Jazz and Blues Fest Brings Music to the Streets

The coordinator of the upcoming hopes to fill the streets with people and their ears with great music. 

"I have a good vibe here, I’m very excited," says Thom Pernice of Peekskill who is in charge of the event and on the board of the Peekskill Downtown Business Improvement District (BID).

About 2,500 people have come to the festival each year, and organizers hope for higher attendance at this year's event on July 30. The BID is sponsoring the event along with Bertoline and Sons.

Pernice has hired mostly popular contemporary jazz and blues groups, including The Tommy Castro Band, The Chris Massey Band, The Curtis Brothers, and the Akoya Afro-Beat Ensemble, who will open the show starting at 2p.m. 

"We're lucky to get him," says Pernice about Tommy Castro, who has won Blues Artist of the Year and B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. 

The variety of music is expected to draw a wide range of people to the event, which takes place from Esther Street to North Division Street with the main stage on the gazebo. 

Gary Walker of WBGO Jazz radio will be the MC for the day. 

Along with a new group of musicians, a section of the festival will be dedicated to locally handmade arts and crafts available for purchasing for the first time. 

"It's a nice addition ... since we have a half a street of our own," says Beth DeWitt, who will be in charge of the arts and crafts section of the festival.

DeWitt, a member of the Hudson Craft Collective, is also hoping for success in her part of the event and thinks that Peekskill's recent popularity with art will help her out. 

"Peekskill prides itself on its artist community so hopefully people will start to look for this sort of thing," she says, "I hope in the future we can involve fine artisits as well." 

Items for sale will include handmade jewelry, soaps, and pottery. 

In addition to crafts, the festival will be filled with food vendors and a beer truck brought in by Goose Island Beer of Manhattan, who will be brewing six specialty, never-tasted-before, beers specifically for the event. 

Pernice said that the day will be fun for all ages and everyone is welcome.

"It's free, just show up and stay as long as you want, and come and go as you want," he said. 

Restaurants such as The Bean Runner and 12 Grapes will also be playing live music after the festival to keep the party going. 

Although this festival has been going on for the past five years—live music in the streets of Peekskill was a Saturday night tradition many years prior according to John Ford of Ford Piano, who rebuilds pianos at his shop in Peekskill, which is in close proximity to the festival. 

In 1999, Ford and three other locals organized The Peekskill Rhythm Review where live outdoor music would be played every Saturday night.

"The four of us basically started music on the street; it's very gratifying to see that its become institutionalized and morph into something good," said Ford, even though it has become once a year instead of once a week. 

Having attended in years past, Ford is looking forward to the event once again.

Everyone has a great time," he said. "It's live music in the streets, how could it be bad?" 

Pernice has been getting ready for a few months now and is excited to see it all come together and to show off the city of Peekskill. "It helps promote our city, and by doing that the arts and everything else can benefit."  

Check out our Guide to Jazz and Blues Fest for all you need to know about street closings, and time and locations of performances. You can also visit the BID's website for more information.