7th Annual Pleasantville Music Festival

Yesterday was the Pleasantville Music Festival, an event we've attended and enjoyed just about every summer since we've moved to Westchester. Last year's line-up was great--Rusted Root, The Bacon Brothers (as in Kevin Bacon), and Jakob Dylan--but this year the bands scheduled to perform were less impressive. Sure, the headliner, Marc Cohn, is a huge recording star, but he's just not my cup o' tea. And the other acts scheduled for earlier in the day were mostly no-names (except for Augustana, who I saw opening up for Stereophonics at Bowery Ballroom back in 2005), so I wasn't quite as psyched to go this year. But I'm always up for an outdoor music festival, no matter the lineup.

Nicole Atkins

Back in 2005, I thought Augustana were just okay, and yesterday's performance didn't change my mind. They were pretty good, but a bit twee for my taste. However, the big surprise of the day, for me, was how awesome Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea were. They totally rocked! Atkins has a powerful, smoky voice, and her guitarist is a woman, which is always cool to see. The two other members of the band--bassist and drummer--are hairy dudes with scruffy beards (of course they live in Brooklyn).

I enjoy getting as close to the stage as possible when I see live music, but since we had the kids along with us, we couldn't sit up front next to the blasting speakers. But when I saw that two of the four members of Nicole Atkins's band were female, I suggested to my 3-year-old daughter that we walk up closer to see them. I want her to learn that girls can rock out just as hard as the boys, and this was the perfect opportunity. I held her in my arms so she could see the musicians up on stage, and I pointed out the various instruments. She seemed to be enjoying herself, even though it was pretty darn loud.

We stayed for a song or two, then started making our way back to our spot on the grass (where my husband and son were watching from afar). Halfway there, my little one abruptly stopped walking and began to cry. When I asked her what was wrong, she wailed, "I want to see the lady sing more!" Yeah, that's my girl! So we went back and resumed our position in front of the stage.

I loved it. I mean, what's better than a mother & daughter enjoying some kick-ass chick rock 'n' roll on a sunny summer afternoon? As far as I'm concerned, that's pretty much as good as it gets.

Yeah, it was a great day.

(And go check out Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea--you won't regret it.)