6th Annual Haverford Music Festival, Presented by ACME Markets, featuring Lisa Loeb, Set for Sat., Sept. 10 in Havertown

6th Annual Haverford Music Festival, Presented by ACME Markets, Set for Saturday, September 10 in Havertown

Lisa Loeb, The Figgs, and Sasha Dobson Headline a Full Day of Family Fun

The 6th Annual Haverford Music Festival (HMF), presented by ACME Markets, is scheduled for Saturday, September 10, 2016, from Noon until 9:30 p.m. It will feature three internationally acclaimed headlining acts – singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb, rock trio The Figgs, and Puss n Boots member Sasha Dobson – plus numerous local and regional artists representing many musical genres, performing on four stages near the intersection of Eagle and Darby Roads in Havertown. Area businesses and vendors will fill booths along Darby Road and Hathaway Lane. There will be food booths, a beer garden, children’s activities (including a moon bounce) and much more fun for the whole family. Admission is free; donations will be accepted.

Our mission statement: The Haverford Music Festival is a family music festival that strengthens the cultural identify of Haverford Township, serves as the primary fundraiser for the Haverford Township Civic Council, and provides funding for projects that enhance the quality of life in Haverford Township.

Headlining HMF 2016 on the large Oakmont Field Stage, located behind the Oakmont School Administration Building, will be Grammy®-nominated singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb, who started her career with the platinum-selling Number 1 hit song “Stay (I Missed You),” from the film Reality Bites. To this day, the Brown grad girl with the cat-eye glasses is still the only artist to have a Number 1 single while not signed to a recording contract, a remarkable and unparalleled feat. Lisa’s subsequent hits include “Do You Sleep,” “I Do,” and “Let’s Forget about It.” Along with her pop/rock catalog, versatile Lisa’s 10 studio albums include three for children, including her most recent, Nursery Rhyme Parade. She has also authored two children’s books – her latest is Lisa Loeb’s Songs for Moving and Shaking. Among the multitalented Lisa’s many TV and film credits are her starring roles in two reality series, Dweezil and Lisa, a weekly culinary adventure for Food Network, and No. 1 Single, which appeared on E! Entertainment Network and featured Lisa’s inspiring journey to find love. Lisa will soon be seen as a celebrity judge on the upcoming musical reality series, The Song.

Topping the bill on HMF 2016’s Darby Road Stage will be longtime, hard-working trio The Figgs, who have a worldwide fan base, a lengthy discography, and have toured and recorded several times with the legendary Graham Parker, as well as Tommy Stinson of The Replacements. The Figgs have spent the better part of the past 25 years touring, recording and working on a variety of acclaimed side projects. The band’s many albums are stuffed with Kinks-inspired power and melodies, vibrant harmonies and sonic experimentation ala The Beatles and the best of The Band, a touch of NRBQ’s bar-band grooviness and a grit and youthfulness akin to the best rock bands, from The Who to The Ramones. In 2013, the band celebrated turning 25 with the release of 1,000 People Grinning: The Figgs Anthology, a wonderful representation of their vast catalog. They follow it up on May 13th of this year with a brand-new album, On the Slide. One member, bassist Pete Donnelly, lives in Philadelphia, has become an increasingly popular solo artist in the area, and has also worked with such artists as NRBQ, Soul Asylum and Shelby Lynne. In the tradition of late afternoon/early evening headliners on the Darby Road Stage, The Figgs will be a lot of fun to move and groove to.

Preceding Lisa Loeb on the Field Stage will be Sasha Dobson, perhaps best-known to many as a member – along with Norah Jones and Catherine Popper – of the trio Puss n Boots, who released their debut album No Fools, No Fun in 2014. That album was a successful transition to country from jazz for all involved, including Sasha, who grew up in Santa Cruz, CA, where her father, Smith Dobson, was one of the Bay Area’s most influential and in-demand pianists, her mom a well-known singer and her brother an accomplished drummer. By the time she was 12, Sasha was performing with the entire family at the Monterey Jazz Festival. She moved to Brooklyn at 17, quickly assimilated into the NYC jazz scene and took up the guitar and songwriting. Sasha’s first two albums were The Darkling Thrush, recorded with The Chris Byars Octet, and Modern Romance. The latter, which won praise from TIME Magazine, was produced by Jesse Harris, Grammy-winning songwriter of Norah Jones’ breakout hit “I Don’t Know Why.” Her most recent solo album, Into the Trees, came out in 2014, and she is currently working on her next release.

More than 25 additional HMF 2016 performers, representing a wide range of musical genres, (e.g., Jazz, Rock, Pop, Children’s, Folk, Classical, Blues and Country – something to please everyone!), will be announced by late July. Some will appear on either the intimate Eagle Road Stage in front of the Oakmont Administration Building, or within the intimate indoor, coffeehouse atmosphere of The Rock, in the heart of the Oakmont shopping district. Performer applications for the 2016 festival are open until May 30. Interested individuals and groups representing all ages and musical genres are welcome to apply at haverfordmusicfestival.org/performers/, except for those who appeared last year so that we may give new acts the chance to play.

Among the organizations joining ACME Markets (Presenting Sponsor) as sponsors of the Sixth Annual Haverford Music Festival so far are iRadioPhilly, Main Line Health, Xfinity (Diamond Sponsors), Unique Indoor Comfort (Emerald Sponsor), Nolan Painting, Haverford YMCA, FD concessions, Twenty9 Restaurant & Bar, BQ Basement Systems, Royal Bank America, Adam Mechanical Heating and Air Conditioning, and PECO (Ruby Sponsors), J. Halligan & Sons and Bryn Mawr Trust (Gold Sponsors).

Organized by the 501c3 non-profit Haverford Township Civic Council, the Haverford Music Festival is a fundraiser to support township organizations and projects. To date, more than $60,000 has been distributed among several worthy community organizations, such as the Haverford Township Free Library, Music Works, Tree Tenders, the Adult School, Haverford Partnership for Economic Development, The Grange Estate, The Havertown Rotary, Kelly Music for Life and others.

“The festival is a lot of fun to put on, but we rely on help from volunteers for a few hours here or there throughout the day in order for it to succeed,” says festival chairman Ernesto Betancourt. “Anyone interested in volunteering will find a choice of options, such stage and booth set up, take down, clean-up or band hospitality at haverfordmusicfestival.org/volunteer/. Your help is greatly needed and will be greatly appreciated!”

Our web site also includes pictures and videos from previous years and provides registration forms for sponsors, at haverfordmusicfestival.org/sponsors/ as well as vendors, at haverfordmusicfestival.org/vendors/. For more information, businesses and organizations interested in being sponsors or vendors can also contact our sponsorship director, Cindi Rooney, at 610-996-0841 or whinerdiner@gmail.com.

“We are reaching out to local businesses to participate as sponsors, vendors or to simply make a donation to help make the music festival a success,” says Mr. Betancourt. “Among the thousands of attendees will be your neighbors as well as music lovers who will come from across the Main Line, wide-eyed with excitement and ready to absorb all that Haverford Township and the Festival marketplace have to offer. It is a terrific opportunity to expose your business to thousands of new customers, and to demonstrate your support of our community.

“We’re so grateful to all of the wonderful musicians, volunteers, sponsors and vendors who made our first five festivals such great successes,” concludes Mr. Betancourt. “Each year, the Haverford Music Festival Committee looks to improve the festival, and this year, we anticipate that the Sixth Annual Haverford Music Festival will be the best one yet! As always, our top priority is to provide a fun and entertaining day for the entire family.”

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