Yorktown Heights, NY–September 20th was 2014’s last summer evening and the best of the year for The Justin Veatch Fund as Livingston Taylor headlined its fundraising concert at Yorktown Stage. Earlier in the day Mr. Taylor spent more than two hours with area performers who signed up for his condensed master class on stage performance. Attendees included members of The Justin Veatch Fund All Stars who would be the opening act for Livingston that night.
The concert drew 350, a good night for Yorktown Stage, but not as good as The Fund had hoped for. “Those who came went away very happy,” said Jeffrey Veatch, President of The Fund and father of the late Justin Veatch. “We had people from all over the area outside of Yorktown including fans from New York City, New Jersey, Massachusetts and even a couple who flew in from Houston, Texas”. And Livingston was happy to share the stage with the young performers as he joined the All Stars in “Wagon Wheel”, the last song in their opening act.”
“The vibes were fantastic, said Christine Errol who sang and played guitar and banjo for the concert. “people really came together for the music and it was really refreshing.” Esteban Rivera, front man for Last Exit in New York who sang and played guitar as part of the All Stars agreed. “The whole experience felt like an all star experience,” said Rivera. “I truly appreciate it and I’ll remember that show for a very long time. The Justin Veatch Fund does great things.”
Many who attended didn’t leave with just a fond memory of a night of great music, but also brought home some great mementos, like two guitars signed by Livingston donated by Guitar Center and Taylor Guitars as well as other music memorabilia made available especially for the concert. People attending the meet-and-greet reception after the show went home with pictures posed with Livingston, signed CD’s and books as well as personally signed posters that had advertised the concert.
In one of the highlights of the evening four of the Justin Veatch Fund All Stars were invited back on stage for Livingston’s encore of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, a song that has been one of his frequent closers.
“As a concert, rare for Yorktown, it was a great event, “ said Veatch. “To upgrade Yorktown Stage’s sound we hired Audio Production Services, Inc. from White Plains, NY. The room sounded great and even got a compliment from Livingston during the show. Guitar Center provided a piano and other stage equipment as rental donations. I consider the event a huge success bringing a fine headliner to Yorktown and giving young local performers an experience they won’t soon forget.”
See Video Footage from This Event on Our Video Page
Yorktown Heights, NY, July 21, 2016 –– On Saturday, October 15th the famed Allman Brothers Fillmore East concert in NYC 45 years earlier was re-lived as Live at the Fillmore–a tribute to the original Allman Brothers band–was brought to Paramount Hudson Valley in Peekskill by The Justin Veatch Fund. The concert also presented an opportunity for The Justin Veatch Fund All Stars to strut their stuff--and that they did.
Live at the Fillmore — features seven star musicians from Philadelphia–play the music of the Allmans in one of the most distinctive tributes to the early years of The Brothers. Twin guitars, two drummers, percussion and all the rest are the most true-to-form recreation of that musical moment in time. The band features Rick Baldassari (guitars/vocals), Dennis Barth (drums/percussion), Jeff Quattro (B3/piano/vocals), Barron Chandler (acoustic guitar/harmonica/vocals), Mike Mahomet (bass), Lou Maresca (guitar/vocals), and Don McCormick (drums/percussion).
Yorktown Heights, NY, October 12, 2015 - Our Best of the Eagles concert was a great success on October 9th, 2015 as The Justin Veatch Fund held its fourth fundraising concert at the historic Paramount Hudson Valley in Peekskill before an enthusiastic crowd.
Opening for the evening were performances by the Westchester Youth Choirs and The Justin Veatch Fund All Stars. The All Stars–produced by Steven Wright-Mark of the Jessica Lynn band–impressed the crowd in a stunningly solid performance with Ari Perakis and Kayla Paige Fuhst on vocals, Justin Giacchetto on guitar, Eddie Fiscella on keys, Wilson Yarnell on bass and Harrison Dolan on drums. It was a fitting opening before the Best of the Eagles had the crowd dancing in the isles for more than 90-minutes. Perakis and Giacchetto joined the veteran central New Jersey band for a high energy finale.
The Justin Veatch Fund’s mission, in addition to awarding annual scholarships to graduating high school seniors who plan further study of music, is to create musical opportunities for talented teen musicians. It started in 2009 with monthly open mic nights co sponsored with the Yorktown Teen Center and two-day summer music workshops which began in 2010.
In order to showcase the most talented young musicians we encountered we created a concert series to afford them the opportunity to open for a well known headliner. In 2012, it was Bernie Williams and his All Star Band, last September it was Livingston Taylor and on October 9th the Best of the Eagles, considered one of the premiere tribute shows in the country. All proceeds from the Paramount concert are going toward Justin Veatch Fund scholarships and other music programs for teens.
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