GSB 2026: Day 1 Live Blog

8:15 PM

Lights. More Lights. Fog. Bubbles. Sparks. Even more lights. Production Design is a new degree at Five Towns College and our faculty and students have been planning and working all summer to create the dynamic Five Towns College Stage at the Great South Bay Music Festival.  Here’s a peek at tonight’s Koyo performance that had all the bells and whistles.  Koyo hails from Stony Brook, New York so the Long Island crowd sure showed up for the punk band.  

Theatre Arts major Dan Leach, who has been working on the stage design with Professors Joe Kenny and Laura Alberts, said his favorite part of the event has been setting up the fog, cold sparks, and bubble machines as well as being permitted by his manager to mosh during the Deadlands set.  Leach also worked on the setup of the Jambalaya stage, which goes live tomorrow, saying “even that wasn’t too bad.”

7:15 PM

Bayside took the Main Stage and immediately stole the crowd’s attention with a strong opener showing off their punk rock background. They draw their name from their home base of Bayside, Queens, where they started 26 years ago. In the front row, fan and Bayside native Jim Bennet said, “I’ve followed them for years. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Thursday; the second I saw them in today’s lineup, I knew I was coming.”  Bayside has toured the world and points to their musicianship as what sets them apart and keeps their loyal following as you can see here as they took the stage.

FTC Reporter Chris Eliopoulos took some additional cool pics of Bayside.

6:45 PM

Deadlands hits the stage hard! By far the best crowd work I’ve seen in a while. Staying true to their name, they are certainly bringing death metal to the land here at Shorefront Park. Everyone is bobbing heads and die hard fans are in the center of the mosh pit. This set is a refreshing genre of music to spice up an already great festival. One of the moshers, Daniel McCaunaughey says, “Don’t knock it ’til you try it”.

6:00 PM

Broadcast check-in:  After livestreaming two bands from the Five Towns College Stage, FTC student director James Suckle gave an update. “It’s been going great so far. My job today is really to make sure that all my camera operators are able to hear me. They know what I want and they’re able to get great shots while the band is performing so we can have a smooth broadcast.”  Watch the full broadcast on the Five Towns College YouTube Channel.

5:45 PM

Cartel is bringing the heat on the Main Stage, keeping the energy high with their iconic pop-punk style. The crowd has fully settled in with little room to spare. Fans like Brian Casey are praising the band, saying, “They’re even better in person,” while Casper Sanchez is “just happy to be here.” Cartel’s 2005 breakthrough LP, Choma, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and is considered by Rock Sound and Loudwire as one of the greatest pop-punk records of all time.

5:30 PM

5:15 PM

No Fly List’s set on the Five Towns College Stage earned them some new fans. “I didn’t know their music before today. I don’t really listen to music like theirs but they completely won me over,” said Emily Caruso. The heavy pop group captivated the Shorefront Park audience with high-spirited music, two potent vocalists Emma Rae and Aleem Khalid, and a confident performance. Billboard Brasil named them “one of ten artists to watch in 2026.”

4:30 PM

Imposters are kicking off the Main Stage performance with a bang! The band is turning heads and getting people on their feet with groovy basslines and an incredible stage presence. “It’s an out of body experience,” says Rachel Schaefer. The crowd is enjoying the great melodies and ready to see what the rest of the night has in store.

3:45 PM

The Great South Bay Musical Festival is officially kicking off with Gamblers on the Five Towns College Stage. The band is made up of founder Michael McManus, Johnny Hoblin and Jimmy Usher. Their sound fuses indie pop funk, and disco into high energy driven music.

After their performance, Gamblers sat down with FTC Sound Stream Hosts Isabella Escobar, Daniel Garcia and Amanda Penny to talk about their origins and upcoming summer shows.

3:30 PM

At last, the gates are open for the 2026 Great South Bay Music Festival! Vibes and spirits are high, and the weather couldn’t be better. The fryers are revved up in the food court and the stage is booming as the Gamblers are about to kick off on the Five Towns College Stage, a great start to an exciting weekend ahead at Shorefront Park in Patchogue, NY, 

3:00 PM

Throughout the day, FTC Mass Comm students and alumni are broadcasting all the activity coming from the Five Towns College Stage so viewers at home can get an idea of what it’s like to watch a Great South Bay Music performance. The broadcast team is also livestreaming the FTC Sound Stream interviews. Preparation started yesterday to properly set up all the equipment needed to power the four-day festival. For students, this experience furthers what they learn in the classroom. Kevin Phelan, who is working at this event for the first time, is taking it all in. “I’ve had a great time setting up, it’s a great opportunity to get out in the field and work in a live environment with real pressure.”   

In this video, students are testing the video switcher and microphones before the FTC Sound Stream’s live hit.

2:45 PM

Here at the Great South Bay Music Festival, there are dozens of vendors selling everything you could desire. One booth that really stands out is the B-Side Records pop-up shop where you can listen to Baltimore’s hidden talent while enjoying the breeze off the shore. The booth offers a walk through area with listening booths and albums curated by the owner, Joe Gasbarre, whose mission here is “to support and spread the word of the underground sound of Baltimore.”

2:30PM

Joining Five Towns College students and faculty today are some high school students enrolled in the Pre-College Summer program. Professor Matt O’Leary is currently teaching Social Media and brought his class to learn in a professional and fun environment. “Today, the high school students will be interviewing vendors, Five Towns College students, and collecting b-roll of the event. As a group, we will be editing our collected footage to create multiple styles of social media video.” The students are also scheduled to be interviewed on the FTC Sound Stream about their experience at the Great South Bay Music Festival. 

2:00 PM

Five Towns Audio professors and students have been hard at work organizing talent and preparing the FTC Stage.

“It’s the first day, so we start slow. We set up everything yesterday and we just started with our stage sound check with Deadlands, who will be on the stage later (scheduled for 6:20 PM). They just finished, so we’re just switching back to setting up for our first act (Gamblers),” said Audio Professor Grace Lee.

Audio student Ryan O’Hara is confident with the setup operation, sharing, “Carrying stage risers and trying to find the parking lot have been the only real hardships” that he’s faced so far. 

1:45 PM

Day 1 of the Great South Bay Music Festival features a strong lineup of groups varying from alternative, punk, and rock music. Each set will alternate between the Five Towns College Stage at the Bandshell and Main Stage so you won’t have to wait for the next band to take the stage.

The Five Towns College Stage kicks off the festival at 3:45 PM with Gamblers, followed by performances from No Fly List, and Deadlands. Koyo ends today’s sets from that stage at 7:55 PM.

The Main Stage kicks off at 4:15 PM with Imposters, followed by Cartel, and Bayside. The Used closes out the festival with their performance scheduled for 8:30PM.

1:30PM

Hey, festival fans! It’s Day 1 of the Great South Bay Music Festival at Shorefront Park. Five Towns College Mass Comm is covering the whole day, from live performances and interviews on the FTC Sound Stream and the FTC YouTube Channel plus regular updates here on The Record Online.  FTC Mass Comm major Jack Barton and Film & Television major Steve Hlatky are today’s bloggers and will be roaming the festival grounds for a behind-the-scenes look at the Great South Bay Music Festival.  It’s warm and sunny here in Patchogue, New York with a high today of 79 degrees. ☀️

Check back for updates on today’s band performances, vendors, festivities and more.