Haverstraw, NY – Rockland Music Fest will return for its 12th year on Saturday, Sept. 12, bringing live music, food vendors and community activities to Bowline Point Park while using this year’s event to raise awareness about traffic safety in Rockland County. The festival opens at noon, with live performances scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Organizers say this year’s event will feature six bands, led by Appetite for Destruction, a Guns N’ Roses tribute band that has performed throughout the Northeast for more than two decades.
Rockland Music Fest was established in 2015 as an annual local music and community event. For its first 10 years, the festival was held in Stony Point before moving to Clover Stadium in Pomona in 2025. Organizers say approximately 1,200 people attended last year’s event, which featured 11 bands performing across three stages. This year marks another change of venue, with the festival moving to Bowline Point Park in the Town of Haverstraw.
While music remains the centerpiece of the festival, organizers are placing additional emphasis this year on traffic safety and the impact of serious vehicle crashes on local families. Proceeds from the event will benefit Rockland County families affected by serious traffic accidents. Organizers have set a fundraising goal of at least $10,000.
Festival organizer Tom Ossa said the issue has a personal connection for him. Ossa’s father was killed in a traffic accident when Ossa was 12 years old. According to Ossa, his father was changing a tire along Harlem River Drive in the Bronx when he was struck and killed by an impaired driver. Ossa has said the experience influenced the decision to make road safety a major focus of this year’s festival.
Organizers are using the message “Slow the F Down on the Road” as the theme of this year’s traffic-safety campaign. The message is intended to encourage drivers to reduce their speed and pay greater attention behind the wheel. Organizers have also said the festival will support families who have lost relatives or whose family members were seriously injured in vehicle crashes. News 12 covered the festival and its traffic-safety mission in a video report, available here
The musical lineup includes Appetite for Destruction along with JP Conques & Friends, Michael Hilliard and the Working Class, Liliane Brown and Groove Cat, Regular Riot, and George Romano and Friends. Appetite for Destruction has performed the music of Guns N’ Roses for more than 20 years and has appeared at venues including the PNC Bank Arts Center and The Paramount in Huntington.
In addition to live music, attendees can expect food trucks, local vendors and activities throughout the day. Bowline Point Park has approximately 500 parking spaces, including designated accessible parking. The park is wheelchair accessible, and certified emergency medical personnel will operate a first-aid station during the event. Alcohol will not be served. Guests are permitted to bring lawn chairs and coolers, subject to security screening, although alcohol is prohibited.
Children 12 and younger can attend without a ticket, and organizers say earplugs will be available at no charge. The festival also plans to hold a 50/50 drawing, with proceeds supporting fundraising efforts for families affected by serious vehicle accidents.
General admission tickets are listed at $24. The event officially opens at noon Saturday, with music beginning at 2 p.m. and continuing into the evening. Tickets, the complete performance schedule and additional festival information are available through the official Rockland Music Fest website at RocklandMusicFest.com.
For organizers, the 2026 festival combines the event’s traditional focus on Rockland County’s music community with a broader effort to draw attention to road safety. Along with raising money for local families, organizers hope the traffic-safety message will encourage drivers throughout the county to consider how speeding, distraction and other decisions behind the wheel can affect others on the road.
Rockland Music Fest was established in 2015 as an annual local music and community event. For its first 10 years, the festival was held in Stony Point before moving to Clover Stadium in Pomona in 2025. Organizers say approximately 1,200 people attended last year’s event, which featured 11 bands performing across three stages. This year marks another change of venue, with the festival moving to Bowline Point Park in the Town of Haverstraw.
While music remains the centerpiece of the festival, organizers are placing additional emphasis this year on traffic safety and the impact of serious vehicle crashes on local families. Proceeds from the event will benefit Rockland County families affected by serious traffic accidents. Organizers have set a fundraising goal of at least $10,000.
Festival organizer Tom Ossa said the issue has a personal connection for him. Ossa’s father was killed in a traffic accident when Ossa was 12 years old. According to Ossa, his father was changing a tire along Harlem River Drive in the Bronx when he was struck and killed by an impaired driver. Ossa has said the experience influenced the decision to make road safety a major focus of this year’s festival.
Organizers are using the message “Slow the F Down on the Road” as the theme of this year’s traffic-safety campaign. The message is intended to encourage drivers to reduce their speed and pay greater attention behind the wheel. Organizers have also said the festival will support families who have lost relatives or whose family members were seriously injured in vehicle crashes. One beneficiary identified by organizers is a motorcyclist who was struck in November 2025.
The musical lineup includes Appetite for Destruction along with JP Conques & Friends, Michael Hilliard and the Working Class, Liliane Brown and Groove Cat, Regular Riot, and George Romano and Friends. Appetite for Destruction has performed the music of Guns N’ Roses for more than 20 years and has appeared at venues including the PNC Bank Arts Center and The Paramount in Huntington.
In addition to live music, attendees can expect food trucks, local vendors and activities throughout the day. Bowline Point Park has approximately 500 parking spaces, including designated accessible parking. The park is wheelchair accessible, and certified emergency medical personnel will operate a first-aid station during the event. Alcohol will not be served. Guests are permitted to bring lawn chairs and coolers, subject to security screening, although alcohol is prohibited.
Children 12 and younger can attend without a ticket, and organizers say earplugs will be available at no charge. The festival also plans to hold a 50/50 drawing, with proceeds supporting fundraising efforts for the families affected by serious vehicle accidents.
General admission tickets are listed at $24. The event officially opens at noon Saturday, with music beginning at 2 p.m. and continuing into the evening.
For organizers, the 2026 festival combines the event’s traditional focus on Rockland County’s music community with a broader effort to draw attention to road safety. Along with raising money for local families, organizers hope the traffic-safety message will encourage drivers throughout the county to consider how speeding, distraction and other decisions behind the wheel can affect others on the road.