Stone Mountain Arts Center celebrates 20 years of making music and meals
Irish band Altan on stage during soundcheck at The Stone Mountain Arts Center in Brownfield.(Photo by Anne Skidmore Photography)
Stone Mountain Arts Center owners Carol Noonan and Jeff Flagg on stage at their Brownfield music venue. (Photo by Anne Skidmore Photography)
Stone Mountain Arts Center opened in Brownfield on Aug. 1, 2006, transforming a renovated barn in the foothills of the White Mountains into a beloved listening room.
The independent, 185-seat venue, co-owned by singer-songwriter Carol Noonan and her husband, Jeff Flagg, pairs intimate concerts with homemade preshow dinners. The first artist to take the stage was Noonan and her band.
Twenty years later, Noonan is marking the milestone by returning to the stage with Duke Levine, Kevin Barry, Richard Gates and Sonny Barbato. Bluegrass act the Gibson Brothers will headline the anniversary celebration on Saturday.
In the two decades since it was created, Stone Mountain Arts Center has hosted hundreds of artists, from local musicians to internationally known acts including Joan Baez, Brandi Carlile, Judy Collins, Mavis Staples, Cowboy Junkies, the Neville Brothers and Lyle Lovett.
IF YOU BUILD IT
Noonan has been a singer-songwriter for decades, first with the folk rock band Knots and Crosses, then on her own. She was a touring musician for several years.
The idea for Stone Mountain Arts Center came to her in 2005 when she played a show at a grange hall in Sangerville. “It was like ‘Field of Dreams,’ all these cars came from the middle of nowhere and filled up the room,” said Noonan.
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She was equally struck by the meal that accompanied the show. “It was like this kind of communal gathering, to eat and listen to music,” she said. “This is what a concert should be, people in community and love.”
Noonan called Flagg immediately with the idea of opening a music venue. He was immediately on board, and the large barn he built for his commercial fishing net business suddenly had a new purpose.
The project required moving the entire timber-frame barn to a new location on the property before it could be renovated into a concert hall. On Oct. 18, 2005, a foundation was laid and the barn was moved by crane to its current location. Less than a year later, Stone Mountain Arts Center opened its doors.
Noonan said that although she and Flagg were naive about the restaurant part of the business, they forged ahead. “When you’re in it, you just figure out how to do to it,” she said.
Plus, the stakes were high. “If it had failed, we could have lost our home. Everything is so wrapped up in this for us both personally,” said Noonan.
Sarah Field puts out plates of food for Lady Smith Black Mambazo before their performance at Stone Mountain Arts Center on July 17, 2025. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Part of Stone Mountain’s enduring reputation lies in how it treats performers. Its green room includes a pool table, record player, extensive vinyl collection, shower and outdoor seating. Artists are served homemade meals and receive a personalized cake baked by longtime staff member Susie Whalen.
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Lovett’s a huge fan.
“Carol Noonan and her husband Jeff are two of the nicest people you’ll ever want to meet,” he said. “Carol is a wonderful performer herself and treats all of the acts that come to play at Stone Mountain Arts Center like family. They welcome us, they feed us wonderful food and always make us feel at home.”
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MAGIC MOMENTS
Some of Noonan’s favorite performers over 20 years include Brandi Carlile, Rickie Lee Jones, Joan Armatrading and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
Topping the list is Mavis Staples, who has played at Stone Mountain four times.
“She’s not just this spiritual, soulful person, she’s a part of a history that’s so important,” she said. “I just love her.”
In 2013, Noonan was invited to join Staples on stage to sing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” “It was my favorite moment in life besides marrying Jeff,” she said.
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She also fondly recalled an exchange with the late Nanci Griffith, who was recovering from hand surgery. Hoping to lift Griffith’s spirits as she delivered a bowl of red mashed potatoes to the green room, Noonan joked, “Nothing can’t be fixed with potatoes.” Griffith smiled and later onstage, played a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather,” dedicating it to Noonan and her potatoes.
Aimsel Ponti’s collection of tickets from Stone Mountain Arts Center. (Aimsel Ponti/Staff Writer)
NOTES FROM A SUPER FAN
I’ve lost track of how many shows I’ve seen at Stone Mountain Arts Center, but some of the most exquisite nights of my life have been spent in that room seeing Brandi Carlile, Paula Cole, Joan Armatrading, Indigo Girls, Alejandro Escovedo, Dar Williams, Patty Griffin and so many others.
Not only are there no bad seats in the venue, the no-phones policy ensures everyone stays truly present in the moment.
It’s about an hour and 15 minutes from my house. Driving there on a dirt road, the barn comes into view as you get closer, and it’s like Dorothy opening the door into the technicolor world of Munchkinland. I’m not particularly religious, but Stone Mountain Arts Center is my church.
IF YOU GO
20th Anniversary Show & Fundraiser with Carol Noonan and Gibson Brothers
8 p.m. Saturday. (Lobby open at 4:45 p.m., dinner seating starts at 6 p.m.) Stone Mountain Arts Center, 695 Dugway Road, Brownfield, $200. stonemountainartscenter.com.
For a complete list of upcoming shows, go to stonemountainartscenter.com.
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Aimsel Ponti is a music writer and content producer for the Portland Press Herald. She has been obsessed with – and inspired by – music since she listened to Monkees records borrowed from the town. More by Aimsel Ponti
