There is a beauty to the Hudson Valley that is very conducive to the music festival atmosphere. The bucolic landscape and backyard-cozy vibes just demand and inspire great music and good times.
Woods’ annual Woodsist Festival flourished on this environmental magic since 2019, at Arrowood Farms, in the town of Accord, New York. The festival began in Brooklyn in 2009 and then took place in California for several years, but the rustic laidback ambiance of the Hudson Valley understandably became its most consistent home. Yet, Woods announced that this year’s iteration (Sept. 26th & 27th) will be its last at Arrowood. However, they are not saying goodbye without a bang. The band said in their announcement that this may be their favorite lineup yet, and with Cate Le Bon, Destroyer, Okonski and Mdou Moctar playing a solo set, it’s easy to see why. There will also be a a special tribute to Alice Coltrane that features members of her band, which would assuredly be worth the price of admission alone. If you’re a regular RCU reader, this is going to be a farewell party to not miss. Click here to get yourself ticket.
Also on the bill is Dead Moon’s Toody Cole, Frog, Woods, Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band, Roge, Dutch Interior, Secular Music Group, Jens Kuross and Ruby of Thanks.
The festival will surely be onto other perfectly fitting locations and greener pastures in the future, yet its time in New York became an autumn tradition for many of the tri-state area heads, and deserves to be honored and celebrated. In that spirit, I present to you an extensive scrapbook of memories from last year’s festival taken by our man in the field, Christopher Bruno, that truly captures the vibe and ambiance of the Accord years of Woodsist.
The 2025 lineup featured Panda Bear, Built to Spill, Galaxie 500’s Dean Wareham, Sebadoh, Medeski Martin Duo, Woods, White Fence, W.I.T.C.H., Rose City Band, The Cosmic Tones Research Trio, Merce Lemon, Joanna Sternberg, Vivian Girls and Dougie Poole.
(Click the galleries below to enlarge each photo).
To experience the magic yourself, you should click here to get yourself ticket.
Huge thanks to Christopher Bruno for his always brilliant work. Check out his website for more!
-KH
