Seventh Annual Sag Harbor American Music Festival Is September 21-24

At the core of the seventh annual Sag Harbor American Music Festival, happening Thursday, September 21, through Sunday, September 24, is a sweet blending of indigenous musical ingredients—roots, rockabilly, jazz, folk, funk, country and bluegrass—that will serve up an eclectic yet curiously cohesive Americana entrée.

New to the festival this year will be two full days of live music in and around the village of Sag Harbor.

“It’s been our mission from the get-go to provide great live music to as many people as possible, so we’ve added another day, and more creative venues, like the IGA loading dock, to make that happen,” said Kelly Connaughton Dodds, the president and co-artistic director of the festival.

The festival will also include an additional concert at the Old Whalers’ Church on Friday night featuring New Orleans R&B/funk songwriter Jon Cleary.

“We always have a big presence of local bands and songwriters, but, in the true spirit of American music, we reach out to world-renowned musicians and songwriters from different parts of the country to round things out,” Ms. Dodds said. “And Cleary, a 2016 Grammy winner—who has performed with Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Ryan Adams and the late B.B. King—fits that bill, perfectly.”

The festival kicks off on Thursday night at the Bay Street Theater with a CD release party, a performance by local singer-songwriter Inda Eaton, and a viewing of “Legends of American Music,” featuring rare film footage of some of the most recognizable music icons from the 20th century, such as Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, Sam Cooke, Benny Goodman and Jerry Garcia, to name a handful.

Headlining the festival on Saturday night at the Old Whalers’ Church is the Nancy Atlas Project, a band and frontwoman who have a long history playing many Sag Harbor venues.

“This is a huge gig for us, and one that we don’t take lightly—it’s our first time!” Nancy Atlas said.

“For the gig at the Old Whalers’ Church, we’re going to try and create a magical fall evening where people leave that historic venue feeling moved,” she explained. “I believe that part of the success of our band is that we play each show like we are going to die tomorrow. It might not start out that way, but, I assure you, at some point we get there. I think it’s important to give it all you’ve got, every time. We never take our audience for granted.”

Opening for the Nancy Atlas Project will be Hopefully Forgiven, the local band led by Telly Karoussos and Brad Penuel, a pair of singer-songwriters and guitarists who have been playing together for about eight years.

“We’re going to be playing a bunch of tunes that we just recorded out of our studio in Sag Harbor, not too far from the Whalers’ Church,” Mr. Karoussos said. The songs are from their EP “Soaked,” which they recently released digitally.

“We call it rock ’n’ roll with a twang,” Mr. Karoussos said of their sound. “We like to harmonize, and help each other write the songs.”

He added that they are excited to play in the historic church.

“Maybe this will all fix everything if we play in a church,” Mr. Karoussos said in a tongue-in-cheek reference to the band’s name. “After this, we might be good to go.”

On Saturday morning—at the wee hour of 10 o’clock—a 30-piece percussion procession, Escola de Samba Boom, will wind its way from Windmill Beach through town, no doubt waking locals, and visitors, alike. “It’s our not-so-subtle way of saying to the community, ‘Here we go!’” Ms. Dodds said with a big laugh.

After that, nearly every venue—from a bookstore to restaurants and cafés—in Sag Harbor, will have live music streaming out its doors.

Keeping in pace with the local scene, Gene Casey, who is known for his mind-bending shows with his band The Lone Sharks, will for the first time do a singer-songwriter set with Tricia Scotti.

“I’m happy to be part of this amazing festival. This is the first time I’ve been asked to perform at the festival as a sort of singer-songwriter artist, rather than with my band, and I look forward to the challenge,” Mr. Casey said with a wide grin. “I’ll be joined on-stage with Tricia, a singer/guitarist, who has performed with everyone from Wilson Pickett to Joey Ramone.”

However, for Mr. Casey the term Americana has other associations.

“For me, Americana is a term that is a necessary evil. Over the years my music has been described as ‘rockabilly,’ ‘swing,’ ‘country’ and a lot of other less flattering terms that I don’t care to mention here,” he said with a big laugh. “But it’s OK with me, even if that term conjures up images of Grandma Moses, and Frank Capra movies.”

On Sunday, the family friendly band Astrograss will get the kids moving and dancing around with their take on bluegrass and folk.

And while gleaming shifting-shards of sunlight shimmer off monster yachts in the harbor, the festival gets back to its roots, with a mini-folk festival, on Sunday afternoon.

One of the artists performing is local folk singer Caroline Doctorow. “I’d like to think of my band as a high-powered string band, with a nod to the ’60s folk revival,” Ms. Doctorow said. “I hope that people take away from our music a sense that music can create positive social change, and in a lot of ways that is the job of a folk singer.”

Coming full circle, Ms. Dodds said that the main feeling of the festival is laid back, with people dancing in the streets, and after a long summer, residents who’ve worked hard all season get to enjoy a great space to unwind and celebrate the town.

“We want people to leave the festival inspired, and connected to the community, meeting new people, while listening to some great American music,” she said. “Music is a shared experience. That’s life, right? That’s living. It brings us together, and this festival is all about supporting local business, and community, and we want everyone involved to have a great time.”

While most of the music events throughout the weekend are free, tickets need to be purchased for the opening night ceremonies at Bay Street Theater and the concerts at the Old Whalers’ Church.

For more information about the Sag Harbor American Music Festival, and a full lineup of performers, visit sagharbormusic.org.