Plans are still underway for the Field Day Music Festival, which was denied permits by the town of Riverhead, NY yesterday. The event is scheduled to take place next weekend, June 7 8, at Enterprise Park in Calverton, NY with performances by Radiohead, The Beastie Boys, Beck, The Roots and Particle, among others. Despite yesterdays decision, executive producer Andrew Dreskin feels the event can still be salvaged. We are moving ahead with efforts to keep the Field Day Music Festival on track. This notice of denial was premature and we are continuing to
work closely with the Town of Riverhead and Riverhead Police with ongoing meetings
scheduled for this evening. Obviously we are disappointed by this decision but it appears to be
based more on procedural issues than substantive problems. We believe we
can resolve this issue quickly so that we can stage a festival that
benefits the town, the county and a world wide audience that seeks to
come to Calverton.’
There is also currently a lawsuit being filed by the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, an environmental group that is suing Dreskin and the town of Riverhead, claiming that a proper environmental review of the festival site was not conducted. If the festival is held, it would coincide with the nesting season of the rare grasshopper sparrow, which lays its eggs in the proposed concert area. The environmental group has asked the court to issue a restraining order that would prevent concert pre-production as well as the event itself.
Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available. The official festival website is located at www.fielddayfest.com.