The Mishawaka Amphitheatre will NOT be disappearing. The Mishawaka Amphitheatre was sold Wednesday, December 15, 2010, to Dani Grant. She is the owner of Chipper’s Lanes in Fort Collins. The amount the venue sold for has not been disclosed. Mishawaka, commonly called “The Mish,” was previously owned by Robin Jones before the venue was caught cultivating and selling marijuana.
This bust was controversial. Basically, it was a huge MMJ operation, and it was borderline legit. Maybe Robin's paperwork was out of order. The Feds and local cops, acting in a multi-jurisdictional task force, seized all his stash, plants and growing equipment about 15 months ago. Even though MMJ is legal in Colorado, cops don't want anyone to have it. Game Over. The cops achieved their goal of shutting him down. Several months ago, Robin was finally hit with charges stemming from this bust. That's when The Mish went up for sale.
For decades, this amphitheater has been a beloved music venue, attracting internationally known artists, from Joan Baez to the 10,000 Maniacs and Los Lobos. Bands perform indoors in cold weather, as was the case when I first went to The Mish in 1980 with
the Arabesque band. The outdoors stage sets against the dramatic backdrop of the Poudre Canyon. Jones owned the venue for almost 20 years after buying it back in 1991. He had been the manager for six years and bought the establishment to keep it from being torn down and turned into a parking lot. It was his passion for music that kept the venue running, and he wanted to sell the Mish to someone who would keep it a musical amphitheatre. “Music is my life,” he said in a past interview with the Collegian. Jones could not be reached for comment.
Mishawaka Amphitheatre venue has nearly 100 tapes on the Live Music Archive from live concerts. These bands include:
Rat Dog, String Cheese Incident, Derek Trucks Band, Drive-By Truckers, Disco Biscuits, Hot Buttered Rum, Umphrey's McGee, Leftover Salmon, and Yonder Mountain String Band.Grant started talking with Jones about potentially buying the Mish back in June. She said she has a love for the local music scene and wants to start having local bands play at the venue and open for headliners. Grant is also the owner of Spokes BUZZ, a local non-profit organization that encourages economic growth in Fort Collins by taking local bands across the country to open for headliners to generate an interest in the city.
She hopes to help other non-profit organizations raise money by hosting events at Mishawaka along with the concerts it is known for. “I love the city of Fort Collins and I think that Mishawaka can be the star on the Northern Colorado map,” Grant said.
Author