MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The 14th annual Maplewoodstock Music and Arts Festival will be Saturday, July 8, and Sunday, July 9, from noon until 10 p.m. each day. This free, two-day, live music and arts event will be held at Memorial Park in Maplewood.
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 more than 100 applicants who span from Essex County, N.J., to Essex, England. Maplewoodstock gives voice to local and regional talent, while lending the stage to a few of those artists a bit further away who can grace the hillside with their distinct sounds.
Saturday’s headliner is the legendary Los Lobos. Los Lobos’ dynamic songwriting, deeply poetic lyrics, thoughtful romantic and spiritual themes, and eclectic style are uniquely American, in the rich literary tradition of legendary authors John Steinbeck and William Faulkner. More than 30 years after Los Lobos’ major label breakthrough, 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, Texas, has described her live shows as “hallelujah time” and a mix of “some blues, some folk, some soul, some rock, some gospel.” The Hip Abduction blends indie pop, world pop and club music into a highly emotive and roots-driven sound.
A total of 24 bands will perform during the two-day festival. In addition to the music, there will be local arts and craft vendors, who bring unique offerings of handcrafted goods. Maplewoodstock will also offer a food court, a beer garden for child-dodging parents, and a large KidZone with games, inflatable rides, crafts and more for the 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,” Maplewoodstock Chairman Drew Dix said. “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.
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