BOLIVIA — After four-and-a-half years of land clearing and construction and three years of anticipation for the grand opening, Cumberland Woods has a tentative date for a late summer commencement. Private owners and admitted Deadheads Steve Shuttleworth and Peter Higgins spent millions putting together Brunswick County’s first outdoor concert venue and conserved forestry.
“We just want to hear some music,” Shuttleworth said, pointing to where the speakers would be installed on the stage, which overlooks cypress, pine trees and abuts nearby wetlands.
Cumberland Woods, named after Grateful Dead’s “Cumberland Blues,” will be a live concert venue with lawn-only seating. The venue is made up of an outdoor stage, a concession stand serving beer and wine, and bathrooms. Food will be provided by food trucks. The venue doesn’t provide actual seating so audience members will need to bring blankets or their own chairs. There are three parking lots, including an ADA accessible lot, for a total of about 380 spaces, but the property is also built to accommodate a pick-up and drop-off lane.
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The stage is 76 feet wide and 36 feet tall, including the sound wings, where the speakers and electrical equipment are. Behind a fence is a trailer, which hosts a green room for entertainers.
The two owners have also set aside outdoor space for the artists’ leisure and a loading zone behind the stage.
The venue is on 350 acres of greenspace, but only about 34 acres of the property has been developed by the business partners. Their plan is to preserve the remainder of it. Part of the reason, Higgins and Shuttleworth explained, was pushback they received from nearby residents, who complained about the development of the natural landscape, noise pollution and the disruption of wildlife. By ending shows at 11 p.m. and preserving a majority of the land, the two were able to secure county approval.
The pair noted the trees act as a sound barrier, separating the venue along Galloway Road, in Bolivia, located off of U.S. Highway 17.
Shuttleworth also hopes to make the remaining wooded area accessible as a walking trail or park, though those conversations are still in motion.
The two purchased the land in 2021 for close to a million dollars and at first anticipated their grand opening by spring 2023. However, the project has been pushed back four times due to permitting issues, and now the tentative opening is August or September. The two explained to Port City Daily they projected hosting between eight to 10 events in the fall.
“We get a little leery. Every time we’ve said that in the past, we’ve gotten pushed back,” Shuttleworth said. “Actually, this time last year, we thought we’d be open in March, April, this year. One thing after another and it just didn’t happen. We finally looked at each other and said, ‘All right, we’re not gonna stress about it. We get there when we get there.’”
The two had to apply for a special use permit after purchasing the land because outdoor live entertainment venues are not allowed by-right in commercial-low density zoning, which allows for restaurants, bars and similar commercial uses. They were granted the SUP in 2022 by the Brunswick County Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Higgins explained they have applied for 36 permits altogether, with a majority for lighting alone. Lighting is needed for the stage, the parking lots and along the perimeter of the lawn where the audience will be. There is also lighting for the concession stand, bathrooms, green room for the artists and well house.
Cumberland Woods still needs to be issued its certificate of occupancy to determine how many people can fit in the venue. However, the two didn’t have a preliminary estimate to provide at this time.
Neither owner has a background in the music business. Higgins used to own a pharmaceutical company before he sold it in 2021, and Shuttleworth was a utilities developer and partner at R&S Development Partners, based in Colorado and North Carolina. Higgins was the one to propose opening the venue the two have dreamed about for years.
“We have seen a lot of music together,” Higgins said of Shuttleworth. “We always kind-of joked around: ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have our own venue?’”
In anticipation of their upcoming opening, the two have been speaking to promoters and local bands about booking artists for shows but didn’t have any solidified by press. They hope to eventually bring in big-name musicians, playing music across all genres — from blues to jazz to rock.
Tickets will be handled through Etix, with Shuttleworth anticipating opening tickets to cost $20, but he said his range for prices in general are $50. However, the price really depends on the artists headlining the venue; Shuttleworth said booking the artists could cost the venue anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000 per musician.
Shuttleworth also said they weren’t interested in “branding” Cumberland Woods, meaning a big sponsor won’t accompany the name. When asked Tuesday what would make Cumberland Woods stand out from the other outdoor venues, Shuttleworth said: “Well, I mean number one is we’re not controlled by Live Nation.”
Live Nation is the nation’s largest concert promoter and manages both Greenfield Lake and Live Oak Bank Pavilion for the City of Wilmington. The company also utilizes “radius clauses” in their contracts, meaning if a touring artist with Live Nation performs at either one of the Wilmington venues, they will not be permitted to perform at other venues unassociated with Live Nation. However, the radius can differ between contracts, and it is also limited to a certain timeframe. For Wilmington’s venues, according to a source familiar with the matter, the radius is typically 100 miles and limited to 30 days before and after an event.
Shuttleworth emphasized Wednesday they had no interest in picking a fight with Live Nation but Cumberland Woods would offer a different vibe, given the forested surroundings. Higgins and Shuttleworth hope to bring more than just live music to the venue as well.
“We’ve reached out to some local community groups that have expressed interest in everything from farmers’ markets to wedding venues to outdoor movies,” Shuttleworth said.
However, those plans would come further down the road. For now, the two are simply aiming to host a grand opening in coming months. The “dry run” opening for Cumberland Woods will feature two local bands and give the business partners an opportunity to work out last-minute kinks before bringing in bigger artists.
“I said it ought to be easy,” Shuttleworth said, recounting when Higgins first proposed Cumberland Woods to him. “‘No problem. We get it done quick. Don’t worry, Pete, trust me.’”
“Four and a half years later,” Higgins said.
“But it is beautiful,” Shuttleworth replied.
“It is beautiful,” Higgins agreed.
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