As Mountain Jam makes its long-awaited return to the Catskills this summer, founder Gary Chetkof reflects on the past, present, and future of an iconic upstate music festival rooted in the spirit and soul of Woodstock.

“Woodstock is a state of mind” – and Mountain Jam is its living, breathing soundtrack.

Back after a six-year hiatus, Mountain Jam music festival returns this summer with renewed purpose, vibrant spirit, and one of its most exciting lineups to date. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Belleayre Mountain, this beloved boutique festival blends world-class music with community connection, scenic beauty, and a whole lot of soul.

From major headliners like Mt. Joy, Khruangbin, and Goose, to longtime staples like moe., Michael Franti, and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, and rising stars including Molly Tuttle, TORRES, Dogs in a Pile, and Grace Bowers, the 2025 festival lineup is a celebration of music in its prime: Fresh, electric, and alive.

But Mountain Jam has always been about more than just the music. As founder Gary Chetkof shares, it’s a space built on intention – a place to gather, to dance, to give back, and to honor the Woodstock legacy not as a destination, but as a mindset. “We’ve really been about trying to recreate the magic that happened at the original Woodstock Festival,” he says, “where it was all about music, social equality, getting along… and just giving people a good time.”

The goal, as Chetkof puts it, is to spread out across a beautiful location and have a good time – no big lines, no hassle. With only one stage and 30-minute breaks between sets, attendees will have plenty of time to explore a variety of local food vendors offering diverse culinary options. Beyond great beer, crafts, and artwork, the newly minted Cannabis Village offers a safe space for relaxation and recreation. The festival also features a scenic 25-minute gondola ride that provides panoramic views of the Catskills, enhancing the natural beauty of the setting.

“We’re really just focused on giving a small number of people a great experience,” Chetkof notes.

And with years of boots-on-the-ground experience, he knows exactly how to deliver on that promise. A cornerstone of the Hudson Valley music scene, Gary Chetkof has spent more than thirty years shaping the region’s cultural identity through radio, festivals, and artist advocacy. After purchasing Radio Woodstock in 1993 and moving upstate from the city, Chetkof quickly established himself as a local tastemaker and community advocate – first through the airwaves, and later as a concert promoter. In 2005, to celebrate the station’s 25th anniversary, he launched Mountain Jam as a one-day festival at Hunter Mountain. What started as a grassroots celebration of music and community has since grown into one of the region’s most cherished live music experiences – a true embodiment of the spirit Chetkof has championed since day one.

That same spirit of purpose extends beyond the stage. Through its partnership with the Radio Woodstock Cares Foundation – an organization Chetkof helped create in honor of his late mother – Mountain Jam raises money for cancer research and care, with a focus on supporting local initiatives. A portion of every ticket sold goes directly to the foundation, and even complimentary tickets come with a built-in donation. “We’ve raised over a million dollars so far,” Chetkof shares, “and we’re hoping to raise $25,000, $30,000, maybe even $40,000 this year alone.” It’s just one more way Mountain Jam continues to give back to the community that made it possible in the first place.

In our conversation, Chetkof reflects on Mountain Jam’s humble beginnings, the journey of bringing it back post-pandemic, what fans can expect from this year’s experience, and what makes this community unlike any other.

Mountain Jam’s story is one of resilience, passion, and purpose – and whether you’re a longtime Jammer or a newcomer, this year’s event promises to be something truly special.

Mountain Jam returns June 20–22, 2025, at Belleayre Mountain in the heart of the Catskills – and if Gary Chetkof’s vision is any indication, this year’s festival will be one for the books. Whether you’re chasing catharsis, connection, or just a damn good time, Mountain Jam offers a space to celebrate music, community, and the spirit of Woodstock in all its forms.

Tickets are on sale now – visit mountainjamfestival.com to learn more, explore the lineup, and grab your passes before they’re gone. Read more about Mountain Jam in our interview below!

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MOUNTAIN JAM

Gary Chetkof: My background started as a big fan of concerts and music and music festivals. I bought Radio Woodstock in 1993 in Woodstock, New York, moved up here from the city, and eventually got into small concert promoting because there wasn’t anything going on. The radio station was always on the cutting edge of music and emerging artists, and I wanted to bring them up here. I learned how to do concerts – how to book and promote them.

