Wood Festival Commons opens with the Lake George American Music Festival for the Lake

The two-day American Music Festival for the Lake, held this past weekend, Sept. 20 and 21, in Lake George drew an estimated 1,500 for Saturday’s line up, and another 1,000 on Sunday, according to festival organizer  Robert Millis. “Crowd estimates are tough to make because of the ability of people to come and go. Some came and stayed 30 minutes, some came just for one act, some stayed the whole time,” says Millis.

This was the first year for the festival and the first event held at the new festival grounds in Charles R. Wood Park. “Considering it was year one for the fest and event one for the venue, we pretty much got 90 percent of it right,” said Millis. Saturday, designated as “Rock Saturday,” opened with Lake George Native Rich Ortiz, who was followed by The North and South Dakotas, NRBQ, Paranoid Social Club and Wild Adriatic. Robert Randolph and The Family Band closed the Saturday show.

Country Music Sunday opened with Stony Creek Band, a local favorite. Rich Ortiz followed with a bonus performance. Next on stage was Mississippi swamp/folk rock band Rosco Bandana, Boston roots rockers Girls Guns and Glory, and then the Claire Lynch Band from Tennessee. Sunday’s crowd swelled in numbers towards the evening when closing act New Riders of the Purple Sage took the stage.

A portion of the proceeds from festival ticket and vendor sales went to support the S.A.V.E. Lake George Partnership.  The Partnership is an alliance of conservation groups, municipalities and researchers dedicated to preserving the water quality of Lake George, which has increasingly been threatened by invasive species. The Charles R. Wood Festival space is part of the Westbrook Conservation Park. The 12.5-acre site was formerly home to Gaslight Village theme park.  The conservation park, on the south side of the property, will serve to filter stormwater, removing harmful nutrients and sediments before it reaches Lake George.