Summer Hoot Music Festival set for Aug 26-28

Celebrating its 10th year as a highlight of the Northeast music festival circuit, The Summer Hoot will be held Aug. 26-28 at the Ashokan Center in Olivebridge, New York.

To purchase tickets and for information on the festival, venue, camping, lodging, sponsorships and volunteering, visit hoot.love. Children are admitted free. 

Produced and hosted by folk-roots musicians Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar Merenda of The Mammals (aka Mike + Ruthy), the 2022 edition of the compelling and empowering Summer Hoot will feature food, nature, community and performances by nearly two dozen musical acts.

Boasting an environmentally sustainable flair, powered entirely by solar energy and utilizing reusable pint cups to reduce waste, the Summer Hoot promotes inclusivity and a family-friendly, welcoming atmosphere where a diverse crowd comes together annually to enjoy great music.

“The Hoot is where we celebrate what’s good!” said Ruth Ungar Merenda, who in addition to performing in The Mammals serves as Hoot Event Producer and Director of Community Outreach for the Ashokan Center. “It’s not every day that people of all ages can safely explore nature and enjoy new music together, but here at the Hoot that’s just the beginning. This festival lets us share the joy and freedom I was privileged to experience in my own childhood at Ashokan, and keep the party going for generations to come.”

Among the acts scheduled to perform at the 2022 Summer Hoot are:

• Naiika Sings, a New York-based singer of the highest order who cut her teeth charming the pants off commuters on the New York City subway.

• Catalan self- taught composer and multi-instrumentalist Lau Noah, who is based in New York City and has built a reputation around “enchanting music lovers one song at a time” (Billboard).

• Six-piece Hudson Valley funk-rock jam band What?

• Hometown fiddling folk legends and visionaries Jay Ungar & Molly Mason.

• The third wave ska band Pilfers, fronted by iconic British-Jamaican vocalist Coolie Ranx.

• Olivia K & the Parkers, the brainchild of Olivia K, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and fearless leader. 

• Acoustic-punk favorite Jeffrey Lewis, praised by Uncut for "his terrific wordplay—sharp, funny, poignant and much more—that really dazzles.” 

• The New York-based City Stompers dance group, presenting high-energy clogging to hot, live hoe-downs.

• Serious Comedy & Juggling, starring Tony Duncan in a dazzling one-man show for all ages.

• The Mammals, torch bearers for American folk music of depth and joy who “are nothing short of sublime” (Americana UK), and bring, “the defiant spirit needed to heal a damaged world” (No Depression).

Past performers at The Summer Hoot (and Winter Hoot) include Pete Seeger, David Bromberg, Natalie Merchant, Ani DiFranco, Amy Helm, Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Byron Isaacs, Simi Stone, Dan Bern, AC Newman, Elizabeth Mitchell, Loudon Wainwright III, Dom Flemons, David Bromberg and many others. 

In addition to the live music on two stages, the 2022 Summer Hoot will feature guided hikes to the Ashokan Center’s Cathedral Gorge and historic 1885 Covered Bridge. Between-band speakers will celebrate “nature’s bounty” with information on fungi, foraging, nutrition, fitness and health. The Summer Hoot’s diverse range of programming will also include morning gong baths with Love Waves; all-day kids’ activities in the Kids Zone; blacksmithing; and a square dance.

Camping at the Summer Hoot is available for $50 per site. Hostel-style indoor lodging is available for $50 per bunk, and includes a mattress and pillow. Bunk-sleepers should bring their own toiletries, towel, pillowcase, and bedding or sleeping bag. Saturday and Sunday breakfast is included in the cost of camping and lodging.

Volunteers who work two, four-hour shifts on details that include the main gate, EMT, trash/recycling, parking or kitchen will receive a free weekend pass in exchange for their time.

Advance weekend passes are available for $80. These include admission and guaranteed parking. Day passes and “Pay-What-You-Can” tickets will also be available at the door.

“Taste the Garden” tickets cost $200 and include a weekend pass to the Summer Hoot; VIP donor reception at 4-6 p.m. on Friday evening, with garden tours, live music from Jay Ungar & Molly Mason and friends; and locally-sourced organic hors d'oeuvres and beverages. 

All ticket and festival proceeds will benefit the year-round cultural and environmental education programs at the Ashokan Center, a former field campus for the State University of New York at New Paltz. This site at the foot of the Catskill Mountains, in the heart of New York’s Hudson Valley, inspired legendary fiddle player Jay Ungar to compose the tender tune, “Ashokan Farewell,” which gave tone and texture to the Ken Burns PBS documentary, “The Civil War.”

The Ashokan Center is at 477 Beaverkill Road in Olivebridge, New York, approximately two hours north of New York City, one hour south of Albany, and 20 minutes west of Woodstock. The nearest city is Kingston, New York.

Visit hoot.love and ashokancenter.org for information.