Local musicians shine at open mic day
By Aidan Johnson
Singers and musicians of all ages showcased their talents at Open Mic Day in the Park on Saturday, July 20, in Port Jefferson Station.
The event, which was hosted by the Port Jefferson Station/Terryville Chamber of Commerce, gave bands and singers a chance to perform on stage at the Train Car Park.
Real estate agent and chamber of commerce vice president, Paul Perrone, had the idea for the open mic event after wanting to support his son’s musical endeavors.
“My son James plays the drums with three different of his school-age friends’ bands, and I support him, and I wanted to see him get out there,” Perrone said. “I figured what better way to get them out there, get them on stage, get them the experience of performing live. So I did this for him.”
James performed as part of the band Just The Steves, which played covers of well-known classics such as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Brookhaven Town Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) also participated in the event, performing with his band Rumdogs.
“This event was so much fun and got a lot of people from the community involved. It was so wonderful to see the community starting to use this new park that they built for such a great event,” Kornreich said in a statement.
“Paul Perrone and his team deserve a lot of credit for putting this together, and I think we’re going to see a lot more events like this in the future,” he added.
The event also featured karaoke performances, including from 9-year-old Ava Tulkop, who performed “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift, and 14-year-old Zachary Esposito, who performed a variety of songs including “At Last” by Etta James and “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder.
Zachary said while he felt nervous at first, he became more sure of himself as he continued onto his next tune.
His song choice was significant to him, saying that he picked “At Last” because “I wanted my moment for a long time, and at last it actually happened.”
