Watch Alex Cano’s Paste Session from the Sleepy Hollow Music Festival

By Matt Irving  |  August 28, 2025 | 4:02pm
Music Features Alex Cano
Watch Alex Cano’s Paste Session from the Sleepy Hollow Music Festival

Sleepy Hollow is quite the place to hold a music festival. If you’ve ever wondered where headless horsemen (who did, in fact, ride around the fairgrounds) collide with beer, loud music, and local eats, then the Sleepy Hollow festival is your answer. Paste Studio “On The Road” settled onto a small, picturesque beach on the Hudson River, just far enough from the main stage to carve out a pocket of intimacy for our set of sessions. The waves crashing behind our musicians created a calming, almost trancelike effect. It was a sunny afternoon when we arrived, but sudden sporadic spells of heavy cloud cover and rainfall darkened the Hudson, making the sessions feel lifted straight from a film. This backdrop gave way to one of the more enjoyable sets of the weekend, courtesy of Alex Cano and his band.

Our session with Alex Cano and his trio felt uniquely fitting in this setting, as he had grown up and written many of his songs just minutes from our impromptu beach-studio setup. He opened the set with “Back Against the Wall” from his 2019 album, Every Rise of the Sun, which immediately showcased the weight behind his voice. If I had to describe my first impressions of Alex and his sound, it would be something along the lines of a ’90s grunge frontman turned country storyteller, backed by mandolin and upright bass in an Americana trio. Cano’s voice is hard to forget, and with Kevin Myers adding vocal harmonies and mandolin textures alongside Daniel Ori’s resonant upright bass, the trio gave a performance that felt right at home on the Hudson River.

He followed with a tune called “I’ll Wait”, a hard-hitting, evocative song describing a love that refuses to fade, even in the wake of a breakup. The song felt like sitting in an old bar across from an old flame, and whether or not this imagery is something you welcome or enjoy picturing, it certainly shows the power and magic in Cano’s songwriting.

The set closed with “Two Steps on the Train”, a song written “two minutes from where we are standing,” according to Cano. It was written for a friend who had passed and was inspired by the scenery along the Hudson River. It describes making the most of the time we all have, and was a moving finale to the set.

Afterward, we shared a few beers by the river, and Alex even let me strum his guitar for a bit! It was a pleasure working with Alex and his band. It was a session marked by poignant songwriting and a gritty, classic sound—one I won’t soon forget.

Huge thanks to all those at the Sleepy Hollow Music Festival who made this happen and created such a beautiful setting for so much great music. Stay tuned for more Paste “On the Road” sessions!

 
Join the discussion...