Worlds have collided over the past three weeks at Camp Eastman in Irondequoit. By day, the town hosted a summer camp for kids. Meanwhile, the 14 acre site has transformed, from town park into an adult playground for the upcoming Hoochenanny Whiskey & Music Festival from August 8-10 in the Rochester suburb.
Cultivate the Uncommon. Reason for the season. Build it and they will come. These are the mottos that Hoochenanny co-owners Tommy Brunett and Sean McCarthy live by. This is not your average music festival.
Cultivate the Uncommon
When NYS Music arrived on the scene, co-owner Sean McCarthy was found working with his crew, unloading totes with tent sections before the interview started. He was asked to look good for photos, so he brushed his hair. As he resumed manual labor, he jumped around when House of Pain came across the speakers.
Tommy Brunett, on the other hand, arrived as dapper as ever in a fedora with a long-sleeve rockabilly shirt and matching blue accented creepers on his feet.
Brunett and McCarthy are synergistic partners. Both co-owners bring their own set of special skills, experience, and connections to make Hoochenanny a shared vision. Both are musicians and music lovers at heart.
Often working behind the scenes, Tommy Brunett has successfully navigated the music business landscape for several decades. He owned Universal Buzz Intelligence, a New York City-based creative marketing company with a client list that included The White Stripes, Virgin, Olympus, Sony, Altoids, Universal Studios, DreamWorks, MTV, TBS, PBS, and Disney.
Tommy also created Universal Buzz Radio, a nationally syndicated radio program featuring live performances from popular recording artists from Kid Rock and Henry Rollins to Willie Nelson and The White Stripes. At its peak, Universal Buzz Radio boasted a listenership of 3.2 million people worldwide.
As a singer, songwriter, and showman, Tommy and his band, have opened for such acts as ZZ Top, Ted Nugent, Cracker, Marshall Tucker, and Kellie Pickler. Tommy has performed on local and national stages, including the Today Show and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and was the touring guitarist with the British rock band Modern English in the late ’80s – early ’90s. (You know the song, “I Melt With You.”)
McCarthy Tents & Events can handle every detail to make a successful occasion come to fruition. From glassware, flatware, tables, chairs on a micro level to pole tents, mobile restroom trailers, transportable dance floors and staging, McCarthy knows how to transform an idea into a tangible building.
Locally, his business provides event infrastructure for the Rochester International Jazz Festival, Rochester Lilac Festival, Rochester Fringe Festival and highly successful Roc Holiday Village. On a national scale, McCarthy Tents has supplied enclosures for the U.S. Navy and a media command center at the 58th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C.
Reason For the Season
One detail they set out to nail above all else? The whiskey experience.
“Even though we are trying to build a whole festival and have the right messaging. It’s centered on the whiskey but there is so much more to do for everybody, so we want everyone to feel welcome. But the World of Whiskey is the essential component to this. It’s the reason for the season.”
Brunett explained, “It’s all about the bourbon. It’s all about the whiskey. So it’s really making that whole experience with the team we have from Kentucky be a world-class whiskey experience in that world that kinda causes some waves where people are like, ‘Holy shit, you shoulda seen this. Look at these pictures. That would be a big deal.’”
“Even if you are a novice you can learn. There’s guys that build the best stills in the world (Vendome) that are gonna be here. A guy who does barrel picks for the biggest chains in the country that are gonna be here. We have Nancy Fuller from the Food Network coming in. She has a bourbon out called GG Juice. 76 years old and she’s like ‘Tits up, bitches!’ I don’t think anyone will be bored for one minute,” Brunett added.
This year, the festival is partnering with Make-A-Wish, the Lou Gramm Foundation and Endless Highway to support local impact through a charitable Whiskey Auction. The auction will feature rare and limited-edition bottles, signed music memorabilia, including a guitar autographed by rock legend Lou Gramm. All proceeds will benefit the three nonprofit organizations.
Build It and They Will Come
Brunett pondered, “What’s that movie? Build it and they will come?”
His partner, McCarthy retorted, “Build it and they will come – Wayne’s World 2.”
