The annual Montauk Music Festival is a very big deal, for the band I’m in and for dozens of others, some of whom travel great distances to play at this spectacular Long Island music showcase. Now in its 15th year, the festival is organized by Kenny Giustino aka Montauk Kenny and Sue Giustino, presented by The Montauk Sun, and ably assisted by Quantum Sound Systems, pro audio equipment maker RCF, and a host of sponsors.
The Montauk Music Festival features more than 100 bands playing around 400 shows at 45 venues around town, including two large outdoor stages on the village green. Almost every conceivable genre of original music can be heard, from roots rockers to metalists to funkateers to singer/songwriters, along with hearing some very unique takes on other peoples’ songs. Like I said, a big deal.
Our band, Grand Folk Railroad, has had the pleasure of playing the festival for 14 times. It’s an adventure in performing, stamina, logistics, and the sometimes mayhem of getting through many gigs in three days, in our case, seven! Preparation is key, whether it’s making sure you’re well-fed before going on, to carrying spares of every piece of equipment you might conceivably think you’d need. (You can read about our 2025 sojourn to the MMF in Issue 220.) And it is a physical endurance contest: almost seven hours of playing in our case, plus set up, tear down, and all the goings-on in between.
A pro tip: we went to the venues before we played them to scope out what they looked like and what we’d have to do to set up for each one. This is much better than being surprised when you get to the gig and have to figure out stage logistics on the spot.
Just think about having this many bands in one venue and multiply it by 45 venues and you'll get an idea of the scope of the Montauk Music Festival.
Star Island, Friday, May 15, 5:00
I left my house at about 12:30 Friday afternoon and pulled into Montauk about 3:00. Surprisingly, there was little traffic except for the usual bottleneck around the Hamptons. (During the season, the traffic is a nightmare.) Everything was going great and I was in a psyched pre-show mood, but just as I got into the hotel, the Montauk Yacht Club, which is every bit as luxurious as the name sounds, I got a call from my wife saying that our pug Gary might have swallowed one of the pills I take as medication. She wasn’t sure if it was a pill or something else, only that it was an object on the bathroom floor.
So I went from being in a blissful mood driving into Montauk, which is truly one of the most gorgeous paradisical spots you can imagine, to worrying about whether our dog would be OK – or not – and feeling guilty about carelessly dropping a possibly deadly pill on the floor. And I had to be ready for the first gig in an hour. On top of that, two of the band members realized they had left a key piece of equipment at home after they had been on the road for an hour, and had to turn back, eating up two hours. Luckily they got to the venue with about half an hour so spare. But the show had to go on, and my wife works for a veterinarian, so I knew she’d be able to deal with whatever happened.
When you do a gig you have to factor in what I bluntly call f*ck up time. In other words, assume something will f*ck up and things will take longer than you’d planned.
While all the venues provided a PA and most had a backline – amps and a drum set – the drummer typically has to bring their own snare, cymbals, hi-hat and bass drum pedal. I bring a trunkful of spare stuff, amp, guitar stand, battery-powered mixer, cables, batteries, pedal, guitar and anything I think we might need in case the PA or backline don't meet the band's requirements, or if any issues arise.
I wanted something to eat before the gig but had been in a rush to get out of the house, so I forgot to load up my “survival cooler.” No worries, I’d just get something at the hotel snack shop…but it was closed. (At 4:00 p.m. on a Friday…?) So I drove into town and grabbed something to eat from the nearest deli. There’s nothing worse than being psyched for a gig and having it ruined by being hungry halfway through the set.
The Star Island setup was perfect. A big tent covered the stage and the tables and chairs for the audience. No need to worry about rain or sunburn. There was a professional sound system with a full backline. The two sound guys were very competent. The parking and load in were easy.
The artist who played before us, MikelParis, was a solo acoustic guitar act, so it was an easy tear down for him and set up for us after he was done. He is an exceptional performer, who played his guitar like a lap steel, slanted downward, and played in a unique percussive style where he banged on the strings rather than picking them, and used the body of the guitar like a percussion instrument. His songs were excellent. A hard act to follow. And a great start to our weekend.
(After I wrote this article I found out he plays keyboards in the band O.A.R. A top-level pro. No wonder he was such a stunning performer!)
