Summer Concert Brings National Acts to Northern Westchester
Folk-rock legends the Felice Brothers headline the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill on Saturday, August 6, with support from ethereal singer/songwriter Skullcrusher. The show is a production of River Towns Music Group (RTMG), a live event promotion and production company that uses live music to connect people while bolstering the local economies and independent venues of Westchester County, N.Y. They are branding their inaugural effort Summer of Indie Music.
The Felice Brothers have toured across the United States and Europe for over a decade, playing at festivals such as Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Newport Folk, and England’s End of the Road. They’re down-to-earth road warriors whose talent is matched only by their humility.
Real-life brothers Ian (guitar and lead vocals) and James Felice (multi-instrumentalist and vocals) hail from the Catskills, N.Y., where their early songs echoed off subway walls and kept company with travelers and vagrants. Their current lineup, with the addition of bassist and inaugural female Felice member Jesske Hume (Conor Oberst, Jade Bird) and drummer Will Lawrence (also a singer/songwriter) as their rhythm section, promises to be the best yet.
Helen Ballentine – aka Skullcrusher – has spent a lifetime understanding that she looks neither tough nor intense. With wispy blond hair and a delicate frame, people usually assume she’s sweet, polite, smart, maybe even meek. Ballentine laughs when she recounts being flattened by a soccer ball in fifth grade, or talks of family friends tickled by her band name, Skullcrusher. How could someone so slight and soft, they wonder, wield something so heavy and aggressive? Her stinging songwriting belies her delicate appearance.
Ballentine grew up in Tarrytown, N.Y. After graduating from high school in 2013, she moved to Los Angeles where she studied at USC and then dove headfirst into her musical career. Performing under the name Skullcrusher, Ballentine will spend much of the upcoming summer playing shows and festivals across the United States and United Kingdom.
“In booking this show, we wanted to pair a familiar favorite with an exciting newcomer – so we could give people what they want while introducing them to something new,” says RTMG’s Liz Goodyear. “To us, the Felice Brothers and Skullcrusher are a great combination. It’s at once unexpected and familiar. And both have New York ties.”
RTMG will also host a Battle of the Bands in Peekskill on June 19, with the winner serving as the opening act of the August 6 Paramount show. Peekskill, N.Y. is the chosen destination for RTMG’s summer music events because of its cool atmosphere and unwavering dedication to the arts.
Liz Goodyear and River Journal Publisher Alain Begun co-founded RTMG in spring 2022. Summer of Indie Music marks the launch of RTMG’S ambitious live music schedule, with plans to produce additional live music events in fall 2022 and spring 2023, all building to a new outdoor music festival in Westchester in summer 2023.
For Tickets and More Information: rivertownsmusicgroup.com
Tickets On-Sale Friday, May 20 at 10 a.m. (EDT)
Paramount Hudson Valley Theater
$23 General Admission
Doors Open at 7 p.m.
