Thousands Flock to Pleasantville Music Festival

A day of music, sun, food and a chance to be with friends and neighbors transformed Parkway Field into a sea of people Saturday afternoon for the seventh annual Pleasantville Music Festival.

Sun drenched music lovers lobbed beach balls and tossed Frisbees while taking in 20 different bands on three stages, headlined by Marc Cohn on the Main Stage shortly before sunset. Local, regional and national acts representing a variety of genres performed continuously throughout the day. Almost everywhere on the grounds was the mouthwatering aroma of barbecue or kittle corn, just a couple of the treats available.

The early summer event, which has become Pleasantville’s most anticipated day of the year, benefitted from nearly perfect weather while organizers placed greater emphasis on social media to help get the word out about the festival. By mid afternoon, attendance had easily eclipsed last year’s turnout, which had been pegged at about 6,000.

“Each year it’s been successful,” said Co-executive Director Sol Skolnick. “People walk away feeling good about it, talking about it and this year we have great music, a lot of visibility and good weather. I guess that all made it happen at a higher level.”

Other Main Stage acts included renown blues guitarist Sonny Landreth, psychedelic and alternative folk rockers Nicole Atkins & The Black Sea, California-based rock band Augustanta and the English band Scars on 45.

But there was plenty of appealing talent to be found elsewhere. Pleasantville’s own Geoff Hartwell rocked the Beer and Wine Garden Stage for two sets as did Patti Rothberg and The Reinjah Band. The Village Stage, located near the center of the food and vendor area, also treated festival goers to continuous music by nine different bands from shortly after the doors opened at noon until Cohn was ready to begin his performance.

Playing in Pleasantville for the first was Nectar, now a Queens-based band. Its lead singer, Nathalie Ledu, who formed Nectar with her brother, Jean-Paul, when they were still in Rockland County, said the festival was a great way to network with other musicians and interact with followers of their band and other groups.

“It’s fantastic. There’s tons of people, great food, great music. It’s a really good festival,” she said.

Landreth, also playing the Pleasantville Music Festival for the first time, was impressed with the crowd and his fellow performers throughout the day.

“I love the enthusiasm,” said Landreth, who befriended Hartwell a few summers ago at the National Guitar Workshop where both teach. “It rubs off on me. It’s a great thing.”

“To be able to play at the festival and be able to play with (Landreth) is amazing. It’s the best, you know what I mean?” said Hartwell, who returned to his hometown after playing at the first festival in 2005 and joined Landreth on the Main Stage. “To me, he’s 10 feet tall.”

While the performers worked their magic to keep the crowd entertained, it was the massive turnout that was the talk of the event. During the peak portion of the day, blankets, beach chairs and umbrellas practically covered Parkway Field. Roughly one-third of the crowd came from Pleasantville, Skolnick said, but many others arrived from all over the tri-state area, some to hear a favorite band, others to spend a glorious summer’s day outside.

Susanne Markgren of Mahopac took in the festival for the second time and brought along her friend from Wisconsin, Lisa Frane.

“When it’s nice weather it’s great to come here with the kids,” Markgren said. “There’s so much to do with the kids and the food is wonderful.”

Traci Sandler came from Danbury to see Augustana and If But When, one of the early Main Stage acts. She hadn’t been to the festival since its first year but rediscovered it in time to enjoy this year’s renewal.

“I kind of forgot it was around but then I saw it in the paper and posted on Facebook,” Sandler said.

Meanwhile, Brian Bourque of Valhalla said he came for the first time last year and looked forward to returning.

“I just love live music,” he said. “It’s a chance to see some local talent as well as several bigger names.”

Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer said the village was thrilled at the attendance, which at 3 p.m. was at least 30 percent greater than last year. He said partnering with The Peak 107.1-FM and increasing the visibility of the event since its inception has made the festival’s popularity soar. Also, many of the bands have loyal followings, which helps attendance.

Scherer said even though Pleasantville has been blessed with outstanding weather over the years, he hopes this year’s turnout will help the village put away a sizeable chunk for a rainy day fund for the year it gets washed out. While costs vary, he said the village spends up to $100,000 for each festival.

“As long as we can make this event the great, great event that it is, it’s a great opportunity to showcase Pleasantville and buffer our risk against the year it rains out,” he said.

Skolnick and Scherer also paid tribute to the local volunteers who make the festival a success each year.

“This is a community-based event. Most of the work is done by about 150 volunteers in conjunction with the village and professionals,” Skolnick said. “That feeling permeates the festival and people enjoy that.”