Once we got to setting up I went into all-business mode, which was a blessing as it took my mind off worrying about Gary the Pug. For amps, I actually had a choice of using either a tube Fender Bassbreaker (it’s a guitar amp, confusingly named) or a Marshall digital-something-or-other amp. The Marshall sounded like a tin can, and had an incomprehensible menu system. I scrolled through a few lousy-sounding presets, couldn’t figure out how to adjust the reverb, and gave up. Call me old school, but I don’t want to know from digital modeling amps. The Bassbreaker was ungodly loud and heavy – thank goodness I didn’t have to lift it. But man did it sound great. These are underrated gems.
We played the gig and everything sounded great. Maybe 20 – 25 people were there to watch, and about 20 – 30 more were inside, which was a pretty good crowd for the first day of the show in a venue that was off the beaten track. I was tight and focused. Although that doesn’t happen all the time… The weather was perfect, with a very comfortable temperature and no wind, which is far from guaranteed at a location by the water. It did rain lightly for about one song during the set, but stopped and the sun came back out.
After the gig I immediately called my wife, who told me Gary the Pug was OK. The stress drained out of me, and now I was truly in a groovy vacation head with thoughts of day-to-day life put aside. Which is what should happen when you’re in the paradise known as Montauk.
After, we had a nice meal, courtesy of the house, and got to hear the great Mark Newman and his band. They played Steely Dan’s “Bodhisattva” and Mark played both of the intro lead guitar parts at once! I couldn’t believe it. Later I found out that Mark plays with the Blues Project. No wonder.
Star Island indeed: MikeIParis (above) and Mark Newman (below) and band were outstanding.
Shagwong, Friday, May 15, 8:00
I had wanted to play this venue, a small half bar/half restaurant, for some time, because they always get a rockin’ crowd, and I do mean crowd. We had gone to case the joint beforehand and knew it would be challenging as the stage was…tiny…and we’d have to elbow our way through a packed house to get to it.
Well, challenging isn’t strong enough a word. When we got to Shagwong (I know, it sounds like something out of an Austin Powers movie), it was so crowded we were told we couldn’t even enter until it was time to set up. I should mention, bands at the Montauk Music Festival typically get an hour time slot, but have 10 minutes to set up and be ready to play (unless you’re the first band of the day at the venue). During our gigs Susan, our vocalist/acoustic guitarist/banjoist/flautist, would alternate between instruments, but at Shagwong the flute songs went out the window. Even a flute stand took up too much room.
The band before us took more time than they should have getting their gear and themselves off the stage – the pet peeve of mine – but we couldn’t fault them entirely as the “stage” was actually a triangular area maybe 10 feet wide. My house amp was a Fender Blues Junior, a perfectly solid, dependable, great-sounding tube amp you see in backlines everywhere. I think the bass amp was a Hartke, a cheap, good amp when an overanxious bass player hasn’t blown the speakers. Thankfully, this one worked.
The PA was two RCF “speaker on a stick” columns and an Allen and Heath board, good stuff. The sound man had to futz with some of the direct boxes and cables to get Susan’s stuff to work. The lighting was so dim we could barely see our instruments and had to use flashlights to set up. One of the band members propped up their phone on the floor in order to see the set list. The right main speaker was about eight inches away from my left ear…ouch! The space was so tight I couldn’t get much farther away from it. The sound guy had to run my vocals thorough the left speaker only; otherwise my vocals would feed back because my mic was so close to the right speaker. That, plus the fact that I had no stage monitor, meant that I could barely hear myself sing.
The sound was so loud that everything was a roar. Gary the Human’s keyboard was inaudible from where I stood. Our bass player Mike is a lefty, meaning that his bass neck points to the right instead of the left, so we usually stand on opposite sides of the stage with the necks pointing outward to give us maximum room. We couldn’t do that – in fact, the necks of our instruments crossed, restricting our movements, not that we had any room to move.
I had to stand close to the door to the kitchen so all during the set, I had to move out of the way while staff people moved in and out. They bumped into me least half a dozen times, with a big guy almost throwing me off balance. I had to move out of the way when people went to the bathrooms. I kept hitting my head on my mic.
