After a pause in one of the region’s more memorable traditions, a new version of the Hudson River Music Festival that the late folk singer Pete Seeger and his wife filmmaker Toshi helped found and run for nearly 50 years is launching at the same location.
The beat literally goes on as the Hudson River Music Festival, created by co-founders and others who worked on the Great Hudson River Revival, debuts this Saturday, June 14 from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.
More than 40 musicians, including numerous headliners, will perform at the festival at Croton Point Park — about a 45-minute train ride to Croton-on-Hudson and an hour’s drive away.
Hudson River Music Festival builds on rich past
Mitzi Elkes, Hal Cohen, and Roy Volpe co-founded RiverFest FPS (For Pete’s Sake) to launch a new incarnation of this famous festival.
“We’re reinventing and rejuvenating the spirit of past festivals and reinventing it as the Hudson River Music Festival,” said Elkes, president of Riverfest FPS. “We’re keeping a lot of the old, bringing in the new, and looking to the future.”
She said the festival is meant to continue the spirit of the festival that Pete and Toshi Seeger created as a celebration of music and the environment.
The founders partnered with Peter Shapiro, founder of Dayglo Presents, who said they are doing their “best to do something new and fresh, while also respecting the roots of how this new festival came to be.”
The one-day music marathon kicks off with Tom Chapin whose performance will include some songs by Pete Seeger, who created an oeuvre that includes classics such as “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”, “If I Had a Hammer,” and “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
Musical acts include Grahame Lesh & Friends, featuring Rick Mitarotonda (Goose); Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company, Allman Brothers Band); Rob Barraco (Phil Lesh Quintet); and Jennifer Hartswick (Trey Anastasio Band).
Performers also include Lucius featuring Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith (Dawes); Madison Cunningham; Preservation Hall Jazz Band; Steve Earle & Friends; Jorma Kaukonen (Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane), Tom Chapin and the Chapin Sisters, and David Amram.
“I love that it’s outdoors and there’s great music and it’s a fun day,” said Alice Walker, an Upper West Side resident who attended the Great Hudson River Revival. “I loved listening to music outside. I saw Pete Seeger there and Arlo Guthrie. I loved the way he played.”
A tradition of music and environmental awareness
Seeger and Toshi helped found the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a nonprofit to protect the Hudson River and nearby wetlands and waterways through advocacy and education.
They organized festivals up and down the Hudson and in 1978 helped co-found the Great Hudson Revival, anchored by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater at Croton Point Park.
Arlo Guthrie, Joan Osborne, the Barr brothers, Levon Helm and many others played the festival.
“It’s something the community, up and down the river, even interstate, have flocked to enjoy,” Elkes said. “There was this wonderful musical and environmental celebration. They attracted incredible musicians over the years.”
Toshi Seeger died in 2013 at age 91, and Pete Seeger died in 2014 at age 94. “He was the mascot of the festival,” Elkes said. “I grew up loving Pete Seeger and his following.”
The last outdoor Great Hudson River Revival was held in 2019 before COVID-19. Instead of focusing on the festival, Clearwater embraced the sloop and its environmental mission.
“We’ve been working on this since 2022,” Elkes said. “We worked with Clearwater in the beginning. Then we branched out into our own nonprofit.”
Elkes said she, Hal Cohen, and Roy Volpe, all deeply involved in the former festival, see this as continuing the celebration. “The three of us had this vision for years to bring back the festival,” Elkes said.
The festival will include more than Seeger’s spirit and songs: An interview with Pete Seeger will be played, while his songs remain an integral part of the festival’s music and message. “
There will be yoga, life-sized puppets, family activities, numerous vendors and boats courtesy of Bronx-based nonprofit Rocking the Boat. The festival will also include Pete & Toshi’s Grove with information about them, a smaller performance space known as the Circle of Song, and The Rock and Roll Playhouse for children.
“The music caters to all ages,” Elkes said. “There are many events on the other side of the park for kids and adults as well.”
They are doing a one-day festival, although it could be longer in the future. But Elkes sees Croton Point Park as a perfect setting for a music and environment festival, a kind of Woodstock by the water.
“It’s really so accessible. It’s a beautiful park, great music, great activities,” Elkes said. “There’s going to be great food. When you walk in, it’s magical. You hear the music.”
She said, in addition to entertainment, environmental education is part of the mission and the meaning of the event.
“You hear that music is the universal language. The environment is a universal language, too. I think it’s the marrying of the two,” Elkes said. “You can see the river from there. It’s just breathtaking. It’s a feel-good kind of scene.”
Although it’s outdoors, Elkes said even rain can’t put a damper on the festival. “It’s rain or shine with a covered stage,” Elkes said.
Any money they bring in this year, Elkes said, would likely go to defray costs.
“Our main goal is to put on a great festival for the community,” she said. “Our goal once we’re profitable would be to not only support organizations with outreach, but also donate and share profits.”
How to get there
Train: Take Metro-North’s Hudson Line or Amtrak to the Croton-on-Hudson train station. Take the shuttle to the park.
Car: Drive to and park at the Croton-Harmon Train Station, Veterans Plaza, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
Walk and Bike: From the Croton-on-Hudson station, it’s about a 1.25-mile walk or bike ride to the festival.