In 2005, it was the 25^th anniversary of the radio station, and I said, let’s do a big outdoor concert in a park. When I was in high school, I’d always go to my two favorite radio stations’ summer concerts – WLIR in Long Island had one at Belmont Park, and WNEW-FM had one at Central Park. I’d bring my blanket, chair, cooler, and Frisbee. So I had that vision, and for Radio Woodstock’s 25th anniversary, we found Hunter Mountain and threw a one-day festival.

We called it Mountain Jam. Everybody afterwards had a great time and said, “You’ve got to do this next year.” I was like, “What?” And they were like, “Yeah, you’ve got to do this every year. Why don’t you do two days? Why don’t you do camping?” So we did – we did two days with camping, and we got 5,000 people that year. The first year, we had 3,000 people. The third year, we got 10,000, and I realized we had something special going on.

That’s where the Mountain Jam community was born. We just kept reinvesting – building out the stage, the infrastructure, the talent budget – and it just kind of grew. It was really one of those spontaneous, organic festivals that happened because everybody wanted it to.

Gary Chetkof: In Woodstock, there’s been incredible change. In those early years, we were filling a void because nobody else was – and slowly but surely, things evolved. I think, a lot of times, I’m ahead of the curve, and I was ahead of the curve moving up to Woodstock in 1993 – leaving suburbia and leaving the city. I had done both, and it was time to try the country. This whole region has been transformed.

It took a while – for the first 10 years I was up here, people talked about it, but nothing really happened. Then it slowly evolved. I think the word got out – the cost of living up here is so much lower than other places, and the quality of life is better. The pandemic accelerated everything – times two or three – and it just blew up. Now we’re seeing a total transformation. Every business that was here when I moved up 30 years ago has changed hands in the last five to eight years.

So – new restaurants, new bars, everything’s had a facelift. Hunter Mountain used to be a dilapidated town – now there are tons of renovations, Airbnbs, lodges, and camping. Everything has grown, the population has grown, and there are so many music offerings now. In Woodstock alone, you’ve got Bearsville, run by Pete Shapiro. You’ve got the Colony, Levon’s, a place in Saugerties called The Local, a place in Kingston called The Assembly. Then there’s Bardavon, there’s UPAC. We’re doing shows at Hutton Brickyards outdoors.

So many venues. My specialty – segueing back – is doing outdoor events at unusual places, like ski mountains. I’ve become the ski mountain guy. There’s something unique about that, and to me, a music festival has always been about a unique location and a unique vibe.

It’s beautiful. I used to laugh at music festivals in urban parking lots – in city settings – because I’ve always tried to do it in beautiful locations. Mountains, rolling hills, streams, the Hudson River, or a scenic park – that’s what I like to do.

Gary Chetkof: It’s been a very interesting journey. I don’t know how far back we want to go, but essentially, after the first eight Mountain Jams, two things happened. One, we realized we couldn’t keep doing it at that scale as an independent festival – mostly because talent budgets and artist bidding had gotten out of control. There were so many festivals happening, and the big guys were getting into the business. Live Nation owns SPAC and Bethel Woods – which Mountain Jam sits right between – and they’d counterprogram against us. Everyone was trying to blow us out of the water.

So I partnered with a company called Town Square Media, and we launched a Country Music Festival the weekend after Mountain Jam. It was successful – we amortized the costs – but eventually we had differences. The Country Festival started to overshadow Mountain Jam, and I think it got lost. I bought it back from them, but at the time, I wasn’t capable of running it on my own.

Live Nation then came in, took a share of the company, and moved the festival to Bethel Woods. At the time, it sounded like a great idea – it was the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, and I thought Mountain Jam was derivative of that legacy. I felt it was an honor to bring the festival there. Bethel is gorgeous – but it’s not unique. If you saw a show there the week before and came back for Mountain Jam, it felt the same.

Then the pandemic hit. Live Nation didn’t want to bring Mountain Jam back. All the people who had worked on it were gone. It just floundered. There was never a real farewell – no official “Mountain Jam is over” moment – it just lingered. And it took me over five years to convince them that if they weren’t going to do it, they needed to give it back to me.

Eventually, I convinced them. And once I had it back, I asked myself: How do I compete now, in an environment where festivals are more likely to fold than launch? I’d spent years thinking about what I’d do if I ever got Mountain Jam back. The idea was a boutique festival with major, big-festival talent. How do you pull that off? You watch your costs, you watch production. I’d see these companies come in with huge teams doing jobs three people used to do. We streamlined it.

