Pete Seeger would be proud.
The Hudson River Music Festival announced four-time Grammy nominee Jesse Welles as its headliner for the 2026 event, which is slated to take place at Croton Point Park on Sunday, June 21.
Welles shot to national attention over the past year with his prolific output of folk activist songs. The 33-year-old Arkansas native put our six albums in 2025. Welles is a modern-day protest singer in a similar vein as Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie, and the Hudson Valley’s own Seeger.
The Hudson River Music Festival has its roots in Seeger’s Great Hudson River Revival, which was often referred to as the Clearwater Festival. Seeger and his wife, Toshi Seeger, wanted to organize a concert on the banks of the Hudson River to call attention to environmental issues in the region. The Hudson River Music Festival continues Seeger’s legacy and is produced by RiverFest FPS (For Pete’s Sake) in partnership with Harper House Music Foundation and Dayglo Presents. This is the festival’s second year.
Who Is Jesse Welles?
Welles gained prominence on social media with videos of him playing an acoustic guitar in the woods of Arkansas with a backdrop of power lines. His songs feature incisive and scorching lyrics on ripped-from-the-headlines topics. He performed on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in November.
Welles’ solo dates on the spring leg of his tour quickly sold out. CBS Sunday Morning profiled the singer-songwriter and his meteoric rise in a February episode:
Hudson River Music Festival 2026 Lineup + Schedule
In addition to Welles, the Hudson River Music Festival lineup includes Warren Haynes, of Gov’t Mule and The Allman Brothers Band fame; he will join Grahame Lesh and Daniel Donato.
Margo Price, Cimafunk, Chaparelle, Snacktime and Toshi Reagon will also perform on the main Hudson Stage.
Hudson River Music Festival
The festival added a second stage this year. The Raibow Stage will feature Ebony Hillbillies, Leah Song of Rising Appalachia, Damaris Bojor, the Guthrie Family Singers, David Amram, Tom Chapin & The Chapin Sisters, and Lizzie No.
The choice of Father’s Day as the festival date was deliberate and the festivities will include family-friendly activities and entertainment throughout the festival grounds.
Tickets are available through hudsonrivermusicfestival.com.
If you’re planning your summer concert schedule in the Hudson Valley, keep reading to find out who is performing at Bethel Woods:
