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For musician Rebecca Haviland, the annual “Rock the Farm” music festival is all about great tunes, interesting people and an evening of fun under the stars in East Hampton.
Ms. Haviland will be performing for the fifth time this year at the festival, which will be held on Saturday, July 23, at 6 p.m. at the Ocean View Farm in Amagansett. But this time she will perform there for the first time ever as a solo act. The singer songwriter had previously performed with The Giving Tree, a jam band that often performs covers of the Grateful Dead and other popular rock groups. The musician described her planned solo performance as a blues-driven, country/rock vibe that she insists will have audience members on their feet, dancing.
The “Rock the Farm” festival is the brainchild of three men—Nicholas Kraus, Peter Honerkamp and Rob Kaimowitz—all familiar faces at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett. Mr. Kraus and Mr. Honerkamp are owners and Mr. Kaimowitz works the late shift at the legendary music venue. The three men decided to curate the music festival five years ago to form an outdoor music event that would also serve as a benefit. After a couple of years of donating to various charities, the trio decided that they would begin donating the proceeds of the festival to the Wounded Warrior Project, which sponsors a bicycle ride to raise funds for wounded servicemen.
The cause for “Rock the Farm” hits close to home for Ms. Haviland, who said that she has a couple of friends serving tours of duty in Iraq. One is currently on his fourth tour, she reported.
“I’ve had the honor of meeting a couple of [veterans] last
year,” Ms. Haviland said on Friday. “It’s great to know your money is going to such a great cause.”
Nearly 100 veterans and their families are expected to rock out at the festival this year, according to Mr. Kaimowitz, who is not only a founder and organizer of the event, but is also a member of The Giving Tree.
The festival, which outgrew its former home at Mr. Kraus’s family farm in East Hampton last year, is expected to bring out 1,000 concert-goers to Ocean View Farm this year to see reggae masters Toots and The Maytals, rock-rap group the Born Again Baldwins, and Ms. Haviland perform under the stars.
Before jamming at the outdoor music festival, those hoping to donate can participate in the Hamptons leg of the Wounded Warrior ride on Saturday, which will end at the Rock the Farm festival itself.
“It’s the Hamptons ride in a loop from Amagansett to Sag Harbor,” said Mr. Kraus, who co-founded the Wounded Warrior project with Mr. Honerkamp and veteran Chris Carney. “I’m just a civilian that grew up with no conflicts and then lived through conflicts going on. I just wanted to give something back. It’s growing every year, and it’s growing rapidly.”
Mr. Kraus said he is especially excited for this year’s event due to the performance of Toots and The Maytals, a Talkhouse favorite and internationally known reggae star. Frederick “Toots” Hibbert will be headlining the annual music festival.
“When Nick landed Toots, that was a coup for us,” Mr. Kaimowitz said, adding that he’s excited to see the legend perform. “We want people to get a good value, it’s Toots and three other bands for 100 [-plus] bucks, open bar and all the food you can eat.”
Food and liquor will be donated by local businesses, Mr. Kaimowitz added.
As for the headliner, Mr. Hibbert’s manager, Mike Cacia, said on Friday that the artist is excited to play an outdoor concert in the Hamptons for such an important cause.
“We play at the Talkhouse quite a bit. We’ve been playing there once or twice a year for about 20 years,” Mr. Cacia said. “He’s excited to play and looking forward to it. Peter is a close friend of ours and he asked us to do it.”
“Rock the Farm” will be held on Saturday, July 23, starting at 6 p.m. at the Ocean View Farm in Amagansett. Tickets for the event can be purchased for $125 at rockthehamptons.com. Tickets will not be available at the door. Proceeds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.
Laura Cooper on Jul 18, 2011