But…
The audience was incredibly psyched. They cheered after every song. Stuff like “Hurts So Bad,” “Pretty Woman,” “Brandy,” and “People Got to Be Free” became singalongs and got roaring approval. Our set was plagued with some technical glitches...like the entire sound going out at one point...but we fed on the crowd’s enthusiasm. I felt like I was in college again during the days when people came to party (well, they sure did here) and the energy level and noise level were high, as were a lot of the people. The kind of mayhem you want. There’s nothing like playing to a fired-up crowd. Rock and roll, baby!
I came back to Shagwong about an hour later – I wanted to go to someplace less crowded to have a drink – and there were at least 30 people waiting to get in, maybe 50. What a scene.
Shoehorning the band in at Shagwong. There's a bass player in there somewhere.
Lalo, Saturday, May 16, 3:00
Breakfast at John’s Pancake House on Saturday morning is a ritual. Go there, have their pancakes, and you’ll know why.
Our first gig wasn’t until 3:00 so we had plenty of time to eat breakfast, then lunch, and to check out some of the other bands. Some of us also had a little time to jam at the hotel. Our room had an enclosed porch outside, and no one minded us playing, and hey, we came to play.
The weather was utterly perfect, not a cloud in the sky, a concert promoter’s dream. I went off on my own because I wanted to see my friend and fellow seriously-over-the-top guitar geek Johnny Cola’s band, Mellish. I went and had pizza for lunch at a local place because the concession truck was too expensive for my taste. $45 for a lobster roll? Sorry, I’ll pass. I Ignored the booth with free tequila. Many others didn’t. I never drink before a gig anymore, unlike in my occasionally misspent youth.
Mellish plays the main stage at the Montauk Music Festival. Go, Johnny, go!
We had played at Lalo the year before when it was known as Duke’s, which was a blast. This year we’d be setting up on a nice patio outdoors with plenty of chairs and a covered stage area. Cesar, who did the sound for us there last year, was there to run the excellent PA setup with good mains and monitors. There was a full backline. We were the first band of the day at this location, which made setup much easier, as we could get ready at a relaxed pace rather than rush to set up in 10 minutes. There was plenty of parking right next to the stage, making for an easy load in.
However, five minutes before we were to go on, the guitar amp, a Supro Keeley Custom 12 which is ordinarily a killer amp, started to cut in and out. Oh, no no no. I wasn’t going to try to screw with it to try to get it to work, and then worry about it crapping out during the set. I grabbed my Fender Princeton Reverb (a tube amp, one of the all-time classics) out of the trunk, set it up, plugged in, and we were ready in time. There are advantages and disadvantages to using a house backline amp. The advantage is that you don’t have to schlep and set up your own amp. The disadvantages are that you’re not using the amp you’re used to, and sometimes the house amp is not up to your needs.
About 10 minutes before we were to go on there was practically nobody there, but people started coming in shortly before we started playing, and we did a really good set. At the Montauk Music Festival, we have a following that comes to see us, and it’s great to see and perform for people who have become great friends over the years.
The act that followed us, female singer Meghan VK and her band, was excellent. Their last song, a country song about your family shaming and blaming you called “Shame to the Family Name,” deserves to be a hit.
Had pizza again for dinner. Didn’t care that it was twice in one day. Survival eating.
Meghan VK is a talent to watch.
Cap’s, Saturday, May 16, 7:00
Cap’s was another outdoor gig in a nice setting. (Well, when you’re right near the water in Montauk, it’s hard not to have a nice setting.) When we got there it was starting to get cold, with a strong wind. The weather in Montauk can be capricious. By the time we went on, the wind was blowing our set lists off the floor – at one point I had to stop playing mid-song and hastily step on mine to keep it from flying toward the beach. Everyone in the band was wearing layers. It was borderline really uncomfortable.
The venue had a semi-adequate PA with a small Yamaha mixer with not enough inputs for all the band, so we had to work with four vocal mikes instead of five, and share mics. Since I'm taller than Susan and was sharing her mic, I had to crouch down when I sang because the mic stand adjuster was stuck. Not my best rock and roll look, and it's difficult to sing while crouching!
