Summer Festival In Chatham Will Have Music, Food, Games

CHATHAM, NJ — A popular summertime event will return to Chatham Township: the town's Great Swamp Great Music Festival.

This year’s event will take place on Sunday, June 25 from 12 to 6:30 p.m. It will include live music, food trucks, merch vendors, adult beverages and a kid's corner.

The event has a new location this year, the historic Brook Valley Farm, 336 Loantaka Way, Chatham Township – minutes off Route 287.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their chairs and blankets, as well as their friends and family, for an afternoon of live outdoor music.

The lineup for 2023 includes seven new and returning bands from the genres of classic rock, alt rock, Americana, and bluegrass.

When the gates open at 11:00 a.m., returning artists Nick Amling and The Lifeline will entertain the crowd. Not Enough Jeffs, The Refugee Dogs, and Lenox Underground are among the veteran bands. HighRidge Runners, The Tones and The Cold Hill Band are newcomers this year.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association website has more information and band links.

Since 2017, the Great Swamp Great Music festival fundraiser has provided a lively, family-friendly atmosphere while supporting the organization's important work.

The Kids' Corner, which includes arts and crafts, games, and professional face painting, is new this year. The festival also features food trucks serving a variety of foods such as wings, hotdogs, and burgers, as well as vegan options, ice cream, funnel cake and more.

“We are excited to hold our popular music festival at this beautiful new venue, Brook Valley Farm, which was graciously offered by the Platt family,” stated Sally Rubin, Executive Director. “Flanked by a lush, wooded mountainside and the historic Gibbons Horse Barn stables built in 1834, it has a rich history in Morris County and is listed in the National and State Register of Historic Places.”

Tickets are currently on sale. Adults pay $30, students pay $20, and children under 13 are free. (At the gate, adult admission is $35, student admission is $25, and children 13 and under are still free.) GreatSwamp.org has more information and ticket sales.

The Great Swamp Watershed Association is a non-profit organization based in Morristown that is dedicated to protecting and improving the land and water from the Great Swamp headwaters in Mendham to Newark Bay.

The organization's second-largest annual fundraiser is the Great Swamp Great Music festival.