Peekskill Music Festival Returns to Downtown Saturday, July 23 2022

Seven Bands will perform live on two stages at the Peekskill Music Festival on Saturday, July 23, 2022 from 4pm to 10pm, rain or shine. The music is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Peekskill Business Improvement District and is returning after a two-year hiatus due to COVID. In addition, there will be kids activities, food trucks, indoor and outdoor dining options at participating restaurants, arts, crafts and community vendors, and a wide selection of cold draft beer for purchase. Schedules are subject to change.

"Peekskill is such a creative and music-focused community and we are thrilled to bring back the Peekskill Music Festival. This year is bigger and better than ever with two stages of music including funk, jazz, and R&B. Many of the performers are from the Peekskill/Greater NYC area and many have traveled the world--we are so honored to have them perform in Downtown Peekskill on our outdoor stages," said Cynthia Del Rosario, President, Board of Directors, Peekskill BID.

Performing on the main stage located on Central Avenue near Division Street, will be: Days of Wild at 4pm, Anthem Reggae Band at 5:15pm, Alex Smith 6:30pm, Chico Alvarez and RAN KAN KAN @ 7:45pm, and Soul Synergy at 9pm.

Performing on the Esther Street Stage located on Esther Street will be Ahlfabet Swing Band at 4:30pm and Premik's World Music Ensemble at 6pm. All activities will take place with two blocks of the gazebo in Downtown Peekskill.

“We are so excited to have such an amazing music line-up and that we can invite such world class performers to Downtown Peekskill. It will be great to see residents and visitors dancing in the streets again and supporting our local business community,” said Bill Powers, Peekskill BID Executive Director.

Parking is free at on-street meters and at metered spaces in surface lots and garages.

Here are the performers:

Days of Wild at 4pm - Days of Wild is a combination of friends from different bands from around
the tristate/New York City music scene. With an ever-changing lineup of musicians from around the world, DOW has made a name for themselves around NYC and around the world, and the embers are known for their skill, positivity, and dedication to funk.

Anthem Reggae Band at 5:15pm - Anthem Reggae Band has a truly original sound that is creating a big wave throughout the USA. Anthem has played with international reggae artists, including: Sister Carol, Third World, Yellowman, Jimmy Cliff, Big Mountain, The Wailers Band, Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Judy Mowatt, The Neville Bros, The Isley Brothers, Maxi Priest, Buju Banton, Capleton, Chacadimus and Pliers, John Holt, Ken Booth, Dennis Brown and Super Cat. Anthem has also been featured with Sister Carol on the Conan O'Brian show.

Alex Smith 6:30pm - Alex Smith is a four-time Grammy-winning pianist, organist, composer, arranger, and educator is the keyboardist and arranger for Lady Gaga’s jazz quintet. Alex, playing Hammond Organ, will be joining with fellow Peekskill resident and bandmate, Tony Jefferson on drums. The band also features the marvelous Vanessa Perea on vocals and the incomparable Ron Affif on guitar.

Chico Alvarez and RAN KAN KAN @ 7:45pm - From Summer Stage in Central Park to SOB's, multi-talented Afro-Cuban musician, radio host, and Latin Jazz USA lifetime achievement awardee Chico Alvarez will grace the stage with his Latin dance band, Ran Kan Kan! Ernesto "Chico" Alvarez Peraza was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Cuba, and has performed as a singer throughout the New York tristate area for the last four decades. He has directed several bands and orchestras including his 10-piece conjunto, Mafímba. He was also the radio host of the New World Gallery, which aired on Sunday afternoons on WBAI Pacifica Radio
(99.5 FM) for many years.

Soul Synergy at 9pm - The Soul Synergy Collective is a five to eight-member ensemble comprised of artists from unique bands from the Tri-State area. The ensemble has performed at the Inaugural Ball for President Barack Obama with Hugh Masekela, The Martha's Vineyard Summerfest with Nicholas David of NBC's The Voice, Yonkers Riverfest and more. The music of Prince, Chaka, and Luther comes to life with the sounds of real R&B.

Ahlfabet Swing Band at 4:30pm on Esther Street - The Ahlfabet Jazz Band plays traditional swing jazz in the various stylings of artists such as Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Earl Hines, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, Bennie Moten, and Bix Biederbecke. Their music is rooted in the Jazz tradition taking elements from Ragtime, Blues, Swing, Dixieland, and
Be-Bop to get a unique blend of sounds guaranteed to make you tap your feet!

Premik's World Music Ensemble at 6pm on Esther Street - Premik, a composer, recording artist, instructor and accomplished multi-instrumentalist performs on various flutes, soprano, alto and
tenor saxophones, wind synthesizer and lap steel guitar. He has performed and/or recorded with such greats as Sting, Whitney Houston, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, Carlos Santana, Billy Joel, Lady Gaga, James Taylor and many others. For the
July 23rd show, the band will feature a wide selection of styles from classical to jazz to East/West fusion and lots in-between! Premik’s World Music Ensemble consists of: Premik on axohones, flutes, wind synth; Steve Sandberg-on piano; Anupam Shobakar on guitar; Michael O’Bria on bass, Patrick Carmichael on drums.

About The Peekskill Business Improvement District: The Peekskill Business Improvement District (“BID”) was founded in 1996 and works to promote the growth and development of downtown Peekskill as an attractive place to live and do business through business recruitment and retention, capital improvements, marketing and promotions, beautification and clean efforts, event creation and support, and advocacy for small businesses. For more information about the BID and what downtown Peekskill has to offer, please visit www.discoverpeekskill.com.