GSB Music Festival- Day 2 Live Blog

8:00 PM Final Update

The Five Towns reporting crew is wrapping up Day 2 at the Great South Bay Music Festival. Big crowds are gathering at the Voodoo Ranger Main Stage to hear Goldfinger followed by Dirty Heads. The Five Towns College Stage still has Ballyhoo! performing at 8:50 PM.  We’ll be back tomorrow!

7:30 PM Update

The beach balls and bubbles came out as Oogee Wawa lit up the stage. The band fuses reggae, pop, punk rock, and hip-hop. The band loves to tour and plays 200 shows a year. Though they regularly open for bands such as Rusted Root, The Dirty Heads, and Sublime with Rome, Oogee Wawa sure has their own fan base.

7:00 PM Update

Roots Foundation hit the Five Towns College Stage to an enthusiastic crowd. The reggae band has Long Island and Five Towns College roots.  Bassist Corey Browd, who attended Five Towns College in the late 80’s, formed in the band in 2008.

The band considers themselves a family who is working to spread their musical message worldwide. The group sat down with WFTU Radio for a post-show chat. Browd told WFTU Radio that his main goal is for “people to feel the vibe no matter what.”

6:30 PM Update

In addition to great music and food, the Great South Bay Music Festival is a place to bring awareness to important causes. Organizer “Swan” stopped by the FTC tents to invite everyone to the 12th Annual Breast Cancer Charity Music Festival on August 5th in St. James, New York, saying, “After 12 years, we have done a very good job at working with the community and very generous people who have chipped in.”  Scan the QR code for more information.

5:30 PM Update

The sun is back out and for those 21 and older, purchasing a beer on this hot summer night can turn into a donation. All tips for beer go towards YAI Seeing Beyond Disability.  Festival attendee Ellen Anderson said, “I think it’s great that the money is going to a great cause as well as having a cold drink to cool off on a hot day like this.” To purchase a beer, go to the ticket booth in the center of the festival. Some of this year’s sponsors include Vodoo Ranger, Samuel Adams, Modelo, and Coors Light.

4:45 PM Update

We took a little reporting break to deal with the heavy rain.

However, the show must go on and it was an exciting set of music. The Pigeons, a band of Five Towns College students and alumni; Arianna Velez, Connor Bankos, Jake Rieder and Cayla Charles, took the stage. The Pigeons were the WEHM band winner, and were invited to play at the Great South Bay Music Festival. “Honestly, it was a huge shock.  I’ve been at the school for three years and I think we’ve done a lot so it’s nice to be recognized.  It’s a big honor. We haven’t played at a venue bigger than this,” said Arianna Velez.

As the sun finally came out, so did the fans as the Pigeons continued their set.  Follow the Pigeons on Instagram: @pigeonsmusicofficial.

3:30 PM Update

It is currently raining in Shorefront Park. Rain is forecasted until 5 pm.  Soundchecks continue and Five Towns College is adding more tents to protect our equipment.

Even though the skies are cloudy, you should still protect your skin. WFTU Radio Hosts Jeff Kramer and Tyler McCready are speaking with Annalea Trask from Stony Brook Cancer Center about sun safety.  Stony Brook is providing free sunscreen and hats to concert goers and urging listeners to check out their cancer prevention website.

3:15 PM Update

Before the festival gates open, bands are doing soundchecks on all of the stages.  You never know what music they will break out into during the soundcheck, so it’s fun to listen.

Goldfinger will be performing on the Voodoo Ranger Main Stage tonight at 7:50 PM.  We got a listen to their sound and are excited to see them play live this evening.

2:30 PM Update

It’s Day 2 of the Great South Bay Music Festival.  John Maturo is back with Aaron McLaughlin and Madelyn Lanes joining today’s reporting team.

WFTU Radio is getting ready to broadcast live starting at 2:45 PM. The on-air and engineering teams are working with FTC Audio to test the audio signals.  Here is a behind-the scenes look:

We’ll be here all day with coverage of Day 2 of the Great South Bay Music Festival.