Blues by the River, Riverhead Townscape’s revival of the Riverhead Blues Festival that made its debut last September and was set to repeat Sept. 14 and 15 this year, has been canceled.
The untimely passing of Townscape President Jim Warner at age 57 in June disrupted planning for the two-day event, event volunteer Lisa Pickersgill said. Townscape decided not to attempt to produce the event this year. The organization also canceled a planned country music festival previously scheduled for July 27.
Warner was the principal organizer of both events.
Blues by the River was a six-hour, one-day show last year, featuring a number of noted blues bands and performers in the downtown town square. About 400 tickets were sold for the event, Warner told RiverheadLOCAL after the show.
The Town Board at its Aug. 20 rescinded its previous resolution approving a special event permit for the event.
The Riverhead Blues Festival, first staged by the Riverhead Business Improvement District in 1999, was one of the town’s biggest outdoor music festivals, drawing tens of thousands of fans to the riverfront for a weekend of blues, food and drink, and even fireworks. The Council for the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall took over production and management of the event in 2006. The festival was last produced in 2012.
It is not known right now whether Townscape, which hosts the Riverhead County Fair annually each October, will attempt to reprise the blues music event in the future — or whether it will pursue production of a country music festival.
Correction: This article as originally published erroneously identified Lisa Pickersgill as a Townscape board member.
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