By Anna Lombardi

With 190 shows, over 75 different bands and roughly 30 different restaurants/venues in four days; this weekend the 2nd annual Montauk Music Festival got us started on our final countdown to summer. The festival began at Gurney’s Thursday (May 12th) with the opening party… after that singer/songwriters from all genres including jazz, hip hop, folk, funk, blues and all that falls in between made their rounds around Montauk.

Lawrence Cooley and Kenny Giustino (who were once in a band together) did another fabulous job this year organizing a great weekend to ease us into the summer season. There were certainly people enjoying the festivities, without the overwhelmingness that comes once memorial day weekend sets in. 27 was light on traffic, the parking at Surf Lodge was busy yet manageable and lunch at Navy Beach was wait free, making it the perfect atmosphere to soak in the music while enjoying the best Montauk has to offer. Some great acts included (but were certainly not limited to) Taj Weekes, The Funkadelics, One Love, Sophie Auster, The White Rhino, Michael Schoen and Love in Stockholm.

For a full line-up of artist who participated at the festival click HERE.

The hopes of the music festival is to open your eyes to passionate (on the verge) artists while simultaneously expanding your horizons to local restaurants and venues all around Montauk. Places such as The Surf Lodge, Clementes, Sole East, The Montauk Yacht Club, Navy Beach, Johns Pancake House, The Pointe, Memory Hotel, The Harvest and Fishbar were among some of the venues that opened its doors to aspiring musicians. Also offered during the weekend was an Industry Workshop for Musicians. Friday afternoon from 2 to 4 p.m at Gurney’s, the festival held the opportunity for artists to speak with a panel of music industry experts. When I spoke to Kenny Giustino, he expressed his delight in success of the weekend, “It is not about selling tickets, it is about the art, the music and the education.” It was a weekend filled with good company, great food, and even better talent!