By Liz Leamy
Last Sunday was a triumph in all regards, despite several passing rainstorms, as the Eagles, the Zac Brown Band and Caroline Jones dazzled the sold-out audience of several thousand people at the Greenwich Town Party, an event reputed to be one of the most celebrated music community happenings in the U.S. due to its famous historic lineup of superstar bands and artists it has featured over the years.
This highly anticipated event, held at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, marked its 10th anniversary and was, once again, a runaway hit on all fronts as the Eagles, the iconic Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band who dominated radio airwaves for decades with their string of number-one hits, the Zac Brown Band, Caroline Jones and other standout artists and bands entertained the hundreds of spectators there at an full-throttle level.
This wildly popular event, formulated by Ray Dalio, co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater, the world’s largest hedge fund that is based in Westport,
Connecticut back in 2010, has become nationally renowned due to the fact that it is a full-day event that has, over the years, featured the likes of such superstar acts as Eric Clapton, Lynryd Skynrd, Earth, Wind and Fire, Santana, The Doobie Brothers and Hall and Oates and others, as well as a wide selection of delicious food and a terrific merchandise tent.
This year, the Greenwich Town Party gold bar was further raised to another level due to the performance and presence of the Eagles, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band whose members include such musical luminaries as Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, son of the late Glenn Frey, the famed founder of this band who had sadly passed away in 2016.
On this balmy Sunday night evening, the Eagles had all cylinders firing, much to the delight of the cheering crowd.
They sang their hits such as ‘Take it Easy,’ ‘One of These Nights,’ ‘Take It to the Limit,’ ‘Lyin’ Eyes,’ ‘The Long Run,’ ‘In the City’ and ‘Already Gone,’ among other standout tunes, demonstrating exactly why they have become known as one of the most successful bands in contemporary culture.
For Henley, it was about all about putting on the best show possible.
“After the last year and a half, a little rain isn’t going to dampen our spirits, “ said Henley to the vibrant crowd. “We’re not going to talk much now, we’re just going to cram in every song we can.”
Henley and the Eagles certainly delivered the goods in every respect, performing their extensive library of hits and then some, much to the thrill of the lively crowd,
a group, despite its visible age range, wound up all singing together to most of the songs, which made a special one.
According to Scot Weicker, the esteemed head of SBWEventsGroup, the organization that has had the Herculean task of organizing and putting together the Greenwich Town Party since its inception in 2010, it was a night for the books.
“If there were any word I would use to describe this year’s Greenwich Town Party, I would say it has been ‘epic,’” said Weicker, a longtime Greenwich resident who is the son of Lowell P. Weicker, the former U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator and 85th Governor of Connecticut. “Everyone seems to be having a great time which is nice to see because we’ve worked really hard.”
Most definitely, the efforts of Weicker and his entire team rendered golden results on all fronts and also seemed to be much 
appreciated by everyone there, including the spectators, who could be seen chatting, laughing and enjoying their time together at this extraordinary musicfest.
“This is the 10th year my husband, Tyler, and I have come to the Greenwich Town Party and there is nothing else like it. It’s incredible. The music here is awesome and you run into friends everywhere,” said Joan Stewart Pratt, a longtime Greenwich resident who has been involved with several non-profit groups in town over the years, including the Junior League of Greenwich. “You get to relax, eat some great food, catch up with people and enjoy some of the best music around. We are so happy to be here.”
Meanwhile, the Zac Brown Band, the famous Grammy-winning country music contingent, brought down the house with a memorable high-octane performance.
This dynamic band, based out of Atlanta, Georgia, sang their famous tunes, including ‘Chicken Fried,’ ‘Knee Deep,’ ‘Colder Weather,’ ‘Toes’ and ‘Highway 20 Ride,’
all of which generated roaring applause from the crowd.
“The Zac Brown band was absolutely amazing,” said Kristie Lynch Capone, a professor at Adelphi University in Garden City, Long Island, who lives in Greenwich with her husband, Paul, a culinary chef, and their one year-old son, P.J. “I loved them.”
Caroline Jones, the renowned Greenwich native who has exploded on the American country music scene over the past several years and also had been named as one of the Nashville music scenes’ rising stars, was another stunner at this event.
Known for her powerful, expressive and fluid style, Jones wowed the crowd with such songs as ‘Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable),’ among other tunes, all of which generated huge applause from the audience.
“It was truly a joy to return to the Greenwich Town Party,” said the ever-amiable Jones. “Sunday held the best of both worlds for me-I got to play my first full band solo show in 18 months and then play a second set as part of one of my all-time favorite bands, Zac Brown Band. I am sincerely humbled by and grateful for all the friends who came out to support me and my music.”
Other standout acts at this year’s Greenwich Town Party included the Brunswick Music Improv, Paloma Skye, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Rang-A-Boom and Charlie King & the Next Big Thing, among others.
In addition to providing attendees with a full day and night of incredible music, the Greenwich Town Party also featured an area where attendees could purchase some great event merchandise, as well as a host of different food selections at one of the culinary vendor tents, both of which were teeming with big crowds
throughout the entire event.
It was especially fun to watch all the throes of people shopping and walking around the busy merchandise tent who were there to check out and purchase Greenwich Town Party memorabilia such as tee shirts, hats, water bottles, magnets and other items emblazoned with the iconic Greenwich Town Party logo.
“This has been an incredible event. Everyone has been so great here and the bands and singers have been just phenomenal,” said Mark D’Agostino, who, along with his lovely wife, Silvani, own and manage Party Staffers, the proprietors of the Greenwich Town Party merchandise venue, which has been part of the Greenwich Town Party for six years running. “This is an event that is one-of-a-kind and we love being here. Memories are made here that will probably last a lifetime.”
At the same time, scores of people could be seen lining up at the food vendor tents throughout this event.
Vendors representing such local eateries as Tomatillo, the popular Cos Cob-based spot, Longford’s Ice Cream, which has a store in Rye, New York and other spots located throughout Greenwich and the surrounding area, had ongoing lines of people anxious to 
order their fare.
“We love being here. This is our eighth year here and it’s always an amazing event,” said Ralph Pietrafesa, president and Director of Sales at Longford’s Ice Cream based in Stamford. “This is a main event we look forward to being at every year. It is very special to us.”
At the same time, First Aid stations were set up around the park as a means to provide those individuals with any medical assistance, if need be.
Meanwhile, the GTP Hospitality tent, situated right near the entry of Roger Sherman Baldwin Park, was a main hotspot with its friendly volunteers and workers providing answers and information to those with any questions.
“They thought of everything and that’s why this is such an amazing event,” said Kristie Lynch Capone. “The music has been incredible and the people have been so great. It’s the place to be in every respect.”
Conclusively, a faction of boaters lined the water by the park who were able to watch the performances of the bands
and singers from their designated anchoredspots, something that also added to the wonderful energy of the whole Greenwich Town Party experience.
This faction, who spent the day hanging out on their boats, were docked alongside one another in organized fashion enjoying the bands and singers perform on a jumbo video screen set up near the edge of the park.
“Scot Weicker is just a great guy who always covers all of the bases here. You can see how amazing this all is,” said Ralph Pietrafesa of Longford’s Ice Cream. “It’s great to be here with everyone today. It’s a real celebration.”
