HAVERSTRAW, NY — When Rockland Music Fest XII takes the stage at Bowline Point Park on Saturday, Sept. 12, the annual celebration of local music will carry a salty message – considerably more serious than the entertainment surrounding it: “Slow the F Down on the Road!”
For Rockland Music Fest organizer Tom Ossa, this year’s message is deeply personal.
Ossa recently discussed during a recent appearance on Brion Hayman’s Bare Wires podcast how his father was killed in an automobile-related tragedy when Ossa was just 12 years old. More to the point, he was killed by a drunk driver while changing a tire, at 2 am on the Harlem River Drive, near-directly across from Yankee Stadium.
It was an event that shaped Ossa’s childhood – and unconsciously remained part of his life long after the accident itself. And for this year’s Rockland Music Fest, Ossa and his team of music festival organizers will connect that personal history with a much broader effort to draw attention to automobile safety in Rockland County.
Watch the segment now:
The festival is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, at Bowline Point Park, bringing musicians, residents and local supporters together for what has traditionally been a day centered on live music and community fundraising.
But the purpose behind this year’s event goes further.
The Rockland Music Fest website says proceeds from the 2026 festival will benefit several local Rockland County families who have lost loved ones in tragic automobile accidents, or were seriously injured. The site prominently identifies this year’s message as “SLOW THE F DOWN.”
A Huge Rise in Traffic Accidents in Rockland
Traffic, congestion and road safety have become increasingly visible concerns throughout Rockland, where already-busy corridors are being asked to accommodate population growth, new housing and commercial development, school transportation, commuters and local business traffic.
Between 2020 and 2022 alone, the number of crashes rose by over 3700, to 9702 in total. Personal injury crashes dominated the percentage rise, and while fatality percentages remained approximately the same – the total crash number certainly rose the number in general. “Any death is a death,” Ossa stated, “and what we’re looking to do is lower the overall number of all crashes, which could save the live and limbs of many. If we save 12 lives or more as a result of our message, that will be something that makes our efforts this year all the more worth it.
Rockland’s own long-range planning process identifies congestion and traffic efficiency along key corridors as ongoing priorities. County planning documents have also noted increasing concerns surrounding emergency response, pedestrian injuries and accident rates on congested roads.
Finding Meaning in Tragedy Through Music
For Ossa, however, statistics only tell part of the story.
Losing a parent at 12 means understanding the consequences of a roadway death not merely as a traffic report or police statistic, but as something that changes an entire family.
The Bare Wires episode connects that loss with another important part of Ossa’s childhood. Described as shy when he was young, he found an outlet through music. That interest eventually developed into participation in Rockland’s local music community and, later, the organization of festivals designed to support charitable causes.
That makes Rockland Music Fest XII an intersection of two major parts of Ossa’s life: the music that gave him an outlet and the loss that gave this year’s event its message.
Rockland Music Fest was established in 2015 and has developed into an annual gathering built around live performers, food and local causes. Organizers say last year’s festival drew approximately 1,200 attendees. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature Appetite for Destruction, a Guns N’ Roses tribute band, with additional performers participating in the festival lineup.
Music will remain the centerpiece on Sept. 12.
But between the bands, food and crowds, organizers hope attendees take something else home with them.
Driving a few miles per hour slower, putting down a cellphone, giving another vehicle more room or choosing not to drive impaired can seem like small decisions.
To families who have lost someone on the road, they are anything but small.
That is why this year’s Rockland Music Fest message is designed to be impossible to misunderstand:
Slow the F Down on the Road!
