Fruit Bats, Deer Tick, and Blonde Redhead Performing at 2nd Annual Meadowlark Festival!

Meadowlark, a three-day festival of indie, roots, and countercultural music benefiting farmers in the Hudson Valley and beyond, will return to the Stone Ridge Orchard on September 13 – 15. The event is the second edition of what organizers trust will continue to be an annual spectacular that utilizes sweet sounds to educate music lovers about the plight of American farms.  The year’s event will present acclaimed national acts, including Fruit Bats, Deer Tick, Blonde Redhead, Slaughter Beach, Dog, Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage, Joan Shelly, Ryan Lee Crosby, Lulu Lewis, Daddy Long Legs and more. It will also boast celebrated performers who call the Hudson Valley their home. These include the “first couple of Americana, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, and Laura Stevenson, a much-buzzed-about indie singer-songwriter and NPR Tiny Desk Concert alum.

2nd Annual Meadowlark Festival
Fruit Bats, Deer Tick, Blonde Redhead, Laura Stevenson + more!
September 13 – 15 @StoneRidgeOrchard

In total, 14 acts will perform on Saturday and Sunday, September 14 and 15, beginning at 11:30 am.  On Friday at 7:30 pm, the Stone Ridge Orchard’s Cider House Stage will present Meadowlark In the Round, an intimate event featuring performances by solo artists from the Hudson Valley and New York City. The full lineup can be found HERE.  For tickets, visit HERE.

Proceeds from Meadowlark 2024 will support organizations that advocate for farmers in the Hudson Valley and nationally – ones advocating for food security and issues impacting the livelihood of small local farms. These organizations include Farm Aid, Rondout Valley Growers Association (RVGA), and Hudson Valley Center For Food Culture & Agriculture. The festival site, Stone Ridge Orchard & Farmers Market, is a 200-year-old working farm on 115 acres.

Festival headliner Fruit Bats is the long-running indie rock/alternative country project led by Eric D. Johnson, who is also a member of the popular trio Bonny Light Horseman.  Johnson’s most recent releases, the 2022 compilation Sometimes A Cloud Is Just A Cloud, and the live album, 2024’s Starry-Eyed, In Stereo, are a glance back at Fruit Bats’ varied work, from his early days in Chicago’s indie rock cauldron of the late 1990s.

“The last few years of live sets have been a span of the whole catalog,” says Johnson. “That said, I’m lucky enough that the real breakthrough albums came much later in my career, more or less starting with Absolute Loser in 2016.”

He continues: “So, a lot of the set for Meadowlark and this current tour features songs from the last three or four albums, which are the tunes that people seem to recognize and love the most.  When writing a set list, I aim straight for people’s hearts. So, I always trot out some deep cuts, some older tunes so that everyone can hear a favorite or two.”

Johnson is also enthused about this year’s Meadowlark lineup, catching up with old friends and meeting/hearing some new faces.

“This is a really stellar lineup,” continues Johnson. “Festivals are cool because they present a sampler platter of bands you might not be able to see otherwise, which you can catch in a single day.

He continues: “I’ve been a Blonde Redhead fan since forever, yet never have had a chance to see them. And, shockingly, this will be our first show sharing a bill with Deer Tick, a killer band with whom we share lots of fans and a general vibe. We had the wonderful opportunity to tour on a bill with Joan Shelley some years back, and she is one of my favorite singer-songwriters on the planet. And, of course, I’m excited to discover some new artists, too.”

And as for the site of the festival, Johnson has a deep connection to the Hudson Valley music scene.

“We’ve made huge parts of all three Bonny Light Horseman records in the Hudson Valley, and also the Fruit Bats’ The Pet Parade album,” adds Johnson.  “I’ve had many memorable shows at various venues here over the years – Levon Helm Studios, the Old Dutch Church in Kingston, and, unfortunately, RIP, Helsinki in Hudson.”

“The musical history is so palpable and so much music I adore was born here,” continues Johnson. “It’s a real cosmic zone. It’s a place where I’ve never lived but have spent a lot of time and it feels a bit like a home away from home for me. It also happens to be one of the prettiest places on earth. I love it here and always jump at any opportunity to visit and perform here.”

Celebrated Saugerties-based singer-songwriter Laura Stevenson is also enthused to be a part of this annual event. “I’m looking forward to this one as it will boast so many talented musicians in one beautiful place,” says Stevenson. “I know I may sound biased here, but you can’t go wrong with the Hudson Valley in September! This festival also does so much to support our local farms and farmers, people and businesses who are such an important part of our community and our lives in this region. For that and that alone, I’m so proud to be a part of it.”

Great Music. Fantastic Food + Drinks. Great People. Welcome to the Hudson Valley #rockon

Elizabeth Ryan, the owner of Stone Ridge Orchard and founding farmer of Breezy Hill Orchard, was named the Dutchess Putnam Westchester Farm Bureau 2023 Farmer of the Year. She has been honored as a Farmer Hero by Farm Aid and recognized for her leadership in agriculture by the Rondout Valley Growers Association. Meadowlark is proud to be affiliated with Stone Ridge Orchard, and these organizations are playing a critical role in advocating for farmers in the Hudson Valley region and around the country. Elizabeth was recently awarded the prestigious Apple Advocate Award, a lifetime achievement award from the American Cider Association.

Meadowlark producer and Modrocker Productions, LLC founder Daniel Leslie hails from Dutchess County, graduated from Poughkeepsie’s Vassar College, and now resides in Brooklyn. Leslie and Ryan attended the Farm Aid festival last year and presented the organization with a donation in person.

Meadowlark 2024 Spotify Playlist

2nd Annual Meadowlark Festival
Fruit Bats, Deer Tick, Blonde Redhead, Laura Stevenson + more!
September 13 – 15 @StoneRidgeOrchard

The full lineup can be found HERE.
For tickets, visit HERE.

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Photos courtesy of Meadowlark Festival

Contributing writer Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer and former publicist living in Saugerties NY.