By Mark Reynolds
Every August a little corner of Marlboro transforms into a non-stop celebration of peace, love and especially music, called Mazzstock. It has been presented 17 times and was interrupted just once – in 2020 – due to the pandemic.
The Marlboro festival is the brainchild of Lee Mazzola and began as a weekend to celebrate his 50th birthday. Since then it has grown in popularity with bands presenting reggae, trip hop, funk, alternative, country,blues, a touch of metal and good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll.
At last weekend’s four-day Festival Mazzola acknowledged that although there was a little rain, “we’re having a good time no matter what, rain or shine, and that’s what matters.”
Mazzola said they have new acts this year and some who are returning after an absence to play once again. He said one highlight is a band, known as the Dark Side of the Hudson, are playing Pink Floyd’s ‘Animals’ [1977] and their classic, ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ [1973] in their entirety.
Mazzola himself puts together his Mazzstock All Star Band for a two-hour set, saying, “We’re ready to rock.” He thanked his crew for getting his 10 acre site ready every year for the Festival, adding that “it makes life for me a lot easier, so I can concentrate on production.”
For the past two years Lee has added a country-themed evening, saying it is an “awesome” night. He said many local people came just for that night because of the growing popularity of country music across the nation.
“It’s the number one music listened to in America right now,” he said, telling his partner, Vinny Pomarico, that they should book country acts at Mazzstock “We’re crazy if we don’t; we’ll bring a whole element of people who wouldn’t come to a Hippie Fest but would come to a Country Fest.”
Mazzola said as a result, “I saw a lot of cowboy hats, Daisy-Do shorts and cowboy boots and they all were line dancing and into it.”
Two years ago Mazzola said his nieces came from Norway to experience Mazzstock for the first time, “and it was the highlight of their lives and they are still blowing up about that.”
Mazzola thanked Ambulnz for assisting a few people in need due to the heat and humidity. He also thanked the Marlborough Police Department and the Town of Marlborough, “for allowing me to do this.”
Mazzola concluded by saying why Mazzstock is worth is.
“There are many first-times here and every single one of them has come up to me and said, ‘We’ve never experienced anything like this in our life and we can’t believe we’re local and never even heard about this,’ and that is so heart-warming,” he said. “Anyone will tell you, big festival, small festival, go anywhere, you’re not getting that Mazzstock familia.”
Mazzola is proud of the fact that at his festival, “there’s no politics, no religion, we don’t speak it here. No left, no right, we’re one.”
Krystal Alonge and Kristin Cummings showcased their soy candle business that they started in 2018. Krystal said the idea for the candle business was sparked when her brother and his wife were having a baby and they wanted to honor them.
“This is our first time at Mazzstock as vendors,” she said. “I came here as a kid and its just awesome. It’s a great place and Vinny and Lee do a killer job. They put a lot of hard work into it and it shows.”
Krystal is a Special Education teacher by day and Kristin works in radio.
“This is our side gig that keeps growing,” Krystal said. “We’re very blessed, Kristin and I; we have an awesome following and our town is very good to us.”
Vinny Pomarico works side by side with Mazzola each year to produce the festival. He agrees that having county music at Mazzstock is a big plus.
“It is so popular that I myself have actually started to like it and I feel that what we have around here is more to my taste. It’s grittier, less twangy and some rock and roll mixed in is what makes me like it. It’s more old school, like Outlaw Country. It was the best turnout that we’ve ever had.”
Pomarico said he begins thinking about the next Mazzstock shortly after one ends. He makes notes and takes a few pictures and begins to tweak things for next year. By February and March they solidify the bands that will be playing.
“We get the big pieces out of the way and then do some fill-ins after that.” he said.
Pomarico said he also tries to book a few younger and newer bands for Mazzstock, saying, “That’s kind of our mission statement. We really want to push new, good music to the top and be bigger than us, like Platinum Moon. Four years ago they were literally the last band we booked and four years later they were headlining on Friday night.”
Pomarico said what started out as a backyard BBQ party has grown into a premier festival in the Hudson Valley and beyond.
“This is now a festival that we would put up against any other festival in terms of entertainment value,” he said. “I am very proud of Marlborough. Between The Falcon and Mazzstock and the concerts in the park, we have a really strong art scene here.”
Pomarico first and foremost thanks Lee, “for allowing us to do this and letting someone like me come in and trust me with his baby.”
Pomarico said putting Mazzstock on is a lot of work, “but when you’re in the middle of it and once its fully taken shape, this is why we do it; it’s worth it.”