Woodsist Festival Announces 2023 Lineup / Returns To Upstate NY (Sept 23-24)

The first time that I ever encountered the music of Woods was in 2009 when they were the opening act for Swedish psych outfit, Dungen. This was also the first time that I had ever heard of Kevin Morby, because he was playing bass for the Brooklyn group on that tour, as well as on their next 3 albums: Live At Echo Lake (2010), Sun And Shade (2011), and Bend Beyond (2012). Morby‘s first 2 solo albums would go on to be released by that band’s Woodsist label. A friend of mine who saw the Dungen/Woods tour the night before we did told me about another artist that opened the Portland show who we didn’t see. This young musician had recently released his own debut on Woodsist and was supposed to be worth checking out. That artist turned out to be Kurt Vile. That same year, Vile played the inaugural Woodsist festival in Brooklyn alongside such acts as Thee Oh Sees and Real Estate. This September everything comes full circle with Vile, Woods, and Morby all sharing the bill at the 2023 Woodsist festival as part of the largest lineup the festival has assembled to date.

I’ve always wanted to check out Woodsist Fest, but I never made it out during the years when they were throwing it down at Big Sur in California. Starting in 2019, the festival found a home at Arrowood Farm in the town of Accord in upstate New York. Being on the East Coast makes it less likely that I’ll make it out, but that’s not going to stop me from wishing and thinking about it. According to the press release, Arrowood is “a sustainably-minded farm brewery and distillery located in New York’s scenic Hudson Valley” that “will host the performers on two alternating stages throughout the weekend and feature food from local Hudson Valley-based vendors and craft beer brewed directly on site.” Besides the standard appearance by Woods and aforementioned Woodsist alums, Morby and Vile, the performers referenced include such acts as Avey Tare (Animal Collective); Cass McCombs; Nigerian Tuareg singer-songwriter/guitarist, Bombino; and legendary dub pioneer and King Tubby protege, Scientist. That alone is worth the travel, but there will also be up-and-comer, MJ Lenderman; Daniel Higgs (Lungfish); British saxophonist/poet, Alabaster DePlume; the ever-expanding Joshua Abrams-led experimental jazz ensemble, Natural Information Society; Water from Your Eyes; Taper’s Choice; Tyvek; Anna St Louis, Aquarium Drunkard DJs, and Tubby’s DJs. This should be a good one, so you might want to start making plans now.

Tickets go on sale at 10:00 AM ET on Thursday, June 29th at www.woodsistfestival.com.