Music fest moves to Blairstown

Blairstown — This year’s Skylands Music & Arts Festival will be held at Sycamore Park in Blairstown the weekend of Aug. 20 to 22. “We are very excited about coming to Blairstown,” said event coordinator Mark Clifford. “The new location offers not only a naturally beautiful setting, but the opportunity to grow in ways that we couldn’t before due to space constraints.” For Blairstown, it is an opportunity to host a major entertainment event. Representatives of the town and the recreation department are both very supportive of the festival. The rec department and other town non-profit organizations are hoping that the festival will be a chance for them to raise money for their causes while also enjoying the music. “You can expect only the best in music,” said Clifford, noting that the popular New Orleans-based group The Subdudes has already signed on as the marquee act for the Friday night line-up. “This is truly Northwest New Jersey’s largest family-oriented music festival and it will cover the gamut, from rock to blues to bluegrass and everything in between.” Among the other acts already in the fold are roots rockers The Alternate Routes and Swampadelica, songwriters Vance Gilbert and Maia Sharp, and gypsy swing innovators Caravan of Thieves. Sycamore Park is located just off of Route 94, near North Warren Regional High School and the Blairstown Airport. For more information about the Skylands Music & Arts Festival, visit www.skylands.org or email info@skylands.org.