Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden Host Benefit Concert This Month

Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden will present a fun-filled day of live music with the Emmy-nominated bluegrass/hip hop fusion band Gangstagrass, previously seen on America's Got Talent. The event takes place on Saturday, April 29 from 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM on the South Meadow of Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden at 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301. Admission is $40.00 and children under 5 are free.

Kicking off the festivities will be MakerPark Radio DJ Tom Ferrie at 1:00 PM and Staten Island's own Jazztronauts at 2:00 PM, with Gangstagrass taking the stage at 4:00 PM. In addition to entertainment, food trucks and vendors will be onsite, including Valducci's Pizza Truck, Melts & Soups, Egger's Ice Cream, Celebrate at Snug Harbor, and Pig Island NYC. Drinks are sponsored by Kills Boro Brewing Company, who will also be pouring their unique signature beers at the event. This program is supported in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. All the proceeds benefit the Heritage Farm at Snug Harbor.

"Snug Harbor is pumped up to bring Gangstagrass to Staten Island to perform on our outdoor South Meadow Stage. In the same way that Snug Harbor offers our visitors a blend of contemporary cultural events inside of classically historic architecture, Gangstagrass fuses together the sounds of bluegrass and hip-hop into an unexpected and energetic sound that creates a fantastically fun experience for concertgoers!" said Jessica Baker Vodoor, President & CEO of Snug Harbor. "And as a bonus: by purchasing a ticket to the concert, you'll be directly helping our Heritage Farm inspire Staten Island's community. Concert proceeds will go towards underwriting Heritage Farm hands-on workshops, growing experiences, and healthy eating opportunities."

"There's no shortage of reasons justifying our participation in an event supporting Snug Harbor, and its various projects," said Sean Torres, co-owner of Kills Boro Brewing Company based in Staten Island. "We've collaborated with the Heritage Farm at Snug Harbor on a handful of different brews, and some of us are customers of its awesome CSA program. Staten Island benefits greatly from having this amazing farm. As a business in the community, and the farm's next-door neighbor, we feel it's important to make sure that program continues to grow. Pun intended."

"The Heritage Farm at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden is a special NYC treasure," said Jimmy Carbone, founder and producer of Pig Island NYC, an annual food festival which will be at Snug Harbor in September 2023 for the fourth year in a row. "Our chefs work closely with the farm in order to source all the vegetables for our event, including collard greens and shishito peppers! We're happy to support this special event, and look forward to being back."

Gangstagrass is a band combining great American traditions of bluegrass, hip-hop, and beyond to create a whole new musical genre that is more than the sum of its parts. Known for the Emmy-nominated theme song "Long Hard Times to Come" from the FX television show Justified, they've developed a whole new genre. Their latest album "No Time for Enemies" climbed to #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart. Gangstagrass takes so much of what's amazing in this country, and distills it into a message of common ground in the form of original songs that have everyone up and dancing!

The Jazztronauts are Nutone Recording's funkiest fusion band, hailing from Staten Island, NY. Focusing on improvisational performances that incorporate their love of jazz, funk, hip hop, and electronic music, their sounds have been dubbed future jazz by listeners and their shows have quickly become a gathering place for music lovers and nightlife aficionados.