The backline had an inadequate little Line 6 guitar amp, so I used my Princeton Reverb. I’m not precious about my sound but I’m not going to play through a substandard amp if I don’t have to. There was no one running the sound at Cap’s and only one monitor speaker, but it was adequate for the space. In the rush to set up, I banged my knee really hard on the bumper of a pickup truck. It’s still sore as I’m writing this four days later. But it didn’t affect my playing.
The performer before us, Jack West, was an excellent singer/songwriter/guitarist who had come out all the way from LA. He was nice enough to cut his set a little short, as by the time we got to Cap’s, the bands were running about a half-hour late. At first, Jack was painfully loud, but I suggested turning down the PA, as the volume was driving the crowd away, and he did. It’s often impossible for a performer to know how loud they are to the audience, since they’re behind the main speakers. Well, the spirit of cooperation between bands and musicians is ever-present at Montauk. Everyone helps each other to get on stage and get hooked up, and when there’s no sound person, we help balance each other’s mixes.
We played another good set – we’ve been doing this for a while! – and the challenges of the weather and the equipment weren’t serious enough to faze us. (Believe me, we’ve played in some very tough situations of temperature extremes and terrible onstage sound.) But the band after us, Keg Belly, were getting really uncomfortable as the temperature dropped. The bass player had to blow on his hands between songs, and dropped a few f-bombs as it got colder and colder. I stayed outside as long as I could, because I was really digging their selection of offbeat cover material (when was the last time you heard a band play 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love?”), but eventually had to go inside to take shelter from the cold wind and watch the Mets beat the Yankees. (Yeah, I’m a LFGM guy.)
Jack West takes the stage area at Cap's.
You won't part with yours either: this bass player at Cap's was not precious with his gear.
Naturally Good, Sunday, May 17, 10:00
We’d played this very nice natural food store and its patio area a few times in the past, so we knew how to best set up in the tight corner we had to fit into. The load in and load out were effortless, as the entrance to the patio was right by a rear parking lot. (Sometimes parking in Montauk can be tough, but we got lucky this time out.)
Once again we were the first performer of the day and didn’t have to rush to set up. There was only one speaker serving as the main PA and no monitors, but it was a small space and we had brought a small battery-powered mixer to accommodate our multiple mics, and we knew from the year before that the single speaker sans monitor would be OK.
The ground on which we had to play was covered in gravel, making for some challenges. Our drummer/vocalist Artie had to bring a rug to set up on, otherwise the drum set would have kept moving on the unstable ground as he played. Speaking of drum sets, our ingenious band member had created a “suitcase” drum set, literally built around a hard suitcase used as a bass drum, on which were mounted the bass drum pedal and cymbal stands. The suitcase doubled as a, well, suitcase to store the cymbals and components. The raison d’être of the suitcase drum set was that it was much smaller than a regular kit, which enabled us to even have a drummer in a space where a standard drum set wouldn’t fit.
We had to make sure our guitar pedals, mic stands and guitar stands were somewhat stable and level on the gravel-covered ground. Thankfully, Naturally Good had comp food and coffee for us at the early hour. (I really wanted an egg sandwich, but was sluggish in getting out of bed and didn’t leave myself enough time to do more than wolf down a couple of scones, excellent though they were.)
I talk about being prepared, but I’d forgotten to bring sunscreen and didn’t realize how strong the sun would be. There was nothing to do but feel the sun blasting on the back of my neck. Luckily I wasn’t too badly burned but my neck and arms had that lobster-shell hue by the time noon rolled around.
You’d think 10:00 would be too early for people to show up, but not at the Montauk Music Festival. People are into music here and welcome performers of all kinds. We played a mellower set for this nice outdoor breakfast-and-music vibe, a good call as it went down well. I sweated through my T-shirt and thought about changing, but realized I’d only quickly sweat through a new one. Besides, the only one I had left was a Mets T-shirt, and I didn’t want to rub it in to Yankees fans. Much.
A very talented singer/songwriter/guitarist named Kath – just Kath – followed us. The talent level at the MMF is very high. Hundreds of performers apply every year.
Rocky footing: the play area at Naturally Good.
Gosman’s, Sunday, May 17, 1:00
Gosman’s was a superb locale with an enclosed stage and a full backline and PA. An outdoor dream gig. Alex was the sound person, affable and extremely capable. Once again we were the first band of the day at the venue, making for a relaxed setup. The stage faced a big grass field surrounded by shops and restaurants. Nice!
