A note from Tom Chapin

Hello Friends:

For more years than I can remember, I’ve been lucky enough to spend Father’s Day weekend with my musical friends, mentors and idols, often with my children and later my grandchildren, by the banks of the river I call home, doing the work I love most.

What a gift the Clearwater has been to the river, what a gift the festival has been to the Lower Hudson Valley, and what a gift Pete Seeger was to the world. When I was 12 years old my brothers and I heard an album that changed our lives- “The Weavers at Carnegie Hall” convinced us and an entire generation of would-be folk singers that “we could do this!” When he encouraged his audience to sing along, he also taught entire generations about social justice, the environment, and the power each individual has to change the world for the better.

The Hudson River Music festival is carrying forward the best parts of the Clearwater Festivals of yore, with activists, artists and environmentalists all supporting each other and the same causes that Pete championed. I’m so honored to be here with you all again!

Pass the music on!