Irish musician Tommy Sands to perform benefit for Sloop Clearwater

NEW PALTZ―Famed Irish singer, songwriter, and social activist Tommy Sands will be performing in a benefit concert for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater in the Grove event space at Garvan’s in New Paltz on Saturday, May 9 at 8 p.m.
From his pioneering days with the highly influential Sands Family, bringing Irish music from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Moscow’s Olympic Stadium, Sands has developed into one of Ireland’s most powerful songwriters and enchanting solo performers. Sing Out folk magazine described him as “the most powerful songwriter in Ireland, if not the rest of the world,” and was admired by Pete Seeger and Nobel Poet Laureate Seamus Heaney.
His songs have been recorded by Joan Baez, Kathy Matthea, Dolores Keane, Sean Keane, Frank Patterson, Dick Gaughan, The Dubliners, and many others.
In Sands’ own words, “Music is a universal language that connects ‘secret and sacred things’ and helps heal wounds. We must sow the seeds of justice so that we can walk in fields of peace - sow the seeds of love so that our children’s children can be free. Clearwater is a result of this sort of thinking and I am proud to be a part of it.”
The concert will take place in the Grove at Garvan’s, a restaurant and event venue in New Paltz known for Irish hospitality.
“While its concerts, sessions, and atmosphere capture the ambience of a pub in Ireland, Garvan’s is grounded in the New Paltz community” says Steve Stanne, a Clearwater board member committed to promoting the organization’s musical traditions. “Offering its lovely event space for this concert without a fee is just one example of Garvan’s many contributions to non-profits and service organizations that contribute to the region’s well-being and quality of life.”
The concert will benefit Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a member-supported nonprofit dedicated to protecting the Hudson River through education, advocacy, sailing, and music. 2026 marks the 60th anniversary of founder Pete Seeger’s first fundraising concerts for the sloop, and the start of Clearwater’s musical heritage that continues to this day. This concert is a project of the Great Hudson River Revival.
Sands (The Songman) and Pete Seeger shared a friendship and held mutual admiration for each other; they both strived to make the world a better place through their songs and bringing people together.
“We are so fortunate that Tommy will be sharing songs and stories to help support the sloop that Pete had built through his music sung 60 years ago along the Hudson River,” said David Toman, executive director of Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.
Tickets are available at https://bit.ly/sands-for-clearwater. Advanced tickets are strongly encouraged, as the show is expected to sell out. For those planning to dine at Garvan’s before the show, reservations well in advance are a must.
The concert will be opened by Betty and the Baby Boomers with four-part harmonies, sparkling guitar and Dobro, and a wide ranging repertoire ranging from originals covered by Seeger to gems gathered while singing from the Catskills in New York to Connemara in Ireland.