NEPA Scene Staff

Peach Music Festival returns to Montage Mountain in Scranton July 25-28, new aftermovie released

Peach Music Festival returns to Montage Mountain in Scranton July 25-28, new aftermovie released
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It was announced today that the Peach Music Festival will take over The Pavilion at Montage Mountain and Montage Mountain Waterpark in Scranton for the eighth straight year on Thursday, July 25 through Sunday, July 28, 2019.

This follows last year’s change to July from its usual August dates so as not to conflict with other festivals featuring similar jam band lineups.

Early Bird Passes, which start at $99 for four-day festival passes and $139 for four-day camping passes, plus fees, go on sale this Friday, Nov. 16 at noon at thepeachmusicfestival.com.

According to the website, there are two types of non-VIP passes: a four-day reserved pass and a four-day GA pass.

Four-day reserved passes provide a reserved seat in the 100 level during headlining acts and the artist directly before the headlining acts. Prior to the those performances, everyone will have access to the 100 level except for a small portion that is reserved for a VIP viewing area. During the headlining performances, a four-day GA pass will give fans access to all remaining areas of the concert venue except for the 100 level and VIP areas.

All fans who want to camp are required to purchase a festival pass and camping bundle.

The official 2018 aftermovie was also released today, featuring live performances, clips from interviews, plenty of fans having fun, and shots of the well-received reunion of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre jamgrass band Cabinet on July 19:

The initial lineup of the 2019 Peach Fest may not be announced until early next year. For locals who can’t wait until then, Dark Star Orchestra will play at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe on Nov. 21, Cabinet is set to headline a “New Year’s Eve Extravaganza” near Harrisburg on Dec. 31, and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead is also coming to Penn’s Peak on March 13.

Founded by The Allman Brothers Band and soldiering on after the band parted ways in 2014, the Peach was headlined by the Allmans in its initial thee years and continues to feature its members every year in different bands and tributes.

Held on Thursday, July 19 through Sunday, July 22, about a month earlier than in previous years, the impressive, crowd-pleasing lineup of the 2018 Peach Fest included Dickey Betts in his first performance of 2018 since coming out of retirement; legendary Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh; Gov’t Mule with two sets, including a special “Dark Side of the Mule” performance; moe. and Little Feat performing “Waiting for Columbus” featuring Turkuaz Horns; Oteil & Friends (Oteil Burbridge, Melvin Seals, John Kadlecik, Jay Lane, Weedie Braimah, Alfreda Gerald, and Scott Metzger); The Devon Allman Project featuring Duane Betts; The Revivalists; Joe Russo’s Almost Dead; Chris Robinson Brotherhood; Twiddle; Blackberry Smoke; Pigeons Playing Ping Pong; Turkuaz; Spafford; Warren Haynes; and many more, along with roaming “artists at large” like the Funky Dawgz Brass Band, Turkuaz Horns, and Brandon “Taz” Niederaurer.

Popular local band Cabinet even returned from “indefinite hiatus” to play one of only two scheduled concerts in 2018 on Thursday, once again taking the main stage they headlined at the Susquehanna Breakdown in years prior. Cabinet members played in different configurations throughout the weekend as well – JP Biondo played a solo set (with Christopher Kearney and Ellen Siberian Tiger) as well as with Pappy Biondo, and Pappy joined Dylan Skursky on their latest project, Gatos Blancos, with Shavertown guitarist Justin Mazer.

See NEPA Scene’s photos from the 2018 Peach Music Festival here, along with a full review of Cabinet’s set with photos and video here. See Beautiful People of NEPA portraits of Peach attendees and artists here.