photo: Scott Harris

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Earlier this week, at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, U2 received the 2025 Woody Guthrie Prize. Bono and The Edge made their way to Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa to receive the award, which honors the spirit of folk icon Woody Guthrie.

One of Guthrie’s closest friends was Pete Seeger. So with this mind, here’s a look back at the 2025 Hudson River Music Festival, via a piece that appeared in the July-August issue of Relix.

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Iconic musician and activist Pete Seeger founded the Great Hudson River Revival—aka the Clearwater Festival—during the late 1960s in order to clean and protect the Hudson River and surrounding waterways. Over the years, the event drew over a half million people to Croton Point Park in Croton-on Hudson, N.Y.. The 2019 edition celebrated the 100th anniversary of Pete Seeger’s birth, but then COVID interceded the following year and the festival began an extended hiatus.

On Saturday, June 14, during the same weekend that Clearwater traditionally took place, a new festival debuted at Croton Point Park. The Hudson River Festival not only captured the spirit of the initial event, but it also drew together many of the same organizers and organizations that supported the original fest—including Riverfest FPS (For Pete’s Sake) and the Harper House Music Foundation—in partnership with Dayglo Presents.

The family-friendly event was facilitated by the efforts of over 125 volunteers, who helped to create a zero waste environment on site. Beyond the main-stage musical offerings, other activities included Pete & Toshi’s Grove, the Circle of Song, the Earthball, the Arm of the Sea Puppet Show and the Boat Flotilla presented by Riverkeeper. Meanwhile, The Rock and Roll Playhouse celebrated Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger during two separate performances.

David Amram and Tom Chapin (photo: Marc Millman)

The main stage festivities commenced at 11 a.m., with a set from Tom Chapin, David Amram and The Chapin Sisters, who dedicated their spot to Pete and Toshi Seeger. Steve Earle & Friends came next, with some solo tunes from Earle, before he welcomed Jorma Kaukonen, Eli Smith, Laura Cantrell, Amram and members of Preservation Hall Jazz Band for the “This City Will Never Drown” finale.

Steve Earle and Jorma Kaukonen (photo: Marc Millman)

Kaukonen then returned for his own performance with fellow guitarist John Hurlbut. They delivered material that spanned Kaukonen’s career, before enlisting the audience on a concluding “This Land Is Your Land” sing-along. That same song later recurred during the animated appearance by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. 

Preservation Hall Jazz Band (photo: Marc Millman)

Following a lively set from Madison Cunningham, Lucius offered an acoustic performance in which vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig were joined by Griffin and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes. In addition to their own originals—which included “Impressions” with guest Cunningham—the musicians covered Warren Zevon’s “Desperados Under the Eaves” and the Grateful Dead’s “Uncle John’s Band.”

Lucius with Griffin and Taylor Goldsmith (photo: Scott Harris)

Finally, Grahame Lesh & Friends brought together Lesh and many of his longtime musical associates, such as Rick Mitarotonda (Goose), Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company, Allman Brothers Band), Rob Barraco (Dark Star Orchestra), Jen Hartswick (Trey Anastasio Band) and the Goldsmith brothers. Their 11-song segment opened with the Dead rarity “Mason’s Children,” then moved into “Bertha,” “Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodeloo” and “Cosmic Charlie.” Later, the ensemble offered highlights like “St. Stephen,” “He’s Gone” and “The Other One,” closing things out with two songs that seemingly referenced the spirit of the occasion as well as the segue from Clearwater to the Hudson River Revival festival—“Days Between” and “The Music Never Stopped.” 

The connected lineage of the two events was also highlighted during some remarks from Dayglo Presents founder— and Relix publisher—Peter Shapiro, who acknowledged the aspirational ideals that brought everyone together decades earlier and continue to maintain their vitality in the present day.