Stage gets makeover

Former Byrds bassist Chris Hillman will take the stage at the Anderson River Park on June 10 not only to kick off Anderson's summer music series, but he will also be the first to play in Anderson's rebuilt amphitheater.

At the concert in June, Hillman would play some of the Byrds classics as well as a great deal of the music that has made him such a Country music heavyweight, said Anderson Director of Parks and Recreation Ken Hartman.

The new stage Hillman will play on at the river park is currently under construction. Hartman said the concrete for the tiered seating, new stage and dance floor will all be newly minted within weeks. Funds donated from McConnell Foundation, $150,000, as well as $26,000 from the Shasta Regional Community Foundation were donated to begin renovation of the amphitheater.

Not just laying concrete for Mosquito Serenade musicians, Hartman said the Gaia Amphitheatre facelift would make it an attraction for weddings, reunions and parties.

The size of the dance floor will triple and the stage's height will be waist high rather than knee high. The rebuild adds many other improvements, including wheelchair access to the stage.

"What a great way to break in the new stage," Anderson Director of Parks and Recreation Ken Hartman said of Chris Hillman. "Pretty much anything you hear on a country music station today is based on the music from the bands (that) this guy formed."

Hillman made his mark with the Byrds, who were inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. That group produced a string of popular singles in the 1960s, including "Turn! Turn! Turn!," "Mr. Tambourine Man," and "So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star."

With the Byrds, which eventually took a turn toward country music, Hillman shared the stage with David Crosby, Gram Parsons, Woody Guthrie and Merle Haggard, among others, according to Hillman's Web site, www.chrishillman.com.

Hillman later formed The Flying Burrito Brothers, played with Steven Stills in Manassas and then formed the Desert Rose Band in the 1980s. "The Burrito's created the environment for 'Outlaw Country' and for much of the success experienced by artists such as The Eagles, Poco, and The Nitty Gritty Dirt band," according to the Web site.

For samples of some of the music that Hillman has created through the years, go online to his Web site at www.chrishillman.com.