Nashville Outdoor Music Festival Coming to Peekskill May 20
By Anna Young
Nashville is coming to the Peekskill for the first ever Nashskill Fest, a seven-hour outdoor music festival celebrating the best of country and bluegrass music on Saturday, May 20.
Just steps away from the Peekskill train station, the free music event, which begins at 3 p.m., will feature five-time Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale and Songwriter Hall of Famer Chip Taylor, best known for hits such as “Wild Thing” and “Angel in the Morning.”
“The idea is that I want Peekskill to be known like Nashville for its music and art scene and it really does have world class culture to offer,” said Joni Blondell, event producer and vocalist. “I want to bring that to the forefront for everybody to enjoy.”
Blondell added that after moving to New York from Kentucky 10 years ago, an event like this reminds her of home making her feel just a little less homesick.
“This is an opportunity to bring a little of the Kentucky front porch bluegrass and country music heritage I grew up with to Peekskill. I’m very excited about the talent we’ll have appearing,” Blondell said.
Also scheduled to perform are Ray Wilson, Brooklyn Bluegrass Collective, Hot Rod Pace, Spurs USA, Cosmic American Derelicts, The Joni Blondell Band, and Tony Garnier, bass player for Bob Dylan.
The Nashskill Fest will also feature Bronx native fiddler Kenny Kosek.
Vendors will include Buns and Bourbon, Taco Dive Bar, Gleason’s, Birdsall House, Peekskill Brewery and Captain Lawrence, and Dylan’s Wine Cellar. The fest will also include an authentic Louisiana Crawfish Boil from Craig Borges New Orleans Seafood Co.
The country fest will have a mechanical bull on site. Bull rides and a percentage of food and beverages sales will support Westchester Habitat for Humanity.
“It’s very exciting to be sharing my roots with those who live near my adopted home in New York,” Blondell said.
Nashskill Fest will be held on May 20 from 3 p.m. to midnight near the Riverfront Green in Peekskill. For more details, visit www.nashkill.com.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/