We decided to create a high-quality experience – a small, boutique-style festival in a beautiful location, where people can spread out, have a good time, and not deal with big lines or hassle. That’s how we launched the new Mountain Jam: One stage, 30-minute breaks between sets, great food and vendors. There’s this amazing gondola that takes you on a 25-minute ride up and down the mountain, overlooking the Catskills.

There’s a cannabis area now – which is amazing, because the cops used to bust everybody on the way up to Mountain Jam for cannabis. Now we’ve got the Cannabis Village. There’s great beer, great crafts, amazing artwork. We’re really just focused on giving a small number of people a great, great experience.

Gary Chetkof: I tell you, Mitch, that’s just in the last 15 years. Before then, it was living on its laurels – a lot of head shops and tie-dye. But now it’s the new Woodstock, which is great indie and alternative music, all kinds of music – very inclusive of everything. And there are so many restaurants and bars now, all with incredible menus – healthy and upscale. So yeah, it’s refreshing to see a revitalized Hudson Valley, a revitalized Woodstock, and a revitalized Mountain Jam.

Gary Chetkof: Interesting. I’ve been running Radio Woodstock for – how many years now? Let’s see, ’93 to 2024… that’s 32 years. To me, Woodstock has always been more than just the town. We’ve been representing Woodstock on the airwaves for so long that I don’t necessarily think of the town itself as the full picture.

My Woodstock is an ideal – a set of values: Freedom, creativity, music – both new music and established music and art, brotherhood and communities. Those are the things we always try to transmit on the radio. We think of Woodstock more as a state of mind than it is a destination, and I think that’s what we bring to Mountain Jam. We always bring those ideals.

In the early years of Mountain Jam, I used to get up at the end of the festival and thank everybody before the headliner came on. And the fans would scream “thank you” back – I remember crying one year because it just overwhelmed me. The passion behind what we do, and why we do it, is real.

We’ve never been about the money, we’ve never been about selling out. We’ve really been about trying to recreate the magic that happened at the original Woodstock Festival, where it was all about music, social equality, getting along, inclusiveness – that kind of brotherhood of people, and just giving people a good time! They’re coming for the weekend, spending their hard-earned money – and we’re grateful. And I think that gratitude came through. That’s what made Mountain Jam successful – the authenticity of it.

Gary Chetkof: You know, the truth is, the lineup always has a mind of its own. You go in saying, “I want this,” but that never fully happens. Some of it might, but then all these other unexpected things come into play. That’s really what this year was – a work in progress based on who was available and who wasn’t.

What we always strive for is a really great, diverse mix. We love the established stars – and we’ve had them for years – but we also really love booking bands that are in the prime of their careers. There’s just something about that. Like sure, you can still see the Rolling Stones, but if you saw them in 1975, it was different. Robert Plant in the ‘70s versus now, it’s a different energy.

This year, we ended up with three headliners who are truly in their prime, and it blows me away: Mt. Joy, Khruangbin, and Goose. We’re just grateful it all came together. Then we’ve got some Mountain Jam staples like Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, moe., and Michael Franti – artists who bring that heritage Mountain Jam vibe. And we’ve also got fresh faces like Molly Tuttle, Grace Bowers, and Dogs in a Pile. It’s an incredible mix of talent – a lineup that really represents music today, both in terms of relevance and what’s exciting to listen to right now.

Gary Chetkof: Thanks, man. I’m really proud of it. You said earlier how grateful you are to be in the Hudson Valley – I feel the same way about bringing this festival back. It’s been a six-year hiatus, and I honestly didn’t think it was ever going to return. I had already written letters in my head to the fans, saying, “Hey guys, thank you for 15 amazing years of Mountain Jam – it doesn’t look like we’re coming back.”

I’m so glad I never had to send that letter. The stars really aligned for this. So no matter what happens – even if it rains – I’ll be grateful just to have brought it back. Hopefully it’s not one and done, but even if it is, I’m happy. I’m in the moment, telling myself every day: When things get hard, when I feel down – just keep being grateful.

Gary Chetkof: Yeah, I would love for it to become an annual event – but this one really has to work out financially in order for that to happen. Hopefully it will. There’s so much that goes into launching at a new mountain – it’s like starting from scratch. This is the third venue I’ve done Mountain Jam in, so sometimes I ask myself, “What’s the matter with me?”

