Boston’s Independent Radio, 92.5 the River announced Guster will headline the 18th Annual Riverfest Seaside Music Festival. The 2019 Festival will be held on Sat., August 24, 2019 from 12 noon – 6 pm at its new location at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, MA.
The perfect festival for music fans of all ages, the Riverfest Seaside Music Festival is presented by Bud Light. In addition to Guster, the festival will feature performances from Noah Kahan, Mt. Joy and Tall Heights, along with food trucks, multiple vendors and KidZone, an interactive area for children with inflatables, face painting and other activities. For the adults, there will be the Bud Light Build-a-Bar and Tito’s Handmade Vodka pop-up lounge.
“We are looking forward to bringing this year’s Riverfest to the beautiful Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, overlooking Gloucester harbor,” said Donald St. Sauveur, General Manager for WXRV/92.5 the River. “Many of our listeners come from Essex County especially Gloucester, Cape Ann and the surrounding communities and it just makes sense to bring Riverfest to them. Plus, Stage Fort Park provides an opportunity to grow the event in a safe and family friendly manner.”
With limited parking available on-site, attendees are encouraged to take alternative transportation to the Riverfest Seaside Music Festival. The MBTA Commuter Rail offers service into two Gloucester stations. The Cape Ann Transportation Authority (CATA) will be running trolleys on a Saturday schedule throughout the day, and a shuttlebus network is being put together to serve satellite parking lots including Magnolia Woods Recreational Area (located at 474 Western Avenue in the Magnolia section of Gloucester.), the O’Maley Innovation Middle School (located at 32 Cherry Street in Gloucester) and Gloucester High School (located at 32 Leslie O. Johnson Road in Gloucester). A limited number of parking spots will be available on a first come-first served basis at the park ($20 for non-residents and $10 for residents with stickers). Residents are encouraged to ride a bike or walk to the festival.
“We are incredibly excited about this year’s festival and the opportunity to showcase a line-up with strong New England connections,” continued St. Sauveur. “We’ve always considered the River to be Guster’s hometown radio station and have had the opportunity to showcase their music in a number of different venues. We believe Stage Fort Park in Gloucester will be one of the best yet.”
Originally formed at Tufts University, Guster has had a string of hits with songs like “Satellite,” “Amsterdam,” “What You Call Love,” “Overexcited, ” “Do You Love Me,” and “This Could All Be Yours”, all staples of the River’s playlist. In January, Guster released Look Alive, the band’s first new album in four years. Recorded in a vintage keyboard museum in Calgary, AB, the album captures the group – Adam Gardner, Ryan Miller, Luke Reynolds, and Brian Rosenworcel – at an inspired moment, creating the most layered, moody and brilliantly unpredictable music of their storied career.
Guster will be joined at Riverfest by alternative troubadour Noah Kahan from Strafford, VT, who has burst on the scene with his 2018 international hit single “Hurt Somebody.” The song has been streamed over 200 million times in the span of a year and was the third most played song on Australian Top 40 radio in 2018. Kahan released his debut album Busyhead in June.
Mt. Joy started as a rekindling of shared musical ambitions between high school friends Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper. Reunited in Los Angeles, the pair met multi-instrumentalist Michael Byrnes. With Byrnes’ roommate Caleb Nelson producing, they recorded three songs and sent them out into the world, hoping for the best. The song “Astrovan” took off on Spotify, racking up more than 5 million streams. The band’s breakout single, “Silver Lining,” was a top charting single on Adult Rock Radio.
Rounding out the lineup are Paul Wright and Tim Harrington, together known as Tall Heights. From the streets of Boston to venues across the globe, the duo has diligently built a career from the ground up as a relentless touring act. With 130 million streams under their belt and touring alongside the likes of Ben Folds, CAKE, Judah & the Lion and Colony House, Tall Heights released their sophomore album Pretty Colors for Your Actions featuring the River hit “House on Fire” late last year.
Since 1995, WXRV/92.5 the River has been Boston’s independent radio choice playing a mix of alternative, acoustic, blues, folk, reggae, and other genres of music. The station’s playlist combines current releases from today’s artists, in addition to favorites from the '80s and '90s, and even a few deep album cuts from the '60s and '70s. Previous performers of the festival have included Barenaked Ladies, Matt Nathanson, Eric Hutchinson, Fastball, They Might Be Giants, Toad the Wet Sprocket, English Beat, Matt Kearny, Blind Melon, The Lemonheads, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, The Revivalists, Rhett Miller, and more.
Featuring Guster, Noah Kahan, Mt. Joy and Tall Heights, 92.5 the River’s Riverfest Seaside Music Festival takes place Saturday, August 24th from 12Noon – 6PM at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, MA. The concert is rain or shine. For more information and updates, visit https://theriverboston.com/attend/riverfest/
