Bedford Music Festival slides into a new venue

Big Head Todd & The Monsters Photos COURTESY CARAMOOR

By JEFF MORRIS

The Bedford Music Festival is back for 2025, in a new venue and with a new headliner.

With an official name of Destination 39.3 Presents: Bedford Music Festival at Caramoor, the celebration of live music and local community spirit will take place Saturday, Sept. 13, beginning at 2 p.m. 

As the name indicates, the festival is a collaboration between Destination 39.3 and Caramoor, and is set for Caramoor’s Friends Field. It will feature a headlining performance by Big Head Todd and The Monsters, as well as a dynamic lineup of artists, food and drink offerings, all set amid the beautiful gardens and grounds of Caramoor.

The appearance of Big Head Todd and The Monsters in Katonah is part of a tour that will take them from Colorado, through Utah, to Massachusetts, back to Colorado and to California during August and September. It marks a follow-up to the group’s 40th anniversary tour in 2024. Their latest album, “Her Way Out,” was released in May 2023.

Big Head Todd and The Monsters traces its origins back to Boulder, Colo., where founders Todd Park Mohr, Rob Squires and Brian Nevin began playing together in the mid 1980s. They broke through with their third album, “Sister Sweetly” in 1993, which includes songs such as “Broken Hearted Savior” and “Bittersweet” and went on to sell 1.2 million copies. They have toured nearly nonstop ever since, putting out some 15 studio albums and five albums of live recordings.

Since their formation, Big Head Todd and The Monsters have continued to evolve and explore, moving beyond their Colorado club circuit roots — where their soulful and intense live shows quickly built a strong reputation — to become one of the most adventurous, respected and durable bands in America. With all of that history behind them, it would be easy to play the nostalgia card and fall back on past glories, but they say that’s of no interest to them. Though they still love the material that first brought them to their fans, they now approach it with a fresh, seasoned perspective.

“Obviously, I think the band has gotten better over the years because when you develop yourself you continue to improve, and I think we have improved musically,” said Mohr. “No one ever expects a band to last this long. We’re very, very lucky.”

The music festival will begin at 2:30 p.m., when The Rock and Roll Playhouse performs Music of the Grateful Dead & More, for families and kids. Following at 3:45 p.m. will be Wendlo, an alternative-pop duo of husband and wife Jacob and Chelsea Hamilton, best known online for their stripped-down arrangements and punchy, reimagined covers. (The duo’s name is “old new” spelled backwards.) Then at 5:15 pm is Fantastic Cat, a band that has appeared multiple times on CBS Saturday Morning and was called by Rolling Stone “the supergroup you need to know.” Big Head Todd and The Monsters take the stage at 7 p.m. All performance times are approximate. 

Destination 39.3, named for the town of Bedford’s actual square-mile geographic measurement, was started in early 2022 as a resident-led initiative to help create a greater sense of community engagement for the three hamlets of Bedford Hills, Bedford Village and Katonah. Sherri Owles, who co-founded the nonprofit, remains its board vice president. When it was founded, she said, “We’re just looking to bring people together to enjoy our town, and beautify our town wherever we can.” She said their goal was to look at the town holistically, instead of just the hamlets. 

The festival will also feature local community restaurants serving “the best food and drink”; attendees are asked to “support our local friends and leave any outside food and beverage at home.” Among those participating are Bazodee Street Foods, Red Velvet NYC, Br’ers BBQ, Mana-Thai, Pizza Girls NY, Mexican Fiesta Taqueria, and Great Performances.

Early Bird and VIP tickets are available now. VIP tickets include concert tickets, access to an exclusive, covered area with food, drinks, and seating, and guaranteed seating for each performance in the event of rain. Tickets are free for all children under the age of 15. In the event of inclement weather, performances will take place in the covered Venetian Theater.

For tickets and more information, visit destination393.org or caramoor.org/event/bedford-music-festival-at-caramoor. 

“Music is more than sound — it’s the heartbeat of our community,” said Owles. “Join us Saturday, Sept. 13, in bringing our town closer, one beat at a time.”

Jeff Morris has been a reporter for The Recorder since its inception, and previously wrote for The Record-Review, The Lewisboro Ledger, and business periodicals, and even edited jokes for Reader’s Digest.