Deer Tick at Brooklyn Bowl on NYE (more by Tracy Allison)

Clearwater Festival is returning to Croton Point Park from June 16-17 in Croton, NY. This year's festival includes Dawes, Deer Tick, Alejandro Escovedo, Punch Brothers, Bela Fleck, Arlo Guthrie, Martin Sexton, Ani Difranco and more. Tickets for the festival are on sale now. Full Clearwater lineup below...

Continue reading "Clearwater Festival returns to Croton Point Park in June"

Pete Seeger @ Clearwater Festival 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

Clearwater Festival, the annual benefit for the Hudson River environmental group of the same name, will be happening this year at Croton-on-Hudson's Croton Point Park on June 19th & 20th. Pete Seeger, the non-profit's founder, plays every year - joining him this year will be Steve Earle, Rhett Miller, Joan Osborne, Buckwheat Zydeco, Felice Bros and more. More of the initial lineup is below. Tickets to the fest are on sale (and currently almost half the door price). Pictures from last year's day one are HERE and day two are HERE.

A bit farther Upstate in Hunter, NY, the three-day Mountain Jam will be happening June 4th-6th. The lineup for that includes Gov't Mule, Levon Helm & Friends, Drive-By Truckers, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Avett Brothers, Dr. Dog, Les Claypool, Jay Farrar (of Son Volt), These United States, Justin Townes Earle (note dad, playing above) and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger Band (the same, except grandpa). The full current lineup is below, and tickets are on sale.

Later this summer (in July), Camp Bisco will be in Mariaville, NY.

Lineups so far for both fests are below...

Continue reading "Mountain Jam (6/4-6) the Clearwater Festival (6/19-20) have announced initial 2010 NY concert lineups & tickets "

photos by Chris La Putt

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

"CROTON-ON-HUDSON, NY - The Great Hudson River Revival, Clearwater's annual two-day music and environmental festival at Croton Point Park, came to a rousing close here on Sunday evening as a rain-drenched crowd of several thousand people cheered for headliner Arlo Guthrie and a number of onstage guests, including Taj Mahal and Pete Seeger.

Exact attendance figures are not available, but Festival Director Jon Dindas said that advance ticket sales surpassed last year's totals, and that the overall number of festivalgoers for 2009 peaked near seven thousand on Sunday-a remarkable accomplishment considering the rainy weather throughout the weekend.

"The true Clearwater spirit shined forth at this year's Revival, as both audience members and nearly eight hundred festival volunteers were able to withstand the challenges of the weather and yet still celebrate music, environmental education and the willingness to work for change and to make a difference in the world," said Dindas...

...The musical offerings on Sunday were filled with highlights. A succession of acts at the Circle of Song that included Rik Palieri, Work o' the Weavers and a Hudson River Sloop Singers Reunion drew a crowd of festival veterans while the Persuasions, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals and Cornmeal kept folks smiling. And then there was the inevitable full-stage hootenanny during Arlo Guthrie's festival closing set, which culminated in a rendition of "Let it Shine" with a backing band and chorus that featured Pete, Taj, Rainbow Stage performers Elvis Perkins in Dearland plus the aforementioned Jay and Molly, Tao and Mike and Ruthy.

Monday, Clearwater festival workers and volunteers are busy at Croton Point Park packing away equipment and mending the grounds. It is a Clearwater tradition to leave the park in better shape than it was before the Revival sets sail each year, and 2009 will be no different in this regard." [Clearwater]

Continue reading "2009 Clearwater Festival - day 2 in pics (Grace Potter, rain, Elvis Perkins, soy power, Taj Majal, Arlo Guthrie & more)"

photos by Chris La Putt

"Although the [Clearwater] festival was geared towards an older crowd, it did have a pretty stellar lineup. Artists worth noting [that played the first day] were the now 90 years old Pete Seeger (of course), the man who opened Woodstock 1969, one Richie Havens, Susan Tedeschi (wife of guitar prodigy Derek Trucks), Tao Seeger, Old Crow Medecine Show and one of my new favourite bands, Dr. Dog. I was at the festival to work, as Relix had a booth set up for the purpose of selling subscriptions. I did get to drop in on Seeger briefly, he played with the kids from room 12, an assortment of children no older then 9 years old. The man really sparks to life when he is on stage and is simply a musical institution. After meeting and greeting Richie Havens (he was signing autographs and taking pictures at a booth directly across from Relix) I was able to pop in on his short set and catch a powerful rendition of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower". Mr. Havens stuck closely to the original version but with the addition of a lead acoustic guitarist accompanying him. I also managed to drop by Old Crow Medecine Show's set and catch some of their highly upbeat bluegrass and country music. People were really diggin Old Crow, taking advantage of an excuse to hoe-dance and get down in the mud." [Back in 15 Minutes]

The Clearwater Festival took place on 6 outdoor stages & tents at Croton Point Park in Croton-on Hudson, NY over this past rainy weekend. Alejandro Escovedo, Jennie Arnau, and Allison Moorer were also among those who played on Saturday (6/20). More pictures from that day below...

Continue reading "The 2009 Clearwater Festival - day 1 in pics (Dr. Dog, rain, Pete Seeger, kids, Old Crow Medicine Show, mud & more)"