter to a President,” from the 2007 Rustic Overtones album “Light at the End,” is taught at a class about protest music at Harvard University. The song “Stompin’ Ground,” which Gutter co-wrote for Aaron Neville, won a Grammy in the best American roots performance category. The song is part of the curriculum at the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

Interested musicians can learn more about the workshop by sending an email to songwritingmaine@gmail.com.

Musician Ross Gallagher. Photo courtesy of the artist

DYNAMIC DUO

Ross Gallagher and Joe Henry are both world-class musicians who happen to call Maine home.

And you can see them both at once, during a show at Space in Portland on Friday.

Bassist and composer Gallagher is celebrating the release of his latest record, the mesmerizing collection of instrumentals called “Neon Night.”

Gallagher has worked with Henry, as well as Marc Ribot, Bill McHenry and Hurray for the Riff Raff, among others. He’s also toured extensively with singer Paula Cole, playing stand-up bass.

Henry, a singer-songwriter, has released 15 albums. His songwriting credits include tunes for Roseanne Cash, Bonnie Raitt and his sister-in-law, Madonna. Henry also has won three producer Grammys for albums by Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Solomon Burke and Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Henry will kick off the night with his own set, then will join Gallagher for his. The musicians will be accompanied by six other players, including a string trio.

Tickets to see Ross Gallagher and Joe Henry are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Find them at space538.org.