Saturday, September 17th, from noon until 8 pm, will be filled with music, bbq, and brews as the 2022 Bluegrass, Brews & BBQ Free Music Festival lands in Canal Place in Little Falls.

For BBQ, you’ll have the Elks and their famous chicken BBQ dinners starting at noon, along with Promise Land Farm BBQ and 508 Salvage BBQ. You can have your fill of any type of BBQ you can think of as long as you head down to Sterzinar Park.

For brews, you’ve got several choices.

Rock Valley Brewing will have a tent in the park and swag and plenty to say to convince you to head down to their beer garden. They offer a variety of house-brewed beer, local spirits, hard ciders, and soft drinks.

Pizza, beer, and wine your thing? Well, go inside the Stone Mill building behind the stage and get your fill of Mangia Macrina’s Wood-Fired Pizza and drink.

Are you interested in Vegan options? Try the Cafe at Stone Mill directly behind the stage. Order inside, then sit in their shaded area behind the stage to catch all the tunes. Then, finish that healthy meal with an ice cream cone at the window. You can treat yourself! If the word Vegan gets to you, they’ll have regular old hamburgers and hotdogs outside on the grill just behind the stage.

Canal Side Inn will be outside on the sidewalk east of the park. They’ll have Southern fried cornflake crusted chicken with roasted garlic whipped potatoes, locally sourced corn on the cob, Sleepy Bear honey cornbread, and a mix of drinks at the bar.

Later in the afternoon, Louie’s Grapevine Gyros will come down from another gig up north to ensure he brings his favorite foods to the event.

Did somebody say Moonshine? DikinDurt Distillery is back with a tasting booth. Their Mohawk Valley Moonshine is handcrafted with New York State-grown grains and distilled in the hills of the Mohawk Valley with a custom 100-gallon copper still built from a real Kentucky moonshiner.

‘To Hell and Back’ corn whisky will make an appearance as The Erie Canal Distillers of Fort Plain bring their award-winning six times distilled, sour mashed, unaged, 100% corn whisky, grown and distilled in the Historic Mohawk Valley of Upstate New York to the park.

And music? Let’s just say this ain’t your grandpa’s Bluegrass. Well, OK…it starts out that way with Cincinnati Creek coming on at noon, where can you hear toe-tapping melodies, tight bluegrass harmonies, and original melodies, all with some good fun thrown in.

Following them onstage at 2 pm is Andrea Asprelli and Jason Borisoff, a duo who have given a lot of care to the songwriting and lyrics of their music, offering a straightforward delivery as dual harmonies. A good groove with memorable songs and melodies, something that most find enduring.

The Brothers Blue are next at 4 pm, and their music is rooted in the fertile tradition of old-time fiddle music, offering elements from Country, Bluegrass, Cajun, and Irish music. Their tight huddle around a single microphone and groove-oriented arrangements prompted one fan to describe them as a “one-mind band” and another as “a dancer’s dream.”

The feature act starts at 6 pm. The five-piece string quintet Dirty Blanket uses an array of influences and a passion for creating original music to bring their songs to the stage. They’ve been touring the American Northeast, making names for themselves on the festival circuits in cities like New York, DC, Baltimore, Burlington, and beyond. They’ve played events with some of the highest-profile names in Bluegrass - The Del McCoury Band, The Infamous String Dusters, Jeff Austin Band, the Kitchen Dwellers, and more.

So, no excuses, the weather will be perfect, the food, beer, and bands will be great, and the Bluegrass, Brews & BBQ Festival is sandwiched perfectly between garlic and cheese. It’s a day you won’t want to miss! Just don’t forget to bring the family and your fold-up chair!

About the Bluegrass, Brews & BBQ

Bluegrass, Brews & BBQ is an annual festival held at Canal Place in Little Falls, NY, and co-sponsored by the City of Little Falls Tourism Committee and the Little Falls Youth and Family Center.

The festival offers entertainment for people of all ages, celebrating creative expression and nurturing the art of songwriting. The 2022 festival will be held on September 17th, 2022, from Noon until 8 pm in the city’s historic Canal Place, an open-air, family-friendly environment with interactive demonstrations, continuous music, food, and fun throughout the day. For more information about the festival, contact David E. Warner, Festival Event Director, at (315)508-5310 or email dave@littlefallsbluegrassfestival.com.