Legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Coming to Orange County

One of the most iconic moments of rock and roll is definitely the Woodstock Arts and Music Festival in 1969. It was a one of a kind weekend in Bethel, NY where way more people than expected showed up at Max Yasgur’s farm for what turned out to be the concert of the century. There was barely enough food, Rain, lightning, bad drugs, mud. But through it all, the hundreds of thousands banded together, became a community that helped one another, and really felt peace and love. And incredible music.

One of the most iconic bands that played at the Woodstock Concert was Jefferson Airplane. They were an awesome band out of San Francisco, and they played a 13 song set at Woodstock. And just about everybody had a crush on singer Grace Slick who was attractive, had an incredibly booming voice and an amazing stage presence. It was a set never to be forgotten.

Through the years, the lineup changed a few times, but my favorite was the lineup that played Woodstock. Grace Slick, Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Spencer Dryden and Nicky Hopkins. All extremely talented musicians. And one of my favorite offshoot bands of the Jefferson Airplane is Hot Tuna formed by guitarist/ vocalist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady. 

Sadly both Paul Kantner and Marty Balin have passed away, and Grace Slick no longer performs. You can still occasionally catch a Hot Tuna show, though, and if you’re lucky, you may even get to see Jorma Kaukonen in concert. Jorma is a great solo artist, too, by the way. Which brings me to the best news of this article. 

Jorma Kaukonen will be performing right here in the Hudson Valley. He’ll be at the Sugarloaf Performing Arts Center in Chester on March 3 at 8PM. If you’ve never seen this legendary artist in concert, I highly recommend it, especially if you’re a classic rock fan. For tickets and more info, visit the Sugarloaf Performing Arts Center website.