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Mumford & Sons Concert to Bring Crowds and After-Parties to Forest Hills

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | August 28, 2013 6:41am | Updated on August 28, 2013 1:03pm
 Pubs and residents are gearing up for Mumford & Sons concert at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium.
Mumford & Sons Coming to Forest Hills
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QUEENS — The British are coming...to Forest Hills.

Bars and restaurants are gearing up for a sold-out Mumford & Sons concert in Forest Hills on Wednesday night — the first at the historic West Side Tennis Club in decades — and it's expected to bring thousands of people to the neighborhood.

The concert, which will also feature Bear's Den and The Vaccines, will be held — rain or shine — at the 17,000-seat stadium found in the middle of a quiet residential area.

Most of the concerts at the stadium, which has hosted the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and the Rolling Stones, ended in the 1980s, after residents protested against them.

But the West Side Tennis Club, where the stadium is located, hopes to bring the events back to the neighborhood.

“It’s the first one, so I don’t want to judge before it happens,” said Jenny Yaddaw, 31, a music teacher, who lives a few blocks from the venue.

The club said that in order to avoid problems like noise and crowds, a new entrance on Burns Street was built that is further from residential buildings than the main entrance on Tennis Place.

The concert will end at 10 p.m., according to the club.

“It can be really good for the local businesses, but we’ll see how it affects parking and just the atmosphere of the neighborhood,” Yaddaw said.

There will also be “street closures and walking restrictions on the streets surrounding the stadium,” according to the 112th Precinct Community Council.

Local pubs are gearing up for Wednesday, preparing special menus and after-parties.

“We are expecting a big turnout and a lively party atmosphere," said Chris Giudice, one of the owners of Forest Hills Station House, a beer hall on 71st Avenue.

Giudice said the pub will be playing Mumford & Sons all day "to get people pumped up." The venue will also serve “English pub fare,” including fish and chips, to honor the British folk rock band.

Two other gastropubs in the area will host live music performances on Wednesday.

The Funky Godmothers will perform from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. during a post-concert party at The Flying Pig on Austin Street, said Declan Morrison, the owner. The watering hole will also host a pre-concert party.

At 10 p.m., Brian Gormley will play Irish music at Banter on Queens Boulevard. The pub will also serve $4 beer specials on some drafts, including Heineken Light and Lionshead lager, said Niamh Carney, a bartender at the pub.

Doors for Wednesday's gig will open at 5 p.m. and the concert will begin at 6:15 p.m.

Frank Gulluscio, district manager of Community Board 6, which covers Forest Hills and Rego Park, said his concerns include “street, traffic control, sanitation and security.” But he also said that he is “happy with organizers’ outreach to the people.”

For more Gigs of the Week, check out our regular column here.