Arts & Entertainment
Local Bands Take the Stage at Pleasantville Music Festival
Annual music festival features major headlining acts while showcasing the eclectic sounds of local musicians.
The Pleasantville Music Festival has firmly established its toehold in the Westchester arts scene--Saturday's 6th annual event, held at Parkway Field, had its biggest turnout ever.
Since its inception, the all-day outdoor concert has gone from a local music festival to include ever more impressive national touring acts to headline the event, while continuing the tradition of showcasing local talent.
With big names including Jakob Dylan, Rusted Root, and The Bacon Brothers--featuring award-winning actor Kevin Bacon--it was strangely empty at the outset of the festival, with spectators perhaps hesitating at the sight of storm clouds lurking above.
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But when the sun broke through, the fans poured in.Â
Kicking off the event on the main stage was Ten Feet Deep, a band composed of Fox Lane graduates, recently reunited after completing college. With a new album under their belt, the band's rock format has been described as "Beatles mixed with Weezer," although the wide catalog of songs they performed showed they were willing to expand; they covered "Thriller" by Michael Jackson.
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"It's about getting in front of new audiences," Alexander Craig, lead singer and guitarist for Ten Feet Deep, told Patch before the show.
"Pleasantville Music Festival is a great opportunity for us and other bands at our level because we get to share the bill with big names that labels would typically prevent us from getting on with."
The main stage was hosted by Jimmy Fink of the Peak 107.1 FM, who introduced Peter Scherer, mayor of Pleasantville, to the stage after Ten Feet Deep finished their set.
"There are lots of good reasons to come to Pleasantville, but on this day every year, Pleasantville is the center of the universe," said Scherer to the emerging crowd. "You are here in the best little village in the United States."
Across the field at the Village Stage, the bluegrass styling of the Sleepy Hollow String Band could be heard. The small crowd that convened at the early afternoon stage gave their full attention to the band, snapping along and bobbing their heads to the melodies.
"I think they're singing from the heart and I loved every sound I heard," said Frances Keefe of Scarsdale.
The festival also included food vendors and a Fun Area with games and rides for the kids. Tucked in the far end corner of the field was the Beer and Wine Garden, stocked with offerings from local brewer Captain Lawrence and Prospero Winery.
Noberto Goldberg of Chappaqua performed two sets of improvisational jazz behind the drum kit with his group of musicians. Goldberg grew up listening to all kinds of drummers but fell in love with the freedom that jazz provides to the percussionist, he told Patch.
"It's great that the festival recognizes that there's local talent and give them a chance to be heard," said Goldberg. "A lot of people in the community really have no idea there's a lot of skilled and talented musicians living around them, resources for private lessons, concerts, or school performances."
As Goldberg took a break before starting his second set, local favorites Evan Watson & The Horsemen took the Main Stage. This was a huge achievement for the Tarrytown-based band, as they had previously played the festival at the Garden Stage but had climbed the ranks to have the honor of showcasing to the ocean of people in beach chairs and blankets that had now convened at the main field.
The band played tracks off their album, "A Town Called Blue" which showed Watson's incredibly rich vocal ability. A mixture of rock and blues, The Horsemen definitely draw influences from the classics such as Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers while being compared to such recent acts as John Mayer and Dave Matthews.
Throughout the day, the sound of applause--and the number of album sales--indicated that while the audience was excited to experience the national touring acts, there was a huge appreciation for the Westchester music scene.
