Open to the public for the first time, the Hudson Valley Meadowlark Festival is set to take place from Sept. 8-10 at Stone Ridge Orchard & Farmers Market in Stone Ridge, NY, featuring some of the most storied names in Americana, indie rock, and experimental music.
Meadowlark Festival is a curated three-day experience celebrating American roots and independent music. This year the festival is open to the public, last year it was an invite-open event, featuring Mississippi bluesman RL Boyce and NYC singer/songwriter Jeffrey Lewis, among others. The venue is the picturesque Stone Ridge Orchard, operating for the past 200 years as a productive, diversified farm, raising a wide variety of sustainably-grown gourmet fruits and vegetables on 115 scenic rolling acres. The performance site will be under the shade of the farm’s iconic nearly 400-year-old oak tree, the jewel of Stone Ridge, next to a stand of some of the oldest apple trees in the region.
Meadowlark producer Daniel Leslie, who hails from the Hudson Valley region, graduated from Vassar College, and now resides in Brooklyn, describes its inspiration, “This grew out of a vision shared with some of my musician friends about blending traditional and experimental music in a special, secluded setting,” he said. “The Hudson Valley is such an epicenter of music culture, it’s the perfect setting for this type of experience we wanted to create that blends traditional music with an edgier counterculture vibe.” Besides music, the festival will feature many food trucks and vendors, from fresh produce from farmers’ markets to homemade cider donuts.
Saturday, Sept. 8, features New York singer-songwriter, harpist, and guitarist Lizzie No, one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary Americana music. Her 2017 debut album Hard Won was hailed as “simultaneously understated and fervent” by Billboard Magazine, and her 2019 album Vanity was a hit at college radio stations across the country, cracking the NACC Top Adds Chart. She is currently working on her third studio album, and this summer she joins the Basic Folk podcast team as guest cohost. Also featured is Brooklyn-based indie pop artist beccs, hailed as one of NYLON Magazine’s “favorite cool girls,” and Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter Cloudbelly, aka Corey Laitman. Accompanied by a rotating cast of inspired instrumentalists and friends, Laitmain makes music that includes poetic lyricism, stirring vocals, and a disarming stage presence.
Saturday, Sept. 9 features a wide array of artists, including headliners Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The band is led by Alec Ounsworth, described by Pitchfork as, “musically adventurous… melodic, exuberant indie rock…” After nearly two decades Ounsworth remains one of music’s most distinctive voices. Jolie Holland has knotted together a century of American song, from jazz to blues, to soul, to rock and roll, into an indescribable sound. Taking inspiration from the likes of Mavis Staples or Al Green, her voice is immediately booming and gritty.
Continuing, Saturday also includes Chris Staples, who has garnered over a million streams on Spotify, creating indie rock music for the past 25 years. Ending the day is Hudson Valley’s own Babehoven. Maya Bon, the singer-songwriter behind the band, writes about the confusing and jarring aspects of life with emotional vulnerability, collaborating with producer Ryan Albert.
The final day of the festival on Sunday features Grammy-nominated quartet Devotchka, described by the NY Times as “striking… attention-grabbing.” Formed in Denver by multi-instrumentalists Nick Urata (vocals, guitar, trumpet), Tom Hagerman (violin, accordion), Jeanie Schroder (sousaphone, bass), and percussionist Shawn King, Devotchka infuses modern indie music with a global flavor. Also featured is Chris Smither, described by the Associated Press as one of the absolute best singer-songwriters in the world, filling concert venue after concert venue with eager fans waiting to hear his electrifying folk and blues tunes.
Other performers on the final day include genre-defying New Orleans hard rockers Quintron & Miss Pussycat, creating 14 full-length records over the past 15 years that have the psychedelic soul of traditional New Orleans party music. Finally, Boston-based blues guitarist Ryan Lee Crosby performs, described by Aquarium Drunkard as “sometimes light and free-flowing, sometimes intense and heavy.” Other acts are to be announced.
Tickets for the Meadowlark Festival from Sept. 8-10 are on sale now, featuring a variety of General Admission and VIP ticketing options.
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