But yes, we want to come back. We’ve learned so much about the new location – its strengths and weaknesses – and all that work hopefully lays the foundation. But it really depends. It only comes back if people want it to come back, you know?

Gary Chetkof: Yeah, so we’ve always been involved in helping raise money for local organizations – especially around breast cancer. My mother passed away from breast cancer when she was 65 – the age I am now – and we took on that cause. It’s one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., and we raised a lot of money every year.

Eventually it became so formalized that we decided to start a foundation – so everything would be clean, above board, and tax-deductible. That’s how the Radio Woodstock Cares Foundation began. We’ve raised over a million dollars for various cancer organizations, mostly keeping it local – supporting research and care here in the Hudson Valley.

So when we brought back Mountain Jam, we asked ourselves, “What can we do for the larger community?” One thing we decided was to donate one dollar from every ticket sold to the Radio Woodstock Cares Foundation.

We also put a policy in place: If anyone – even industry folks – asks for a comp ticket, they still have to pay a $25 honorarium that goes to the foundation. So hopefully, we’ll raise $25,000, $30,000, maybe even $40,000 this year.

Gary Chetkof: Believe it or not, I’m mostly looking forward to seeing smiling faces – people having a great time. You spend a year planning and working on this, and then it finally comes to life. But what really makes it come to life are the people. It’s the artists on stage, the fans showing up.

We live in this high-tech world – always on our phones, our laptops, listening to music digitally – but this is old-school. I always get a kick out of that. Trucks pull up with equipment, people arrive with camping gear – or just themselves and a water bottle – and we spend a day, two days, three days together. You meet new friends, you see familiar faces, and everyone’s happy.

Entertaining people and spreading joy, especially during such difficult times, feels more important than ever. That’s what makes me happy. That’s what gives me the adrenaline rush – seeing people dancing on the mountain, interacting with the music. That’s what it’s all about.

Gary Chetkof: Oh boy – you know, that’s always the hardest question. I love Michael Kiwanuka. I love Leon Bridges. I love this guy AHI – he’s amazing. There are so many bands I love. I love Waxahatchee, I love Billy Strings. Molly Tuttle blows me away. There are a lot of female artists I really admire – I just never remember all their names because we play so many of them on the radio. Sara Bareilles, I love her. She’s local too, and she’s playing a show. I listen to so much music, I can’t even keep track. Thank God for Shazam.

And I love Khruangbin. I’ve only seen Khruangbin play once, but I think their music is just indescribable. When I travel the world, I hear Khruangbin. I heard them in a little restaurant in Iceland and thought, “What the hell is going on?” Their music is everywhere – it’s universal.

Gary Chetkof: Of course I did! If you haven’t done it, you have to. It’s $450 nonstop. It was incredible. It was a great flight. I was on the first row. I went to sleep, woke up, and I was in Iceland. I would go back just because that flight is so easy.

Gary Chetkof: That’s hilarious! Yeah, I’m looking at my music right now. I can never remember off the top of my head. Lamont Landers – I saw him recently. He blows me away. I’ve always loved Kathleen Edwards – she’s unbelievable. The Airborne Toxic Event, love them. A band called Ceramic Animal. Sierra Ferrell is another one. Elle King.

Oh, and this guy Mk.gee. Do you know Mk.gee? I love Mk.gee. These are all the bands I’ve been hitting up lately.

Gary Chetkof: That does say something.

Gary Chetkof: Well, I’m hopeful for really nice weather and a great environment, because weather plays such a big role in setting the tone. But more importantly, I’m just hopeful that people are going to have a great time – and that’s really what made Mountain Jam successful in the first place.

We did it the first year, and it was a gorgeous sunny day. Everyone said, “You have to come back and do it again.” The second year, it rained the entire time – and yet everybody still had a good time. That’s when I knew we had something special. If you can have a successful music festival with happy faces after two days of pouring rain, that’s a special community.

That’s really all I want – for everything to run smoothly, for people to feel welcomed and cared for. We’re very detail-oriented, and we care about every attendee’s experience. I want to greet people personally, welcome them back, and see smiling faces, people high-fiving, saying, “This is one of the best music festivals I’ve ever been to. I can’t wait to come back next year.”

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