Caramoor Spotlights Americana Music with Daylong American Roots Music Festival Headlined by Lucinda Williams (June 27), Plus Special Performances by New Supergroup of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz & Aoife O’Donovan (July 10) and Suzanne Vega (Aug 1)

Caramoor – celebrating its 70^th anniversary season from June 20-August 2 – once again spotlights Americana music by presenting its annual daylong American Roots Music Festival on June 27, with Grammy Award-winning alt-country singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams as this summer’s headliner. There will also be a concert on July 10 when the new folk supergroup of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan bring their “I’m With Her” Tour to the Spanish Courtyard, and a final weekend performance by influential singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, who returns to Caramoor on August 1. By showcasing iconic artists like Williams and Vega alongside an array of up-and-coming performers, Caramoor incorporates American music across generations and genres as part of its cornucopia of music and more each season. Caramoor features seven weeks of summer orchestral, chamber, jazz, roots and family concerts, as well as opera, multi-ethnic dance, young artist showcases and sound art, all produced on the historic Caramoor estate: 90 acres of picturesque Italianate architecture and gardens in Katonah, Westchester, a pastoral escape just one hour’s drive from Manhattan. With folk, country, bluegrass, gospel, blues and traditional/contemporary roots performances at multiple locations around the estate throughout the day, the daylong American Roots Music Festival on June 27 offers the ideal opportunity to explore Caramoor with picnics packed and ears open.

American Roots Music Festival

Lucinda Williams – a Louisiana-born folk-rocker dubbed “America’s best songwriter” by Time magazine for such albums as Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and the new Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone – is part of a tradition of great headliners at Caramoor’s American Roots Music Festival, from Rosanne Cash and Del McCoury to David Bromberg and David Grisman. This summer’s festival, on June 27, will feature not only veteran stars but young talents across the spectrum of Americana music. These include Oklahoman singer-songwriter Parker Millsap; award winning multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell and power-house vocalist Teresa Williams; the Kristin Andreassen Band, which blends traditional roots with modern Brooklyn indie influences; Philadelphia roots-rock group Mason Porter; New York-based trad-jazz band Jessy Carolina & the Hot Mess; Hudson Valley “high-octane Americana” sextet Spuyten Duyvil; singer songwriting troubadour Matt Turk, engaging folk singers Walkabout Clearwater Chorus, and rising bluegrass stars Cole Quest and the City Pickers. The festival also includes free activities for children, such as The Social Music Hour -an all-ages sing-along and a play-along session, as well as the Caramoor Scavenger Hunt and I-Spy tours of Rosen House. Two ticketing options allow visitors either to experience the entire range of activities throughout the day – including the evening headline performance – or to enjoy only the daytime activities and performances. WFUV, 90.7FM, is the media sponsor of Caramoor’s American Roots Music Festival.

“I’m With Her” tour comes to Caramoor

After the daylong festival, the Americana offerings at Caramoor continue with a July 10 concert by three stars of the acoustic, folk and roots world – Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz & Sara Watkins – who have come together as a supergroup for the “I’m With Her” world tour. The Caramoor performance will be the trio’s only New York-area appearance of the summer. Playing as a band, the three musicians explore a range of traditional and contemporary songs with their unique arrangements and vocal harmonies. Jarosz explains: “I’m really excited about this trio, because we each do our own thing and we each do it differently. I’m looking forward to discovering all of the unique possibilities that come with combining our individual voices.” Their concert will take place in the lovely outdoor space of the Spanish Courtyard.

Suzanne Vega in Concert

Finally, on August 1, New York City native Suzanne Vega – creator of such iconic folk-pop hits as “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” – returns to Caramoor and helps cap this season’s offerings with a performance in the Spanish Courtyard. Vega, whose first gig was at age 12 performing with Pete Seeger at Carnegie Hall, has ranged across folk and pop music in her career, writing songs that have become a part of the wider culture. Other artists have sampled and interpolated “Tom’s Diner” into their songs, from Tupac and Destiny’s Child to R.E.M., Fall Out Boy and Will Smith; disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder’s new Déjà Vu album even includes a cover of the song featuring Britney Spears. Vega’s music has also been used in TV shows from The Sopranos to The Simpsons, as well as in such films as Mike Nichols’s Closer. The singer-songwriter’s Spanish Courtyard show promises to be an intimate journey through her catalog of contemporary folk songs.

A detailed events listing of Caramoor American Roots concerts appears below, and more information is available at www.caramoor.org.

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About Caramoor

Caramoor is a performing arts center located on a unique 90-acre setting of Italianate architecture and gardens in Westchester County, NY. It enriches the lives of its audiences through innovative and diverse musical performances of the highest quality. Its mission also includes mentoring young professional musicians and providing educational programs for young children centered around music. Audiences are invited to come early to explore the beautiful grounds, tour the historic Rosen House and on special Sundays enjoy a delicious Afternoon Tea or unwind with a pre-concert picnic, and discover beautiful music in the relaxed settings of the Venetian Theater, Spanish Courtyard, Music Room of the Rosen House, and the magnificent gardens. Summer concerts take place in two outdoor theaters: the 1,508-seat, acoustically superb Venetian Theater and the more intimate, romantic 470-seat Spanish Courtyard. In the fall and winter all concerts are presented in the magnificent Music Room in the Rosen House. Caramoor’s gardens, also used for concerts and the Garden of Sonic Delights, are well worth the visit and include nine unique perennial gardens. Among them are a Sense Circle for the visually impaired, the Sunken Garden, a Butterfly Garden, the Tapestry Hedge, and the Iris and Peony Garden.

Caramoor: upcoming American Roots performances

June 24

Caramoor@KMA

Spuyten Duyvil

June 27 

American Roots Music Festival  

Multiple Locations

Lucinda Williams

Parker Millsap

Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams

Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess

Kristin Andreassen Band