Sun Shines Brightly for Performers, Crowd at Pleasantville Music Festival

It tuned out to be a banner day for music lovers at the 18^th annual Pleasantville Music Festival on Saturday.

Crowds streamed to Parkway Field throughout the afternoon from across the metropolitan area to take in 18 bands topped by Better Than Ezra, The Record Company and The Wailers for more than nine hours of continuous music.

Although quite warm, the morning rain cleared and organizers were able to avoid a repeat of last year’s rain-induced delays just a day before the next heatwave was predicted to set in.

“It’s a good day and the weather gods smiled upon us, which honestly, we’ve had various different conditions, but 18 years running we’ve somehow pulled it off and we pulled it off again,” said Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer.

While advance ticket sales had appeared to be sluggish in the run-up to the event, the crowds swelled by the time The Wailers, the group formed by the legendary Bob Marley more than 50 years ago, took the Main Stage shortly before 5 p.m.

There was also an excellent turnout and enthusiasm for those who performed on the Party Stage and Chill Tent Stage, including many local or regional acts, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the musicians who entertained the crowds.

“It was great,” said Robert Hill, leader of the blues group the Robert Hill Band. “Everybody was very helpful. The crowd was great. You couldn’t ask for a better day.”

Over the year, the festival has routinely attracted music fans from throughout Westchester, either to see a favorite band of theirs who might be in the lineup or just to be part of a special local event. But others have made the trip from around the tri-state area, and this year was no different.

Craig Kneller, of Bergen County, N.J., came to the festival for the first time along with his seven-year-old son Noah. Kneller, who was most interested in seeing The Wailers, said it seemed like a fun event to take in so he made the trip.

“It’s a hot day, but the music’s nice, there’s a lot of good food here and it’s pretty enjoyable,” he said. “We’re enjoying it.”

It also didn’t hurt that there were activities for children on the other side of the field behind the main bleachers to help his son feel right at home.

Another first-time festival visitor was Jennifer Angelon from Holbrook, Suffolk County, who made the roughly two-hour drive. She decided to make the trip to support Dr. Gizelka David-West, who practices at Northern Westchester and Phelps hospitals, and was performing as lead singer for the band N.E.D. The band is comprised of five gynecologic oncologists.

Angelon credited David-West for having twice saved her life within the past two years, after having been diagnosed with uterine cancer followed by cancer that was found in her abdominal muscles about a year later. She continues to visit David-West for follow-up checkups every three months.

“She saved my life. She’s worth it,” Angelon said.

After coming off the stage, David-West said it was an exciting experience to play the Main Stage, and how many of her patients also took time to attend.

“It was so hot but it was so much fun,” she said. “Seeing the crowd, seeing the patients out there, it was really special. We had a lot of energy from the crowd, a lot of energy ourselves.”

Nick Chiapparino, who leads the Peekskill-based acoustic group Plane Station with his sister Brianna, also loved the experience on the Chill Tent Stage before leaving to make another engagement Saturday night in Poughkeepsie.

The siblings have honed their acoustic sound after trying all sorts of genres over the years with various musicians.

“This is stuff me and Bri have always loved,” Chiapparino said. “I just think it leaves room for our voice, the melody, to kind of be like center stage, which is what we want to do.”

Despite a nerve-wracking week trying to pull the festival together and keeping an eye on the weather forecast, Scherer was pleased with how the event turned out.

“If this is what I’m nerve-wracked about, in comparison to the challenges people face in life, I guess I’m doing alright,” Scherer said. “But it’s a tough gig, I’ll tell you that.”