All the Americana Concerts to Catch in the Hudson Valley This Summer

Get ready for foot-tapping tunes and crooning, twangy melodies at the region’s riverside shows.

From Taste of Country to Falcon Ridge and Grey Fox, fans of all things rootsy and twangy have more than their share of festivals to look forward to this summer. But when it comes to more intimate performances, the coming months won’t disappoint. Anyone looking for a hoot and a holler should make sure to put these upcoming folk shows in their calendar:

Nobody’s Girl

Where: The Towne Crier, Beacon
When: June 7

Austin songwriters Betty Soo, Grace Pettis, and Rebecca Loebe make up this all-star folk trio. They will perform songs from 2018’s Waterline, as well as collaborative reimaginings of earlier solo material.

- Advertisement -
Deadgrass
Deadgrass / Courtesy photo

Deadgrass

Where: The Falcon, Marlboro
When: June 15

As you might have guessed, this five-piece acoustic group performs the music of Garcia & Co. in a traditional roots-music style. Expect a different kind of old-time music.

Heather Maloney

Where: Club Helsinki, Hudson
When: June 29

Maloney discovered her songwriting voice while spending several years at a Massachusetts silent meditation center. Her songs have a care and tenderness even when, on albums like 2015’s Making Me Break, she is joined by members of the Wallflowers and My Morning Jacket.

- Partner Content -

Too Blue

Where: Daryl’s House Club, Pawling
When: July 7

Blending bluegrass and spring, this brunch performance merges folk instrumentation with rollicking rhythms from albums like 2016’s Trouble with the Grey.

The Quebe Sisters

Where: The Towne Crier, Beacon
When: July 21

These siblings from Texas are triple-threat fiddle champions, performing their progressive swing with sweet, multi-part harmonies. You may have heard them on Kacey Musgraves’ A Very Kacey Christmas album.

- Advertisement -

Our Native Daughters

Where: The Egg, Albany
When: July 26

Anchored by folk superstar Rhiannon Giddens, OND challenge all racial and patriarchal assumptions about folk music, finding stories or resistance and survival in slave narratives and African American folk traditions.

Gordon Lightfoot

Where: Bethel Woods Events Gallery, Bethel
When: August 1-2

The Canadian Dylan celebrates his 80th birthday with this multi-night performance of his countless classic hits, from “The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald” to Adult Contemporary Radio standards like “If You Could Read My Mind.”

Johnny Nicholas & Cindy Cashdollar

Where: The Colony, Woodstock
When: August 15

Two vastly different guitar virtuosos meet, mixing Nicholas’s bluesy riffing with Cashdollar’s butter-smooth lap-steel. This will be an exciting collaboration between masters.

Question: “Music has played a therapeutic role in your life at times. What does it provide you that other activities can’t?” Livingston: “The importance of music to innovative thought is that music allows my brain to wander into some very far-off places. I don’t think it’s by accident that Albert Einstein played the fiddle. He didn’t play terribly well but he loved to play. It’s a very good way to go on adventurous thought and have a road map back home.” – northernvirginiamag.com, April 6, 2018 Photo: Livingston performs at the Hatch Shell in Boston on Jun. 23, 1990 – by Lane Turner. #livingstontaylor #livtaylor #livingstontaylormusic #songwriter #importanceofmusic #northernvirginiamag

A post shared by Livingston Taylor (@livingstontaylormusic) on

Janis Ian & Livingston Taylor

Where: The Egg, Albany
When: August 18

Two folk greats headline this double bill. You’ll likely catch renditions of classics like “At Seventeen,” “Boatman,” and “I Will Be in Love With You.”

Chris Thile

Where: Bethel Woods Events Gallery, Bethel
When: September 21

Since his days in groundbreaking ‘newgrass’ trio Nickel Creek, Thile has been acknowledged as one of the foremost folk musicians in the world, and is the only person on this list to earn both a Macarthur Genius grant and a regular NPR hosting gig. He will perform original compositions and more at this intimate solo performance.


Related: The Coolest Hudson Valley Music Festivals to Hit This Summer

 

Our Digital Partners

Learn how to become a digital partner ...

Our Best of Hudson Valley ballot is open through March 31!

Unveiled: A Boutique Bridal Brunch is February 25!

Holiday flash sale ... subscribe and save 50%

Limited time offer. New subscribers only.