Production started on July 16th and will take a full three weeks to complete. Brunett gave credit to McCarthy for implementing his vision with the transformation of Camp Eastman into a weekend hospitality affair. However, Brunett blazed the trail, laid the foundation, and built the Hoochenanny Whiskey & Music Festival with good bones with the inaugural event that took place in the village of Geneseo with The Struts as headliner back in 2023. Brunett is simply being humble.
Tommy had the connection with the Joan Jett team to get the ball rolling. He conceded, “We’ve been around for a long time, so we have some good friends and we have some good partners in booking.”
“Instead of something small to get going, the first band we booked was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. So once that happens, that’s the grand validator for everything else,” McCarthy recounted.
Brunett anticipates, “We do want to make this into a global attraction. That’s where this is headed. People from all over the country are coming, we’re gonna expand that. I know a couple of guys are coming from San Francisco, I got a call from Connecticut. The reach right now is coast-to-coast.”
While parking for the event is $10 per day, motorcycle parking is free, thanks to a sponsorship from Harv’s Harley-Davidson. Potable water filling stations will be on-site. All attendees, ages 21+, receive a free flight of beer. Deaf and hard-of-hearing folks can contact the festival at info@hoochenanny.com to arrange for ASL-interpreter accommodations. The grounds will be optimized for wheelchair accessibility, with views overlooking the stage, thanks to a partnership with Endless Highways.
With this type of vision, it’s easy to see how Hoochenanny might outgrow its current setting into a world-class whiskey destination. To do that, Brunett and McCarthy have focused on creating a comfortable setting, one that will keep patrons coming back and eager to spread the word. It’s about hospitality.
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Tommy gazed across the festival grounds as he talked about the festival’s philosophy, “It’s always been about the experience. And this is gonna provide people with an experience of sound, the experience of lights, experiencing new things. But also, if it’s hot out, the World of Whiskey is air-conditioned. If it rains, look at all the coverage,”
“Our beer tent alone is 5,000 square feet of covered space. VIP is 6,000 square feet. There’s gonna be a big food tent over there, a big beer tent over there. There is always somewhere to retreat to,” McCarthy described. He continued, “As far as this being successful, it’s all about the takeaway. Not just from the attendees, it’s the band’s all saying, ‘Dude, this is the coolest venue. We’re looking at all these cool lights, cool tents that you don’t see at every venue.’ I think for the artists, it will be an unexpected experience where they pull up and say, ‘Holy shit!’”
Music Preview
Friday, August 8
The opening day of the Hoochenanny Whiskey & Music Festival will deliver an eclectic mix of indie, alternative and punk rock, with the traditional country songwriting of headliner Charles Wesley Godwin.
Charles Wesley Godwin describes his musical style as inspired by “…artists such as Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, John Prine, Chris Knight and Ryan Bingham.” His first album, Seneca, was released on February 15, 2019. He has toured alongside Zach Bryan, Luke Combs, and the Avett Brothers and appeared on ESPN’s Sportscenter, performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and CBS Saturday Sessions.
“I’ve learned from the past that it’s not good to stop,” says the singer-songwriter – a humble songsmith whose music is deeply felt, undeniably intimate, and, over the past few years, has been connecting with audiences in ways he could have never imagined when he began his career just over a decade ago. “The more consistent I am and the more I’m putting in the time and effort to my songwriting, the more the songs come and the more I’m able to be productive.”
The result of such dutiful persistence was one of Godwin’s most prolific years yet: the musician estimates he wrote nearly 30 songs in 2024 and, in the process, most excitingly arrived at his stunning new 7-track EP, Lonely Mountain Town, due out February 28 via Big Loud. Written principally on the road, Lonely Mountain Town is at its heart a collection of snapshots and quiet moments in life set to tune: these are tales of a traditional country-songwriting mindset.
Christina Vane is a product of merging numerous worlds – her classic rock, ’90s indie, and heavier roots with her passion for prewar blues, old time fiddle banjo music, country, and bluegrass. Rolling Stone described her early single “Badlands” as “evocative of a young Bonnie Raitt and early PJ Harvey […] entrancing stuff.”
