The Great South Bay Music Festival is slated for July 24-27 at Patchogue’s Shorefront Park. Taking Back Sunday is set to headline.
Founded in an Amityville garage, the aforementioned rock band has headlined the local festival a few times prior.
Taking Back Sunday—considered founding fathers of the Long Island pop punk scene upon their late-'90s surge to fame—will be joined by Say Anything, Gym Class Heroes and Head Automatica on the night one stage.
In their heyday, Say Anything also attained considerable success on the alternative music charts.
Their signature song, 2006’s “Alive with the Glory of Love,” is a subversively romantic ode to front-man Max Bemis’ grandparents, both Holocaust survivors. The track prominently features in the medical workplace comedy "Scrubs'" sixth-season finale and seventh-season premiere.
Gym Class Heroes charted at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 twice; in 2006, with “Gym Class Heroes,” and in 2011 with “Stereo Hearts” ft. Maroon 5's Adam Levine.
Friday’s lineup will feature lesser-known acts like Moe, Umphrey’s McGee, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and Eggy.
Recent history suggests around 50 bands will feature by the time the last song of the fest's four-day run has been sung.
In the meantime, “Tech Pat,” a cover act with Taking Back Sunday extensively featured in their set, and SicTransit, a fully formed cover band devoted to Brand New, a Taking Back Sunday offshoot, hosted a battle of the bands at Blue Point Brewery in Patchogue on Saturday, March 1.
The event symbolically fledged a warning shot into Long Island air, intended for those on the opposite side of the "emo vs. country" debate: that pop punk isn't just back; it never left in the first place.
Tickets for the premier local summer slate are currently available for purchase at greathsouthbaymusicfestival.com.