During a time when Covid-19 is still impacting daily life and has forced many live music venues to close for an extended period of time, Long Island Stage has given local artists the opportunity to get back into music and performing.
Long Island Stage is a project started by Brian McAuliff, founder of Bohemia-based Bri-Tech, and John “Johnny Sax” Mangione to celebrate and help musicians get back to doing what they love by providing high-quality recording studios, live virtual concerts, and promotions for artists at no cost.
“As a fan of music and recognizing that these artists need our support because their livelihoods have been particularly impacted by Covid-19 — many have been out of work for almost a year — we formed this partnership to help raise funds which will go directly to local musicians as well as music students on Long Island,” said McAuliff.
All donations and sponsorships for Long Island Stage will go through Ramona’s Gift of Music, a nonprofit organization that’s dedicated to supporting youth music programs and offers music scholarships and awards.
Season one of Long Island Stage started in April and is expected to continue this summer and featured artists such as Kate Van Dorn, Krysta Ferrara, LI Scene’s Tiffany Castillo, Allie Tamburello, Dedric Curry 1 Step Ahead, Evil Sweet, Buddy Merriam, Matt Hoffman, Gene Casey, Latinology, and The New Millennium Jazz Band Quartet. Dates for the next episodes will be announced over the next couple of weeks.
“As artists are out of work, this is a way for musicians to put money in their pocket and get audiences used to going out and going to bars and restaurants and listening to live music once again,” said Mangione.
The Long Island Stage project celebrates 30 years of service to Long Island by Bri-Tech, an electronic engineering firm and the leading sponsor of the project. Bri-Tech opened new studios in Bohemia last year, has donated to many local charities, and wanted to expand their support to the individuals utilizing their studios through this project.
To learn more about Long Island Stage and stay up to date with local artists and performances, visit here.
Sign up for Long Island Press’ email newsletters here. Sign up for home delivery of Long Island Press here. Sign up for discounts by becoming a Long Island Press community partner here.
