(MAPLEWOOD, NJ) -- The 14th Annual Maplewoodstock Music and Arts Festival will be held on Saturday, July 8, and Sunday, July 9, 2017, from noon until 10:00pm each day. This free, two-day, live music and arts event will be held at Memorial Park in Maplewood, NJ. Headliners include Los Lobos on Saturday and The Hip Abduction and Ruthie Foster on Sunday.
Each day features nearly a dozen bands who represent a stylistically-wide variety of rock, pop, soul, R&B, funk, folk, reggae and world beat. These bands are selected from over 100+ applicants who span from Essex County, NJ, to Essex, England. Our basis is giving voice to local and regional talent, while lending our stage to a few of those artists a bit further away who can grace our hillside with their distinct sounds. And, as we have come to appreciate, each day is capped with the thrill of an internationally touring Headliner.
Saturday's Headliner is the legendary Los Lobos. Los Lobos’s dynamic songwriting, deeply poetic lyrics, thoughtful romantic and spiritual themes, and eclectic style are a uniquely American, in the rich literary tradition of legendary authors John Steinbeck and William Faulkner. Over 30 years after Los Lobos’ major label breakthrough How Will The Wolf Survive? -- their 1984 album that ranks #30 on Rolling Stones list of the 100 greatest albums of the 1980s – the band is surviving quite well and still jamming with the same raw intensity as they had when they began in that East L.A. garage in 1973.
Sunday's show will feature The Hip Abduction and then close with Headline Act Ruthie Foster.
Ruthie Foster (based in Austin, TX) has described her live shows as “hallelujah time” and a mix of as “some blues, some folk, some soul, some rock, some gospel.” Rolling Stone magazine has written that she is “pure magic to watch and hear.”
The Hip Abduction blends indie pop, world pop, and club music into a highly emotive and roots driven sound. Their latest album, Gold Under the Glow, was recorded in Nashville with producer Dabney Morris and incorporates synth-pop teeth into the band’s global foundation and summery vibe.
A total of 24 bands will perform over the two-day festival. In addition to the music, there will be local arts and craft vendors, who bring unique offerings of handcrafted goods. It’s rare find of arts and crafts amid such a diverse musical program.
In addition to the music and arts vendors, the Maplewoodstock festival will offer a food court – a cornucopia of options for the whole family from chicken fingers and tacos to lobster rolls and gluten free cupcakes -- a beer garden for kid-dodging parents, and a large KidZone with games, inflatable rides, crafts, and more for our youngest attendees and their minders.
“Our goal is to put on the best possible free music and art festival that we can – one with deep roots in the Maplewood community,” says Maplewoodstock Chairperson Drew Dix. “We love seeing old friends and neighbors – and new friends! – relaxing on their blankets and lawn chairs, enjoying their picnic baskets, and packing the hillside park for a family-friendly weekend of music, art, food, and the best of the Maplewood community.”
A full line-up of band bios, directions, and real-time updates can be found on the maplewoodstock.com website.
Memorial Park is located at 160 Dunnell Rd in Maplewood, New Jersey (directly opposite Maplewood’s NJ Transit train station).