I even had a choice of guitar amps. I ignored the feeble Acoustic and Crate house amps and plugged into Alex’s personal Orange Rocker 15, a very, very, very nice tube amp. (Yeah, I like to play through tube amps.) It was loud enough to not need to be miced, and in fact, during the set, Alex turned it up twice.
I had planned on getting something to eat before the gig, since we’d had a couple of hours between, but I wound up using up my free time by wandering around and checking out other bands. Luckily Gary the Human had brought snacks and I mooched a couple of muffins.
At first, only a few people showed up but by the time we started playing, there were about 20 – 30 people hanging on the lawn, and probably about 30 – 50 more people passing by or just hanging out. Since the stage was enclosed and in the shade, the temperature was perfect. And since it was an outdoor venue, though the onstage volume was roaring, the volume for the audience wasn’t too loud. Thanks to Alex, I could hear everyone else in the band perfectly owing to a great onstage mix.
And let me tell you boys and girls, there’s nothing like playing through a loud tube amp. During our set closer “Summer Breeze,” I was able to get Carlos Santana-like feedback by standing in front of the amp at the proper spot. The tone was killing. Righteous! I want one of those Orange amps!
The band after us, Absolight, had traveled all the way from Quebec and were excellent. They played through Kemper modeling pedals and could shift from clean to super-distorted guitar tones at the push of a button, adding great sonic variety to their twin-guitar attack. But the crowd wasn’t into their brand of hard alternative rock. I would imagine they got a better reception at some of the more rockin’ venues in town because they were good. One of their gigs was on the Montauk main stage, and they deserved to be there.
Du Canada: Absolight rocks the stage at Gosman's.
Street Food on the Green, Sunday, May 17, 4:00
Déjà vu – this was the last venue we had played at MMF 2025, so it seemed a fitting way to end our 2026 sojourn. This was a very cramped-for-space indoor gig with no backline supplied and only two speaker-on-a-stick columns. But we knew this going in, and didn’t need to figure out how we were going to cram five performers in a space more suited to a single or a duo, since we had thought that through the year before. Gary and I had also gotten there early since we knew the food would be superb (and on the house). I had a sushi roll that was sublime. Also, that gave us the opportunity to start putting our gear in place while the other performers were also setting up and tearing down, which they graciously let us do, saving a lot of time.
We brought the suitcase drum kit. I had to stand to the right of a pole that separated me from the rest of the band. While playing, I craned my neck to see around the pole and get my visual cues. Gary was up against the front entrance. I had to put my amp under a table. We had to move one of the speaker stacks.
This would be a low-volume gig so we had to keep everything down. Good thing, because one of the special cables to connect the speakers had gone missing and since it was an oddball, we didn’t have a spare, so we had to make do with playing through just one speaker.
Dalton and Max perform at Street Food on the Green. Imagine fitting five people into this space.
There were maybe three people in the place. Oh well, looked like it would be a fizzled out ending to a really exciting weekend. But as we started playing, people came in, and soon the place filled up and our mood brightened. It probably helped that people wanted a late lunch/early dinner, and…
There was a serious distraction. I’m not saying this as hyperbole. The Mets were playing the Yankees in the last of a three game Subway Series. Well, I might not have had a clear view of the rest of the band, but I sure had a clear view of the TV. It was an intense back-and-forth game the Mets could have easily blown, but they tied it up with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, and went on to win in extra-innings. The Mets hadn’t won a game when they were trailing after eight innings in…96 games. That is not a typo.
So, the people in the bar were understandably ecstatic when the Mets came to life – well, being New York, half the crowd. It was impossible to not pay attention to the TV action and the hooting and hollering. I seriously tried not to lose my place while playing but could not help but sneak glances at the TV. If I told you my playing was inspired after the win, I’m sure you’d believe me.
We were the last act of the day at Street Food, so we were able to pack up in leisurely fashion. After seven gigs in three days, I don’t think any of us could have done it in a rush.
When all was said and done, I was in no hurry to head back home. I wanted to bask in the Montauk experience a little longer. So I did, before heading into the sunset.
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