The June 8 Sleepy Hollow Music Festival promises to be a full day of entertainment for music lovers of all ages.
Liz Goodyear, River Towns Music Group co-founder and organizer of the festival, guarantees “unparalleled talent on the stages, a variety of local, award-winning food and craft beer and unique kids’ activities and programming. There’ll be something for everyone.”
The music will be stellar with 11 artists presented throughout the day. Headliners on the mainstage include The Nightingale All-Stars (Blues Traveler’s John Popper with Jono Manson and special guests), Cold War Kids, Danielle Ponder, and The Verve Pipe. Local artists Clare Maloney & the Great Adventure and Anthony Giaccio and The Assortments will also be performing on the festival’s main stage.
Not only is Giaccio the Sleepy Hollow village administrator, he’s also an accomplished songwriter and musician. Although he has been writing songs most of his adult life, Giaccio has only recently begun recording and performing live. Anthony Giaccio and The Assortments have released two albums, “Out Run the Rain” and “Down this Highway.” Giaccio describes his songs as, “a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. “ Being the opening act for the first ever Sleepy Hollow Music Festival is like a dream come true, said Giaccio. “I have been playing music and writing songs since I was a teenager, and this is certainly the highlight of my musical career.”
Clare Maloney & the Great Adventure enjoyed a successful 60-date national tour in 2023 supporting the release of “Daybreaker.” Their breakout year included opening slots for Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, The Wailers and Bailen; pre-shows for Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Phil Lesh & Friends, and Aimee Mann.
Lead singer and band namesake Clare Maloney tells River Journal that she’s delighted to be a part of the first ever Sleepy Hollow Music Festival. “I was born in Sleepy Hollow at Phelps Hospital right up the river from the festival site and grew up in Tarrytown,” said Maloney. “I feel very connected to this area both personally and as an artist. My earliest fans and supporters are local folks who heard me sing at Transfiguration Church or know me through my days as the Venture crew chief at Hope Hose Fire Department in Tarrytown or heard me at my solo cabaret show at Tarrytown Music Hall in 2019.”
Maloney continued, “I started my band, Clare Maloney & the Great Adventure in Tarrytown in 2021 with the support of the local Westchester community who came to see our earliest incarnations under the marquee at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. In 2021 we sold out our very first NYC show at the Bitter End. It’s especially meaningful to come back home after a momentous and challenging year and share our joys and triumphs with our friends and fans.”
Playing on the main stage at this year’s inaugural Sleepy Hollow Music Festival feels incredibly special not just to me and the band, but to all our local fans too who have followed along on our journey and have been an integral part of the ‘great adventure’,” she added.
Music lovers and fans of the band are in for a treat. Maloney gives us a sneak peek. “The band’s set on June 8th will include songs from our debut album Daybreaker as well as a couple of new, yet to be released songs. We’re in the process of recording our next release, an EP called Reckoning which will be released this summer. There will be a few songs from that EP on our festival set list and a couple of surprises that I cannot reveal just yet but stay tuned!”
Along with all the headliners on the main stage, a second stage will highlight the talent of our local music scene including Rock the Hall winner, Divining Rod as well as the Barn Vultures, Letter to Elise, The Sweet Vermouths, and School of Rock Briarcliff Manor.
Tickets are on sale now for the Sleepy Hollow Music Festival.
