Great South Bay Music Festival Revs Up on Day 2
By Jisela Hernandez
It’s Day 2 at The Great South Bay Music Festival. In the early afternoon, food vendors and other tents started setting up for the day.
The Sunshine Stage opened today, and they are getting ready for the day’s performances. The band members of Samsara told the crowd, “We’re excited to be here today and can’t wait to get the crowd up and dancing!” Samsara is an alternative rock band based on Long Island and Queens. Their sound channels a mix of contemporary and rock influences. Drummer Ben Bustamante said, “It was our first time performing at Great South Bay, but it was fun. I really enjoyed it!”
Later in the afternoon, it started to rain, but that didn’t stop the show as Oogee Wawa rocked the stage with their energetic performance. Oogee Wawa is a fusion band based on Long Island that has influences from reggae, punk rock, and hip hop. The crowd was going wild as they had bubbles blowing, people dancing, and singing along. “This music keeps me alive and makes me feel happy even on my bad days,” said a fan of the band named Jacob. “I wish they could perform live here every day!”
There’s so much to discover down at The Great South Bay Music Festival. Beyond food and music, some creative artists want the world to see their art, such as Michael Lombardi. Lombardi is a fantasy artist from Medford, New York, who enjoys creating mythical creatures and landscapes in watercolor. He spoke about his inspirations, saying, “My goal is to turn my paintings into a deck of oracle cards to give readings to people. I hope to get my paintings out there more to inspire people just like I was inspired by the stories of the mythical creatures my mom used to tell me.”
The festival also has stations for the little ones to enjoy, such as face painting and games like tug of war, bean bag toss, and even spike ball.
The sky started to grow dark, but the crowd was singing, dancing, and overall having a great time as Steel Pulse blew the show away with their performance. Steel Pulse is a Reggae band from Birmingham, England. Steel Pulse was the first band from an inner British city to win Best Reggae Album for Babylon the Bandit in 1986. Fan of the band, Tahlia Johnson, said Steel Pulse is her favorite band. “The music just makes me feel like I don’t have to stress about anything negative that’s going on in the world; it’s sort of an escape for me.”
As the night went on, everybody gathered around the main stage as the final band, Rebelution, put on an amazing show. Rebelution is a Reggae Rock music band from Isla Vista, California. The current members of Rebelution are Eric Rachmany, Rory Carey, Marley D. Williams, and Wesley Finely. The band won the #1 record five times in a row on the Billboard Reggae chart. The audience loved the show and sang along to almost every word.
Overall, Day 2 turned out to be successful. The fans loved every bit of the performances. Food and drinks were selling out, and the fans can’t wait to see what Day 3 brings at The Great South Bay Music Festival.
