More than 15 years ago, Billy Procida walked into William Derella’s Manhattan music management office with Lil’ Kim, hoping to secure a deal. Derella declined to sign her, not for a lack of vision, but because he knew his roster was already at capacity and he wouldn’t be able to give her the focus she deserved. The encounter left a lasting impression.
Years later, at a March board meeting for Meals on Wheels of Rockland, Derella (now serving as a board member, weekly volunteer driver, and cannabis extraction and brand specialist) began brainstorming with Nancy Loving, the organization’s Major Gifts Officer. He was determined to launch a music event that could generate significant funds without draining the staff’s time for an entire year.
“I’ve been involved with hundreds of music festivals around the globe in my previous music biz career,” Derella says. “Most events don’t even break even.”
Loving pointed out that her partner, Billy Procida, held the lease for the Tallman Beach & Pool Club in Sparkill and was already hosting live concerts there every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer.
In the music industry, connections run deep. Derella left the lineup to Procida’s team, who were already booking their own acts, and instead rebranded the program The Hudson Concert Series, leaning into the playful acronym.
“Or shorthand THC ;-)” he quips.
THE FLOWERY AT TALLMAN IN THEIR TIKI BAR WITH OTHER MAGAZINEPutting a name on it
He was not proposing that anyone build a festival, which is where most charity music events go to die. The calendar already existed, so what it needed was a name, a sponsor, and a donation attached to every ticket.
Procida and Loving told him to go ahead, and then he asked for the part that made it work, permission to bring in that sponsor and fundraise at specific shows. They said yes again.
“I knew there were brands and dispos looking for ways to give back and help the community as part of their commitment to the NY State OCM,” Derella says. He introduced Loving to his contacts, and The Flowery – Haverstraw moved first to secure the presenting sponsorship. They also made a $10,000 donation to Meals on Wheels of Rockland.
They handed the check over on June 20, opening night, WIGJAM on the bandstand, the place packed.
“Between online donations … and folks giving on the spot at the venue, we had already raised more than 20K and the series was just starting,” Derella says. He puts the total north of $30,000.
What a Friday night looks like
Tallman Beach & Pool Club sits inside Tallman Mountain State Park in Sparkill, 20 minutes from the George Washington Bridge, with the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in the distance.
The day crowd clears out around 6 p.m., and a different room takes its place: adults, cocktails, NoCo Joe’s BBQ, music until 10.
“There’s a bandstand with string lights all around with the sunset in the background, almost like a backyard show,” Derella says. “The crowds are definitely from The Other Mag’s tribe.”
Booking is not his department. Procida’s team leans on regional acts with real followings, so WIGJAM and Stella Blues Band pull the Deadheads, Stoneflower handles the Santana material, and the rest runs seventies through nineties classic rock and pop.
The OUT AT TALLMAN drag nights earned three dates this summer on demand alone, the last on August 21.
Everything on the poster is local too, down to the artwork, which Nyack artist Eleanor Kaufman drew by hand. Partners run The Flowery – Haverstraw, NoCo Joe’s BBQ, Procida Funding & Advisors, LLC, and ConnectOne Bank.
What the money is actually for
Meals on Wheels of Rockland delivers close to 1,500 meals a day, according to Derella, and more than 11 million since it began. It marked 50 years last October and runs five senior activity centers countywide.
The tray at the door is the smallest part of what actually gets delivered.
“Each meal is brought by a caring volunteer who provides a vital safety check and a moment of human connection,” Derella says. “Many seniors live alone, so we are oftentimes the only people they see.”
He is describing his own route. Derella has delivered to George Frost, 98, for four years, and the doorstep check-in became weekly two- to three-hour listening sessions.
Proceeds go to Meals for Tomorrow, the capital campaign MOW Rockland launched to upgrade its entire facility, including a new commissary kitchen. The current one was built 35 years ago for roughly 300 a day and now produces 1,500.
Derella says Rockland’s senior population could double in three to five years and that MOW carries a six-month national waiting list. The new commissary targets 5,000 meals a day, against a $5.5 million goal.
“Without expansion, we are facing the imminent certainty of long waitlists in Rockland, where none exist today,” he says.
L-R KEVIN HARDY CEO MOW OF ROCKLAND, ARI FROM FLOWERY – HAVERSTRAW, WILLIAM DERELLA MOW OF ROCKLAND BOARD MEMBER AND JOE AGNELLO OWNER NOCO JOES BBQThe operator’s takeaway
The Flowery gets logo placement across the series’ marketing and a tiki hut with information and education materials. Derella’s read is that the audience matches the retailer’s demographics well enough to justify it, and there is still no easy way to put a cannabis brand in front of Rockland County adults.
His advice to other operators is not to stop at writing the check.
“I always say the key to living is giving,” he says. “Cannabis brands can and should include cause-related marketing as an organic part of their campaigns.”
He points to Mike Zayas of the microbusiness brand Hybrid Theory, who delivers meals weekly and was MOW Rockland’s volunteer coordinator when Derella drove a route. Treehouse Cannabis sends its owner and staff out too.
“You don’t always have to donate money,” Derella says. “You can also volunteer your time and services.”
Three things you can do this month
Take a route. One to two hours a week. Call Dina Santos at MOW Rockland, (845) 624-6325, or sign up at mowrockland.org.
Give to a local charity. Derella’s only qualifier: pick one that matters to you.
Show up. The Hudson Concert Series runs Fridays and Saturdays at Tallman Beach & Pool Club in Sparkill through September. Doors at 6 p.m., music at 7 p.m., $15 at the door. Labor Day weekend adds a Sunday: WIGJAM September 4, Stoneflower September 5, and Stella Blues Band September 6. Full schedule at tallmanpool.com/live-music.
Derella’s own picks before a show, both from brands he advises: a High Ambitions NYC “Dante’s Inferno” pre-roll and a Sweet William caramel.
Disclosure: William Derella serves on the Meals on Wheels of Rockland board of directors and works as a cannabis extraction and brand specialist advising The Ladies, Hybrid Theory, and High Ambitions NYC, where he is working on an in-house Q4 launch of a single-strain edible line. Hybrid Theory and High Ambitions NYC are referenced in this article. Figures on donations, meal counts, senior population projections, and campaign goals are as provided by Derella and Meals on Wheels of Rockland.
Consume responsibly (and legally!)
Can’t make it to a show? You can still be part of it — every contribution helps us continue delivering meals and vital services to neighbors who need them.https://weblink.donorperfect.com/MOWRcampaign
