Riverfront Music Fest coming home to Waterfront Park

Jim Sullivan, Gloucester Daily Times, Mass.
·3 min read

Jul. 14—NEWBURYPORT — Singer-songwriter Brett Dennen will headline the Riverfront Music Festival when it returns to Waterfront Park, rain or shine, Saturday, July 23.

Donald St. Sauveur, general manager at producers 92.5 The River, said this year marks the radio station's 20th annual Riverfest, though in 2019 it was moved to Gloucester's Stage Fort Park prior to being suspended for the pandemic.

"(The event) is probably a little bit more mellow with more of a chill, festival vibe to it, with probably the right size lineup for Waterfront Park in Newburyport," he said.

Mayor Sean Reardon said he is "thrilled" to see the festival return.

"Waterfront Park is just the perfect venue for 92.5 The River bringing these acts to Newburyport. We just had a long Fourth of July weekend with live music on the waterfront for three days, and this is an opportunity to hopefully get some good weather and some great music and bring a lot of good people into Newburyport," he said.

Local band Freevolt will kick off the festival, playing from 12:15 to 1 p.m., then the seven-piece Chad Hollister Band will perform from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.

"Our sister station in Vermont discovered the Chad Hollister Band 20 years ago and we are excited to help them become a little more familiar in the Newburyport and Essex County area," St. Sauveur said.

Adam Ezra Group will hit the stage from 3 to 4 p.m., and national singer-songwriter Brett Dennen will close out the day from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

"This is more in the vein of the singer-songwriter artists that a lot of our audience has grown up with listening to on The River," St. Sauveur said.

All-day satellite parking lots will be available for a $25 fee at Mersen USA on Merrimac Street; The Henry Graf Jr. Memorial Skating Rink on Low Street; the MBTA parking lot on Boston Way; and Mark Richey Woodworking and Design on Parker Street. Four buses will provide transportation to and from Waterfront Park every 20 minutes from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"We are also encouraging people to walk, bike or take the MBTA and the rail trail," St. Sauveur said.

After the one stint in Gloucester, St. Sauveur said he and his radio station "missed" Newburyport and wanted to come back after taking the past two years off due to the pandemic.

"First of all, it's on a river. That is kind of important for the Riverfront Music Festival," he said. "But is there anything more iconic than the backdrop of the Merrimack River on Waterfront Park?"

The mayor said the city was on board with the festival's return and that the planning process was a collaborative effort between the radio station, the Chamber of Commerce and city department heads.

"You have to bring your Police, Fire, DPS and Harbor Master departments together to make sure we dot all of our I's and cross all of our T's and I think we have that in place," he said. "We've got a great lineup and we are happy they are coming back."

St. Sauveur said his 50,000 watt radio station also has the power to let people know about how to best plan ahead for the festival and attendees are encouraged to arrive early with their blankets and chairs.

"This has been a much more vetted process than I have ever participated in in the past and we, as a radio station, felt like we have been much more involved and we are very grateful to the mayor's administration for that," he said.

Jim Sullivan may be contacted at 978-961-3145 or jsullivan@gloucestertimes.com. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.