VersoFest Visionary: Adria Petty, on the Legacy of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Event Details

Adria Petty, the daughter of Tom Petty and acclaimed producer and music video director, will be on hand in the Trefz Forum as part of the burgeoning Saturday lineup for VersoFest 2026, The Westport Library’s annual music and media conference and festival powered by Verso Studios, the media arm of the Library.

Adria Petty, who works as a managing partner at the Tom Petty estate, will discuss the legacy of her father and his band, The Heartbreakers, in conversation with music industry pioneer Sam Hendel.

This year’s fifth annual VersoFest includes a kickoff storytellers event with Susanna Hoffs (March 6), a conversation with folk-rock icon Ani DiFranco (March 26), a concert performance by Wyclef Jean (March 27), a VersoFest book talk with celebrated actress/performer Gina Gershon (March 28), a conversation and acoustic performance by alt-rock legend David J (March 28), and much, much more.

Why You Should Come

Tom Petty is one of the most beloved musicians of the past 50 years, with a string of hits and best-selling albums from the mid-1970s until his death in 2017.

As a daughter, filmmaker, and director of music videos for some of the world’s biggest artists, Adria Petty can speak to the enduring legacy of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers like no other — and this is your opportunity to see her in an intimate venue, as one of just 450 attendees in the Library’s unique Trefz Forum space.

“I am a true lover of people, characters, culture, and personality,” Adria said. “As a child, I spent a lot of my time traveling with my family surrounded by musicians and artistic people of all kinds. I believe it is on those musical tours that the allure of production and the alchemy of great artistic people collaborating with a great crew got me inspired to become a director.”

About Adria Petty

Adria Petty is a director, producer, and creative director. She currently works as a managing partner at the Tom Petty estate with her family and the remaining members of Tom’s band and operations team, preserving their archive of 40 years of American music.

As a director, Adria has directed many videos for top recording artists including Beyonce, Coldplay, and Rihanna. She has also done commercial spots for iconic brands such as Lancôme, Alexander McQueen, Target, Converse, Hershey’s, McDonald’s, and many more.

About Sam Hendel

Sam Hendel is the managing partner of Chord Music Partners and Dundee Partners. He founded Chord in 2021, a joint venture with Universal Music Group, which serves as Universal’s global catalogue acquisition vehicle. Today, Chord is one of the largest independent music rights platforms in the world, with a growing portfolio of more than 65,000 works that includes The Weeknd, Fleetwood Mac, David Guetta, OneRepublic, John Legend, Diplo/Major Lazer, ZZ Top, and Morgan Wallen.

Prior to working in the music industry, Sam co-founded Dataminr, the world’s leading real-time AI company valued at more than $4 billion, and spent 20 years in investment management.

About VersoFest

VersoFest is The Westport Library’s annual music and media conference and festival where knowledge is shared and inspiration is discovered — a forum for media creators, artists, and fans to converge.

This year’s festival, our fifth, is shaping up to be the best yet, headlined by a February 27 kickoff concert by rising rock band The Thing, our March 6 VersoFest storytellers evening with Bangles co-founder Susanna Hoffs, the March 26 Verso Visionary conversation with folk-rock icon Ani DiFranco, and a special March 27 Friday night performance featuring Grammy Award-winning artist, producer, composer and Fugees co-founder Wyclef Jean.

VersoFest 2026 weekend guests include actress, author, and performer Gina Gershon; David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets); Adria Petty on the legacy of her dad, Tom Petty, and the legendary Heartbreakers; a VersoFest author talk with Claire Dederer on her book, Monster; a conversation with renowned music promoter Peter Shapiro (Capitol Theare, Brooklyn Bowl); an appearance by the African dance and music troupe Cumbe Dance; and an interactive art installation exhibited by award-winning, video-based artist Holly Danger.

Visit our VersoFest website to see the lineup and schedule for 2026 (with announcements on all guests coming throughout January and into February).