Continued (page 3 of 5)
Main Stage Theater
Rebecca Riffel grew up in Sedona, but she left to teach English abroad and manage a spa in Portland. When she returned to the Verde Valley after 10 years, she was dismayed to find there wasn’t a venue where she could hang out with her friends, grab a cocktail…and feel comfortable. Thus the idea of Main Stage Theater was born. Rebecca, who manages the 21-and-over venue, co-owns Main Stage with Christopher Robin and Joshua Bartosh. Main Stage opened May 2013.
Show time:
Open Thursday through Sunday. The opening act comes on stage between 9 and 9:30 p.m. and the main act follows at 11 p.m.
What it’s going to cost you:
$5 per person on average
Full house:
184
The scene:
Check out frat boys in flip-flops clutching long-neck bottles; girls decked out in face paint; dreadlocks dancing alongside mullets. A gray-haired couple wearing Harley-Davidson T-shirts sitting at the bar. In a word: diverse.
The sound:
Everything from salsa and hip-hop, to country and folk, to rock and cover bands. Main Stage also hosts film screenings, karaoke, open-mic night, artist receptions and burlesque shows.
The digs:
Dance floor in the front of the stage surrounded by tall tables. Comfy leather couches near the bar. Flickering electric candles, trees lit with white lights and huge paintings by Sedona artist Jeremiah Sunfellow.
The libation:
Hey Pachuco! made with Dirty Tequila, muddled basil and muddled strawberries, all served in a Mason jar.
The nosh:
Food truck in the parking lot
The head honcho says:
“This isn’t just a bar,” says manager Rebecca Riffel. “We bring Verde Valley audiences the best in each genre. Cottonwood is making the Verde Valley a destination, and it’s cool to be part of that.”
The talent says:
“I’ve played some of the best rooms in the country, and Main Stage stands up to any of them,” says Brandon Decker, lead singer and guitarist of the band decker.
Random notes:
The venue includes a small art gallery that hosts artists’ receptions the first Friday of each month. This summer, look for a shuttle that will take people between Main Stage and West Sedona.
1 S. Main St. in Cottonwood; 928-202-3460; www.mainstagetheater.com
