Since 2016, the Hudson Valley has played host to Huichica East, the East Coast incarnation of the popular Sonoma music festival. Set at the beautiful Chaseholm Farm, a certified organic and 100 percent grass-fed dairy farm in Pine Plains, Huichica East answers the West Coast’s storied festival with epic pastoral settings, adventurous music and farm-grown food.
From Sonoma to the Hudson Valley, the Huichica Festival’s artfully curated music caters to the hip, but not dogmatically so. Pronounced wah-CHEE-ka, Huichica began in California in 2010 – possibly as a less heated and cutthroat response to Coachella, but those are my words, not theirs. The unimpeachably cool music curation is only part of the story. There will be yoga classes and community cow milking at this family-friendly celebration of music.
The lineup contains its fair share of wow. Top of that list for me, of course, is the great British eccentric Robyn Hitchcock, who, from the Soft Boys to the present, is a school of one. For others, the wow may come from legendary singer Betty LaVette, or Garth Hudson, or local space-rock celebrities Mercury Rev, or the millennial California psychedelic twang rock outfit the Allah-Lahs. For others still, it may be Amen Dune, or Real Estates’ Martin Courtney. It’s a deep lineup.
Huichica East spreads out leisurely over the weekend of Friday through Sunday, August 24 to 26. Three-day passes run $90, while day passes cost $45 for Friday, $60 for Saturday and $30 for Sunday. Paid camping is available. For camping options, a full schedule of performances and all other information, visit Huichica’s website at https://hudson.huichica.com.