We are firmly deep into summer now, and there are so many great gigs and festivals ahead on the calendar here on the east coast, so for the next few weeks, I’m going to highlight a few that you might want to grab tickets for.

First up, we have this year’s iteration of the annual Woodsist Festival. Taking place on Saturday and Sunday, September 20 and 21, 2025 (ok, technically an autumn destination, but I digress) once again at the bucolic Arrowood Farm Brewery in shady Accord, NY.

Curated and presented by acclaimed indie folk rock band Woods, and their label, Woodsist, since 2009, this NY state-based festival is renowned for gathering together phenomenal up and comers with eclectic fan favorites and legacy acts from all across the world. This year’s lineup is no different, with indie rock royalty like Built to Spill, Panda Bear and Dean Wareham (revisiting the Galaxie 500 catalog) rubbing shoulders with the likes of singer-songwriter Joanna Sternberg, Zam Rock legends W.I.T.C.H., free improv giants The Medeski Martin Duo and cosmic country rockers (and RCU faves) Rose City Band, among many others.

Our friend, photographer in the field and yearly Woodsist regular, Christopher Bruno, will be in attendance shooting pics and digging vibes. As a Woodsist veteran with a boundless music taste, I was very curious about which artists he was most excited to see, and he reported the following:

“The primary draw for me has always been Woods, which was one of the defining bands of my twenties.  My wife and I had always hoped to use Woodsist as an excuse to make it out to Big Sur but the pieces never fell into place.  So when Jeremy moved the festival over to the east coast, we were disappointed that we’d missed that chapter, but elated that it was now only a couple hours’ drive away.  We’ve attended every year since, and are always impressed by the musical curation — it’s almost foolish to single out individual performances because the breadth and sequencing of the acts allows each to thrum and glow in their own way, richer for being woven into the tapestry; there’s an overtone created by a receptive crowd collectively moving from Laraaji to Parquet Courts or from Alabaster DePlume to Natural Information Society, a resonance unique to that time and place and populace, and it’s that aggregate effect that moves me the most and keeps me coming back to Arrowood every September.  So who am I most excited for this year?  Everyone!  I’m as eager for the surprises as I am for the old favorites (but it’s very possible I’ll be dancing most ecstatically to W.I.T.C.H. and singing along most boisterously to Sebadoh…)”

-Christopher Bruno

General 2-day tickets are $218.32, kids 2-day passes are $11.93. Click here to order yours and to find VIP ticket and parking passes, as well. Gates are at 1 PM. Arrowood Farms is located at 236 Lower Whitfield Rd, Accord, NY 12404. For more information, please click here.

Bruno will be reporting back with photos after the festival, but if you plan on attending, please let us know about your experience after you return! For now, please let us know in the comments about who are you most excited to see.

-KH

Other upcoming gigs for our local (Tristate area) readers:

Tonight (7/9) – Joseph Allred, Zachary Cale and Liam Grant, The Howe Theatre, Roosevelt Island Cultural Center, Roosevelt Island, NY

Every Sunday this month, Garcia Peoples has a residency at Pianos in Manhattan with a roster of stellar guest artists, like Bong Wish and Spencer Herbst on 7/13 and Double Wig and Entropic Hop on 7/20.

7/12 – Kohoutek, Joseph Allred and Fursaxa at The Rotunda in Philly

7/13 – Seawind of Battery, Boojum, Nick Millevoi & Andy Pitcher at Freak’s Day Out, Valentino Park, Red Hook, Brooklyn

7/14 – Natalie Jane Hill & Nic Panken at Johnny Brenda’s, Philly (followed by 7/15 at Tubby’s in Kingston and 7/16 at Union Pool, Brooklyn

7/18 – This Holy Rodeo, Partygirl, Nematoad and Scott Pine residency show at Prototype 237, Paterson, NJ

7/19 – Rose City Band and the Powers/Rolin Duo at The Bowery Ballroom, Manhattan

7/20 – Emergency Group, Jeffrey Alexander & The Heavy Lidders and Deep Brain at Mama Tried, Brooklyn

7/24 – The Royal Arctic Institute at Sinatra Park, Hoboken, NJ

7/26 – Matt Check, Sophie Swanson and Forever King Clark at Pino’s, Highland Park, NJ

7/30 – Mountain Movers, Human Adult Band and Spectre Folk at Soupçon Salon, 15 Bridge Street, Lambertville, NJ

8/8 – Pine barrens Folk Night with Ornamental, Jackson Pines and Blood Red Moon at Anchor Rock Club, Atlantic City, NJ