The English Beat (known as The Beat in their native England) rushed on to the music scene in 1979. Since then, the band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm that has allowed it to endure for nearly four decades and appeal to fans, young and old, all over the world. The English Beat is a band with an energetic mix of musical styles and a sound like no other.
Old 97’s is an American alternative country band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1992, they have since released twelve studio albums, two full extended plays, shared split duty on another, and have one live album. Their most recent release is Twelfth. Pioneers of the alt-country movement during the mid-to-late 1990s, lead vocalist and primary songwriter Rhett Miller has described the band’s style as “loud folk”. Old 97’s have been heralded as a great live band, although they claim never to rehearse their act.
Saturday, August 9
Star power is on display on the second day of the Hoochenanny Whiskey & Music Festival. The trio of Joan Jett, Lou Gramm and Andy Kim will take the stage on Saturday and has compiled nearly 120 million albums sold and five #1 hit songs, along with Grammy nominated The Record Company.
Having left an indelible stamp on rock ’n’ roll forged by anthemic hits, thousands of live performances around the world, and a tireless belief in staying true to yourself, Joan Jett remains driven by the singular power of music. New generations of NFL fans hear the adapted theme of “I Hate Myself For Loving You” each week on Sunday Night Football.
Joan blazed a trail when she started Blackheart Records after no less than 23 labels rejected her, epitomizing the indie rock spirit. Fans bombarded stations across the United States and helped turn “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” into an unstoppable hit that eventually spent seven weeks at #1 in 1981. Her career totals eight platinum and gold records and nine Top 40 singles.
“Emotion. Expression. Giving a voice to those that aren’t satisfied fitting into whatever box they were given. I have lived this rock ‘n’ roll ethic my entire life, and I am thankful to all those people along the way that let me be me.” That’s what it’s always been about for Joan Jett
The Record Company saw its 2016 debut, Give It Back To You, earn a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Contemporary Blues Album.” The GRAMMY® Award-nominated trio only amplify the power of their bond on their fourth full-length offering and 2023 debut for Round Hill Records, simply titled The 4th Album.
Tommy Brunett’s All-Star Calvalcade of Scoundrels will feature Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Andy Kim, Dennis Casey (Flogging Molly) and Brunett (Modern English, along with several regional and local heavy hitter musicians, headed by Katy Eberts and many, many others.
Formed in 2018, The Jack Knives are a raw, high-energy rock band from Orange County, California, blending punk grit with emotionally charged storytelling. 2024 saw the release of their breakout album, Ghost Radio, and the momentum continues with their highly anticipated 2025 album, Into the Night, produced by Pete Steinkopf of The Bouncing Souls.
Vandoliers unique ability to bring together the worlds of the square-toed boot-clad hicks with the steel-toed boot-wearing punks has helped the band find a devoted following across the globe. For the uninitiated, even the most melancholy Vandoliers song has a degree of exuberance and verve, full of an irrepressible energy.
Sunday, August 10
The final day of the Hoochenanny delivers a Sunday show that jam band fans definitely won’t want to miss. It’s highlighted by a NY sextet of jam band legends followed by two closing sets from the closest live Grateful Dead experience you’ll find anywhere.
Performing to critical acclaim with over 3300 shows under their belt, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead concert experience. DSO shows are built off the Dead’s extensive catalog and the talent of these seven fine musicians. On any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead’s 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. This allows fans both young and old to share in the experience.
Dark Star Orchestra offers much more than the sound of the Grateful Dead, they truly encapsulate the energy and the experience. It’s about a sense of familiarity. It’s about a feeling that grabs listeners and takes over. It’s about that contagious energy… in short, it’s about the complete experience and consistent quality performance that the fan receives when attending a Dark Star Orchestra show.
