Peach Music Festival celebrates 10th anniversary with Black Crowes and more

Gia Mazur, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
·4 min read

Jun. 22—A beloved Northeast Pennsylvania music festival turns 10 this year, and organizers and crowds alike feel just peachy about it.

The Peach Music Festival will rock the Pavilion at Montage Mountain, 1000 Montage Mountain Road, Scranton, from Thursday, June 30, through Sunday, July 3. Started by the Allman Brothers Band and pavilion concert promoter Live Nation, the festival was modeled after the Wanee Festival in Live Oak, Florida, according to a 2012 Times-Tribune story. Because of its scenic mountain setting paired with proximity to restaurants, shops, hotels and more, the Pavilion at Montage Mountain seemed like an ideal venue for the festival.

The event continues to grow with thousands of music lovers descending on the mountain each year to dance, sing, make new friends, meet up with old ones and share in a love of live music. We've put together a guide to the sights, sounds and tastes of Peach Fest to help you celebrate a decade of music and more.

The essentialsPeach Fest opens June 30 at 10 a.m. and closes July 4 at noon. Music will run from Thursday at 4:30 p.m. through Sunday, July 3, at 10 p.m.

Single-day tickets start at $69. All tickets are available through the box office or online at thepeachmusicfestival.com. Re-entry is permitted with a festival pass.

Guests can find refillable water stations on the festival and camping grounds as well as phone-charging stations, ATMs and 24-hour medical service in the campground and RV lots and by each stage during festival hours.

To celebrate the festival's milestone, grab some official anniversary merchandise at section119.com/collections/the-peach-festival-10th- anniversary.

Fuel upDancing to live music works up an appetite, and Peach Fest fans can grab food and drinks at dozens of concession and vendor stands across the festival grounds. There will be typical concert food like hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers and pizza plus some festival favorites such as wraps, sandwiches, barbecue, tacos, burritos and gyros. Plenty of vegetarian and vegan options will available as well. Guests can cool off with beverages including mixed drinks; craft, imported and domestic beers; soda; water; and fresh-squeezed lemonade.

The musicMore than 50 bands will perform across three stages (Peach, Mushroom and Grove) throughout the day and into the night, including some after midnight. Grammy-winner Billy Strings, Trouble No More (who will perform the Allman Brothers' double album "Eat a Peach"), Keller Williams and Samantha Fish kick off the festival on June 30. On Friday, July 1, catch acts including Joe Russo's Almost Dead, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Jason Bonham, Eggy and the Jauntee. July 2's lineup will feature performances by the Trey Anastasio Band, Goose, the Revivalists and Karina Rykman and more. On July 3, the weekend wraps up with sets from Tauk, the Word and others with headliners the Black Crowes capping off the festival.

The schedule and lineup are subject to change. For updated set times, fans can download the Peach Music Festival mobile app for Apple and Android devices.

Off-site parking shuttlesIf you're not camping on the mountain but still want to experience Peach Fest, shuttles transport guests from off-site parking to Montage Mountain during the festival.

'Peach Pulls for People'A Pennsylvania man started a campaign to help Ronald McDonald House of Scranton through Peach Fest.

Doug Bowen, a music fan and retired EMT from West Chester, has collected pull tabs from aluminum cans over the past year to bring to Northeast Pennsylvania when he attends the festival to donate to the Ronald McDonald House. Bowen also encourages fans attending Peach Fest to collect tabs to donate as well. Live Nation, the festival's promoter, will provide receptacle containers to collect tabs at entry points. Donations can come from energy drinks, soup cans and anything else with a metallic tab.

"The Peach Music Festival is comprised of a beautiful group of passionate music fans who want to do something for the surrounding community," Bowen said. "This is our way of giving back and sharing our love of music and doing something beneficial for the Scranton community. We call it 'Peach Pulls for People.'"

All pull tabs collected will go to a recycling center in exchange for money that will benefit the Ronald McDonald House's operating costs, said Warren Shotto, Ronald McDonald House of Scranton executive director. The pull tab program provides extra revenue to the house's budget so it can fulfill its goal of keeping families close during medical treatment. The expense of a stay at the home ranges from $100 to $140 per night, but as part of its mission, the Ronald McDonald House does not ask for anything from its families, and no family is ever turned away.

It takes approximately 1,128 pop tabs to equal 1 pound, and the Ronald McDonald House typically receives 40 cents to 50 cents per pound of pop tabs. The program brings in an average of $6,000 each year.

Contact the writer:

gmazur@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9127;

@gmazurTT on Twitter