Alt Rockers Better Than Ezra to Headline 18th Annual P’ville Music Fest

Now that it’s April, local music fans, especially those who enjoy ‘90s rock and roll, can look forward to the 18^th annual Pleasantville Music Festival.

Festival organizers announced the lineup for the 2024 renewal of the event Sunday evening at Lucy’s Garage in Pleasantville revealing that the New Orleans-based alternative rock band Better Than Ezra will be headlining the day of music on the Main Stage.

The festival, sponsored by Northwell Health, features more than nine hours of music from 18 bands on three stages. It is scheduled for Saturday, July 13 at Pleasantville’s Parkway Field.

Better Than Ezra had a number one hit in 1995 with “Good,” which was on the album “Deluxe,” the first single released after they were finally picked up by Elecktra Records and signed to a deal after toiling for seven years. The single reached platinum by the end of that year.

They also scored hits with “Desperately Wanting” and “King of New Orleans” the following year.

Blues rockers The Record Company will precede Better Than Ezra on the Main Stage along with reggae artists The Wailers and the Brooklyn-based indie rocker Margaret Glaspy.

A band that goes by the acronym of N.E.D. (for No Evidence of Disease) is a group comprised of renowned gynecological oncologists, including Dr. Gizelka David-West, who works at Phelps and Northern Westchester hospitals.

Co-Executive Director Bruce Figler said the goal is always to bring the widest variety of music as possible. The central audience are people between the ages of 35 and 55, many of them with families, which is part of the reason for a bit of a concentration on ‘90s music.

“It’s a big tent and there are big corners of the tent and everyone has their own experience and their own personal tastes, and we know that one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor,” Figler said.

A full day of artists will be on the festival’s Party Stage, which typically features regional up-and-coming bands, and in the Chill Tent, which is generally for acoustic performances.

The Party Stage will see Talon, a Brooklyn all-female alternative rock band with a connection to Armonk; Mojo & the Mayhem, a blues and folk group that has Westchester roots; Dead Tooth, a punk rock band from Queens; and the Americana band Widely Grown, that traces its origins to Bergen County, N.J.

Headlining the Party Stage is The Collection, an alt-pop band from North Carolina.

There will be a bit of a different start in the Chill Tent this year with the opening slot at noon going to Kenny Green, who plays children’s music. Figler said the thought was that since so many families attend the festival, with as many as 1,000 children in the crowd some years, organizers should give a nod to them.

“We felt like we wanted to serve kids a little bit, too, to make sure they were included in the music part of it,” he said. “We have face painting, we have rides, and still the music is paramount to the festival – it’s a music festival, after all – so why not include them.”

Jill Sobule will be the Chill Tent headliner, known for her ‘90s hits “Supermodel,” which was from the movie “Clueless,” and “I Kissed a Girl.”

Other tent performers will see the brother/sister duo Plane Station from Peekskill; jazz and blues from the New Jersey-based The Robert Hill Band featuring vocals by Rae Simone; and singer-songwriter Jesse Terry from Wilton, Conn.

Still to be determined for each of the three stages are the festival’s Battle of the Bands winners, Figler said. Round 1 of the competition started on Sunday and the second round will be completed on May 5. The three winners will open up the Main Stage and Party Stage and follow Green in the Chill Tent.

Assisting Figler this year is new Co-executive Director Doug Panero, who helped announce this year’s lineup. A veteran of booking bands at smaller venues throughout Westchester, he expects to take over the role next year.

“We work very, very hard but the payoff on that day is priceless,” Panero said.

Tickets are on sale along with more information are on the festival’s website, www.pleasantvillemusicfestival.com, on ticketweb or during specific hours at Pleasantville Village Hall, located at 80 Wheeler Ave.

Tickets now through July 5 are $70 for adults and $50 for students (ages 12-21) and seniors (65 and up). Children under 12 are free. From July 6-12, prices rise by $5. Tickets at the door are $85 and $60, respectively.