Events

Karen Bella, is a NYC & Long Island-based performing and recording artist, who crosses genres in her songwriting, while having a strong foundation in the “classics.”  Her hard work, beautiful voice, and experience with live performances, all attribute to turning all eyes and ears in the room to her when she’s on stage.

Bella began studying music performance and acting in elementary school.  She started booking recording sessions by 9 years old and was writing songs at age 12.  After college, she pursued music full-time, releasing her first album, Ordinary Girl in 2013, Karen Bella, self-titled EP (produced by Josh Dion) in 2020, and the single, “Rise Up,” (produced by Dion) in 2023,  which currently has over 55.7k streams on Spotify.  She continues to perform throughout the tri-state area playing such notable venues as the Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, the Landmark Theater in Port Washington, Great South Bay Music Festival and the Philadelphia Music Festival, Spotlight at The Paramount (opening for Hannah Wicklund) and is currently working on the follow up releases for 2024.  In October 2023, Karen had a show-stopping performance at The Bitter End in NYC, with musicians, David Cook, Josh Dion, Brian Killeen, and Teddy Kumpel.

From a recent interview, Bella expressed that, “I’m lucky that I get to share my love for Folk, Rock, R&B, Pop, and Country music to its fullest.  My shows and albums represent these little chapters of my life and give the fans and audience a glimpse into my heart and mind.  My goal as a songwriter is to have a positive effect on the listener, because music has been a miraculous coping mechanism for me, helping all of us to fight the sadness and anxiety that follow traumatic life events.”

Bella was named a Sam Ash “Spotlight Artist in 2019,” becoming an official Fishman-endorsed artist (2019).  She was also a Yamaha Guitar Ambassador in 2022 and in the same year she became an Elixir Strings Artist.  In June 2022 and April of 2023, Bella was chosen to perform at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) in Anaheim, CA.    Most recently, she was nominated as Best Singer From Long Island 2023, by the Town of Bethpage.  The self-titled EP, Karen Bella, charted #30 in the Folk Alliance International Charts and received commercial airplay in 2022.  The single, “Indio,” charted #2 on the World Indie Music Charts in 2023, including more than 31.7k streams on spotify.

Facebook/Instagram/X: @karenbellamusic

Accompanying Karen Bella: Teddy Kumpel 

Teddy played guitar on the Grammy winning album “Home” by Tim Kubart, sang backgrounds with Nine Inch Nails on the MTV music awards, toured and/or recorded with Joe Jackson, Rickie Lee Jones, Goodie Mob, Feist, Toots Hibbert, played on many soundtracks including Anchorman and Talladega Nights, produced, engineered and helped develop many artists all while nurturing his own art and unique vision over his 30 year + career.

In the latter part of the last century, GENE CASEY departed New York City and its Punk rock/New wave scene for Long Island’s East End. There, he formed the Lone Sharks, “the house band of the Hamptons,” where bars were plentiful and audiences – both the local and the celebrated – were robust and loyal. Over the course of the next few decades Gene and the evolving line-up of Sharks “played – and tore up – every roadhouse, bar, and honky tonk from Manhattan to Montauk” (Bop Magazine), sharing the bill and backing legendary roots rock & roll acts as Wanda Jackson, the Band, Bo Diddley, Sleepy LaBeef, NRBQ, and the Ventures.
Gene’s original music met with great acclaim with local and international indie radio play. Several of his roots-drenched songs have been used in “A Prairie Home Companion” and on the soundtracks to television and feature films, including “Justified” and “Sons of Anarchy” ; the 2012 thriller “The Tall Man” starring Jessica Biel, the 2013 release “The Killing Season” starring Robert DeNiro, and Rob Reiner’s “Being Charlie.”
In 2014 Gene and the Lone Sharks were inducted into the Dan’s Papers “Best of the Best” Hall of Fame, having been honored over 20 times. A year later Gene, “the premier barroom troubadour of Eastern Long Island” (author Josh Alan Friedman) received the Long Island Sound Award by the L.I. Music Hall of Fame, “for contributions to the Island’s musical landscape.”

Long Island’s most sensational teen band Glenn Strange have been attracting large crowds with their high energy sets at some of the hottest music venues from New York City to Montauk. From Bowery Electric in Manhattan to Mulcahy’s Pub and Concert Hall in Wantagh to the 13th Annual Montauk Music Festival, Glenn Strange is racking up quite the resume at a very young age. You certainly will not want to miss these tremendously talented four local youngsters on the rise, as they perform their classic and grunge-inspired rock!!

If you like Classic Rock and 90’s Grunge then you’ll love Glenn Strange! Over the past several years, Glenn Strange has become a recognized name in the live music scene on Long Island and in New York City, playing regular gigs at well-known music venues, restaurants, private parties and festivals, drawing large crowds with their mix of covers and originals. Glenn Strange is Giancarlo Bellistri on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Jack Chambers on lead guitar and backing vocals, Dylan Taganas on bass and backing vocals, and Luke Rinaldi on drums. 

Singer/guitarist Giancarlo Bellistri (15 years old) first formed Glenn Strange in 2019 while a student at the School of Rock in Roslyn. The band began performing under the Glenn Strange name, doing open mics and gigs at local venues such as Memories in Williston Park and Still Partners in Sea Cliff. When the pandemic hit in 2020, the band used the extra time to expand their set list and perform outdoors at the Blue Iguana in Tappen Beach. In September of 2020, lead guitarist Jack Chambers (15), who had previously played in bands at Bach 2 Rock in Port Washington, joined the band. Super talented musician Dylan Taganas (19) first joined the band onstage at the Jones Beach Bandshell in the summer of 2023, also playing with the band at the Cedar Beach Blues Festival, and recently becoming Glenn Strange’s full time bassist and backing vocalist. Drummer Luke Rinaldi (23) rounds out the band on drums, bringing cohesiveness and youthful exuberance to each song.   

With influences ranging from The Beatles, Elvis, The Beach Boys and Led Zeppelin to Nirvana and Foo Fighters, the foursome delivers high-energy performances with acoustic quality and smooth transitions. The band’s originals show off their musicality with rock-vibed guitar riffs and lyrical hooks, staying in the same lane as their cover repertoire. Glenn Strange recently wrapped recording at Westfall Recording Studios in Farmingdale, and plans on releasing their original music on all streaming platforms over the next several months. Glenn Strange is a crowd pleaser, having played legendary venues including The Bitter End, Mr. Beery’s, Garden Social and The Clubhouse in East Hampton, as well as various festivals such as RockStock and Barrels, the Atlantic Antic, and the Rockaway Beach Fall Fest. In October 2023, Glenn Strange placed in the top four in Audacy’s National Opening Act Contest, and performed at the Prudential Center in New Jersey as a run up to Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson and One Republic at the We Can Survive Benefit Concert.

Join us for a screening of the documentary “Dare To Be Different”. The story of WLIR, followed by a Q&A with Larry The Duck (WLIR), Denis McNamara (WLIR) and Ellen Goldfarb (Movie Director). Hosted by The Sound of Film’s Tom Needham.

Ray Lambiase has recently released his fifth full length CD, The Road Ahead, featuring eleven new songs that celebrate a range of Americana musical genres, and stories that will introduce listeners to a number of new memorable characters.​

He began writing and performing his own songs as a teenager on Long Island.

“The voice – unexpectedly rich, gentle, passionate and drly humorous at turns – is alternately laced with bits of grit and a haunting vibrato.”                                                  Proctor Lippincott, New York TImes