Festival Fever: Hudson Music Festival, 8/10-12/12

More than 30 venues…
More than 130 acts…
More than 180 performance…
More than 400 musicians…

The second annual Hudson Music Festival will fill the city of Hudson with non-stop music over the course of three days this weekend – and almost all of it is free.

There will be live music performances in restaurants, stores and galleries. Tented stages will be placed along Warren Street from the Seventh Street Park and continuing down the street to the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. Festival performances start at 5pm on Friday; 12noon-12midnight on Saturday; 12noon-6pm on Sunday.

Club Helsinki will host the prestigious Festival Showcase with 20 bands on two stages beginning at 5pm on Saturday. The Last Conspirators, the Pawn Shop Saints, C.B. Smith & the Lucky Devils and Oobleck will be among the bands featured on stage, while the Tommy Keys Band, Szelrozsa, the Rooftrees and others will perform in the courtyard. NOTE: There is a $10 suggested donation to the Festival Showcase.

Among the many other bands and musicians performing at the HM Festival throughout the weekend are Todd Nelson’s TN3, Black n Gold featuring Young Paris, Big Frank & the Bargain Bingers, Lady Moon, Chris Merenda & the Wheel, Frank Cuthbert, Drew Jacobs, Ray Murray & the Bomb Squad, the Erin Harkes Band, Pony in the Pancake, Jamie Kent & the Options, Mamalama, Sly Fox & the Hustlers, the Assortment of Crayons, Slink Moss, Nine Votes Short, Miss Shirley’s Buckleshiners, the 7th Squeeze, Head Womb, the Compact, Positive Mental Trip, Rakish Paddy, On the Shoulders of Giants and lots, lots more.

One of the things that makes the Hudson Music Festival unique is that a number of other smaller festivals are huddling under the HM Festival umbrella, including the Hudson Black Arts & Cultural Festival, which features performances in Henry Hudson Riverfront Park on all three days, in addition to mounting a big parade down Warren Street at 2pm on Saturday, beginning at Seventh Street Park and continuing to the Riverfront.

Also partnering with the HM Festival will be American Glory’s Blues, Brews & BBQ Festival, which will have a large tented stage at the corner of Warren and Fifth streets, featuring plenty of music, micro brews and BBQ all day and night on Saturday. Professor Louis & the Crowmatix headline the bash.

Meanwhile, also teaming up with the HM Festival, the Basilica Music Festival takes place both Friday and Saturday at the Basilica Hudson with dance music and cutting edge performances – including a Friday night performance by Kris Perry’s Machines played by an all-star band that features Tommy Stinson, Elvis Perkins, Brian Dewan and others.

And from 11am-5pm on Sunday, internationally acclaimed artist Marina Abramović will open the doors for a sneak peek of the hotly anticipated, upcoming Marina Abramović Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art, located at Columbia Street and Seventh Street.

ADDITIONAL UPCOMING FESTIVALS FOR 2012:

Basilica Music Festival @ Basilica Hudson, Hudson, 8/10-11/12
moe.down @ Snow Ridge Ski Resort, Turin, 8/10-12/12
Blues, Brews & BBQ @ American Glory, Hudson, 8/11/12
Empire State Plaza Food Festival @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, 8/15/12, FREE
SAWFest Music Festival @ Salem Art Works, Salem, 8/18/12
WGNA Summer Picnic @ Saratoga County Fairgrounds, Ballston Spa, 8/25/12
Restoration Festival @ St. Joseph’s Church, Albany, 9/7-9/12
Port of Albany’s Riverfront Jazz Festival @ Riverfront Park, Albany, 9/8/12, FREE
Local Legends Live @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, 9/8/12, FREE
FreshGrass Bluegrass Festival @ MASS MoCA, North Adams, 9/21-23/12
PearlPalooza @ North Pearl Street, Albany, 9/22/12, FREE
Hannaford Hispanic Heritage Celebration @ Empire State Plaza, Albany, 9/22/12, FREE
Kickin’ It Country @ Saratoga County Fairgrounds, Ballston Spa, 9/29/12