35 years ago, a posse of University of Buffalo-based musician-friends got together to play music. Out of freewheeling sessions bursting with bold, genre-defying creativity and tongue-in-cheek humor, a 6-headed monster named moe. emerged. Decades later, moe.’s tireless work ethic, DIY resourcefulness, infectious songwriting, and highly-engaged fanbase has allowed the band to deliver its 13th release, Circle of Giants. Now, moe. is finally able to enjoy its 35th anniversary, albeit a year late, with an extensive national tour schedule including a recent stop in Syracuse.
Galactic returns to Rochester for the first time since 2019, featuring Anjelika Jelly Joseph singing lead. Over three decades, Galactic has become a cornerstone of New Orleans’ dynamic music landscape – the same world that brought them together in the ‘90s as a late-night funk outfit steeped in the unique sounds of their city.
Eggy is redefining the modern jam band experience with a blend of exploratory improvisation, rich songwriting, and magnetic live energy. Their ability to weave seamless jams, heartfelt lyrics, and crowd-favorite covers has cemented them as one of the most exciting rising acts in the jam and rock scene.
Regional Spotlight
The Hoochenanny Whiskey & Music Festival made a conscious decision to incorporate regional bands within their music schedule. An April local submission deadline challenged artists to put their best foot forward to stand out from the pack.
McCarthy described the process, “Everyone should have a shot to get in front of good crowds. Most local bands are playing great clubs, having good shows, but to us we’re just musicians that have always been in local bands so it’s important to honor that. We got 75-80 submissions. We picked five, it was tough. It was all about the music. We could have sat there and picked who has the most followers. We took a look at that, but it wasn’t the determining factor. It was who was the best and who fits in with the genre of the day well.”
Brunett excitedly talked about the curated acts chosen. “The ones we have are the top of the pile. We’re supporting original acts. Not to knock cover bands, we got a lot friends in them and we play covers half and half. Sean pushed that, we gotta have original acts. Cultivate the Uncommon. It’s not who can bring in the most people, it’s who can give the best experience that you don’t see every day. We went through watching them, listening to them. It wasn’t like, ‘Well, these guys seem cool.’ It was about these guys are doing something really cool.”
“We picked five, it was tough,” McCarthy conceded.
Forged out of a mutual love and respect for Reggae music, The Medicinals are an 8-piece band from Rochester. The Medicinals songs have been featured on the CBS show Hawaii 5-0 and Netflix’s Bloodlines. Their new single “Reach You” was recently released on Jackson Yard Records.
With heartfelt lyrics, intricate arrangements, and a deep bond among members, Mike Powell and The Echosound continue to carve out their place in the American songwriting landscape behind their unique blend of soul, rock, and storytelling.
From Rochester, just who are the Isotopes? Are they super sweet instrumental rock stars? Are they scientists performing an experiment gone haywire? Are they skirt-chasing sociopaths with no conscience or sense of right and wrong? Yes.
Checks and Exes is a Rochester-based, 5-piece garage rock band known for their catchy originals and hours of cover material. To these boys, the ideal show is full of good laughs, good friends, and of course good music. Come get your goofy little groove on.
Hailing from Buffalo, Johnny Hart and the Mess deliver a vibrant blend of Rock, Alternative, and Americana that reflects the grit and spirit of their hometown. JHATM features a dynamic lineup of talented musicians who bring their diverse influences together to create a distinctive sound.
TICKETS:
Passes are on sale now at hoochenanny.com and at the gate of the festival grounds.
General Admission passes include access to all music stages, food vendors, the Artisans Bazaar, beer tastings, cocktail areas, a free five-beer flight and covered seating. All ages are welcome, with 21-and-older areas marked on site.
- $60 (1 day), $115 (2 days), $160 (3 days) – at the gate
General Admission + Tasting passes include everything in general admission, plus entry to the World of Whiskey for 20 curated whiskey tastings.
- $95 (1 day), $170 (2 days), $240 (3 days) – at the gate
VIP passes include tasting access and additional amenities such as exclusive stage views, VIP lounges, private bars, luxury restrooms, sit-down dining and on-site parking.
- $175 (1 day), $330 (2 days), $470 (3 days) – at the gate
