On Saturday, September 12, five towns along the Hudson are running one shared day of live music. Almost all of it is free. The last thing on the schedule is a band playing on a boat in the middle of the river at sunset. That is not a normal Saturday.
The day is called Music Across the Hudson, and it is put together by Historic Hudson River Towns, a nonprofit that works with river communities on both sides of the water. Rivertowns Music Group handles production. Four of the five stops are in Westchester. The fifth is Nyack, across the river in Rockland, which is the part most people miss when they hear about this.
It Starts With Five Blues Bands In Ossining
Ossining opens the day at noon and does not stop for almost seven hours. The Up the River Blues Festival takes over Louis Engel Waterfront Park at 25 Westerly Road, and Historic Hudson River Towns sponsors it as part of the larger day.
The bill runs deep. Big Frank & The Healers go on at 12:00. Jelly Bean Jake & The Coconut Heads follow at 1:35. The 3B's take it at 3:10, Felix Cabrera at 4:45, and Doug Deming & The Jewel Tones close the park out at 6:45. That is five acts on one stage in one afternoon, free.
Here is the part that makes the location smart. The stage sits a short walk from the NY Waterway ferry that runs between Ossining and Haverstraw, and that ferry now runs on weekends. You can cross the Hudson and walk to a blues festival.
Then Dobbs Ferry And Yonkers Pick It Up
Dobbs Ferry Waterfront Park at 87 Chestnut Street gets two bands. The Incumbents play from 3:00 to 4:15. Funk & Disorderly take over from 4:30 to 6:00. Both are free, both are outside, and the park looks straight at the river.
Yonkers goes Latin. Adriano y La Fuego Band plays Yonkers Brewing Company at 92 Main Street from 4:00 to 6:00. It is an indoor room on Main Street a few blocks from the waterfront, which gives that stop a built in rain plan the outdoor parks do not have.
And Nyack Answers From Across The River
Nyack Memorial Park at 51 Piermont Avenue runs two free sets. Herve Alexandre goes on at 4:00. Mark Morganelli & The Jazz Forum All Stars follow at 5:00 and play until 6:30. If the weather turns, that one moves indoors to The Angel Nyack at 18 South Broadway.
That matters for the whole day, actually. Music Across the Hudson is scheduled rain or shine, and several of the stops have indoor options ready. Nobody is calling this off because of a forecast.
Peekskill Sets Up Right By The Dock
Peekskill is where the day turns into something else. The Barn Vultures play Americana in Riverfront Green Park starting at 5:00, at the gazebo next to the New York Boat Company dock. Free, on the water, with Peekskill Bay wide open in front of you.
Then you look to your left and there is a boat waiting.
So The Final Set Sails At 6:30
At 6:30 the Commander leaves 14 Riverfront Green Park for a sunset cruise, with ska trio Brother Jerome playing on board. It runs until 8:30, which makes it the last thing on the whole schedule. The Commander is New York Boat Company's larger vessel. It carries up to 150 passengers. This is a real boat with a real deck, not a water taxi with a speaker on it.
This is the one piece of the day that costs money. Tickets are $35 per person, sold in advance at nyboatco.com. Leftover tickets go on sale on site starting at 5:00. Everything else that day, at all five stops, is free.
Why All Of It Is Free
Historic Hudson River Towns built this day around access. The stops are not random. Every one of them is a waterfront park, a riverwalk, a ferry landing or a boat dock, and the point is to get people to places along the Hudson they might never have walked to. The music is the reason to show up. The river is the actual subject.
Eleven free sets, five towns, two counties, one Saturday. Full schedule and cruise tickets are at hudsonriver.com and nyboatco.com.
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