Everclear, Soul Asylum Lead 2019 P’ville Music Festival Lineup
For the 15th consecutive year the Village of Pleasantville will pull off its improbable annual foray into the big-time music scene with the 2019 edition of the Pleasantville Music Festival.
This year’s event, set for Saturday, July 13 at Parkway Field, will see alternative rock bands Everclear and Soul Asylum lead the nine-hour lineup of music on three different stages.
The Portland, Ore.-based Everclear had late ‘90s and early 2000s hits with “Santa Monica,” Wonderful Now,” “Father of Mine” and “I Will Buy You a New Life.” Soul Asylum, which came out of Minneapolis in the early 1980s,” is best-known for their megahit “Runaway Train,” which earned them a Grammy Award for best rock song in 1994.
“This thing is too big for us to do and too great not to,” said Mayor Peter Scherer who attended the lineup announcement party at Lucy’s Lounge Sunday evening. “Like so many things in Pleasantvillem we compete in and win above our weight class.”
Other Main Stage acts will be Aimee Mann, who made her mark with the band ‘Til Tuesday in the 1980s and has gone on to have a successful solo career; Bailen, a New York City-based group consisting of twin bothers and a sister; and the White Plains band and local favorites Swahoogie.
There will be something for almost every musical taste throughout the day. The Chill Tent, featuring acoustic singer-songwriters, will see Dean Friedman, Matthew Sweet, The Bruce T. Carroll Band, singer-songwriter and violinist E’lissa Jones and alternative folk artist Alex Cano.
The Party Stage will feature mainly indie rock bands, including Micky James, the raggae-infused Tales of Joy, the soul-pop collective Melt, psychedelic-pop band Color Tongue and an all-female trio from Nashville called The New Respects.
“I’m trying to get as many people as happy as possible,” said festival Executive Director Bruce Figler following the lineup announcement. “I didn’t hear any boos in there.”
Many of the bands, particularly on the Chill Tent stage and the Party Stage, have local connections, he said, which is part of the allure. The first band on each of the three stages will feature the festival’s annual Battle of the Bands contest winners, which will be decided over the next two weekends.
Figler said putting together the lineup becomes more challenging every year because of growing competition domestically and abroad.
“The biggest challenge is we are competing with more and more festivals every year and now it’s not just the United States, every city in Europe has a music festival,” Figler said. “I would say a good 30 percent of the bands we went after this year are touring Europe at that time and it’s a little expensive to fly them back for one night.”
At least two other bands that Pleasantville had sought and had informal commitments from backed out when they had other offers come in, he said.
For the musicians who will perform at the Pleasantville Music Festival, it will be an unforgettable experience. Bruce T. Carroll, a folk-rocker whose band will perform in the Chill Tent, said he’s attended the festival and loves the vibe.
“It’s great. I’ve spectated at a couple of festivals, I love the set up,” Carroll said. “It’s a great day.”
Bill Lawrence, the bassist for Swahoogie, which will be the second act on the Main Stage, said to share the same stage with national acts is a thrill.
“This is such a dream opportunity just to be out with all the incredible musicians and be on the same stage with them,” Lawrence said. “It’s a dream come true.”
Tickets to the Pleasantville Music Festival are $50 for adults, $30 for seniors (65 and up) and students (12 to 21 years old) and free for children under 12 who are accompanied by an adult with a paid ticket. They can be purchased online at www.pleasantvillemusicfestival.com or by visiting the Pleasantville Recreation Center at 48 Marble Ave. outside Parkway Field from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday nights and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/