Great South Bay Music Festival MOVED TO 2022

Event moved to July 7-July 10, 2022

Dear friends,

I find it hard to fathom that I would be sitting here, once again, with the news that I now have to share. It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that, despite all of our efforts, The Great South Bay Music Festival will not be able to take place this year and has been re-scheduled to July 7-10, 2022. The disappointment that we feel, first losing the 2020 and now the 2021 festival to this pandemic is maddening, but the health and safety of our attendees, artists, fest workers and community is our top priority.

We would be beyond grateful if you could please support us by holding on to your tickets for just one more time. That one act has been the lifeblood to so many of us in this industry including musicians, venues, theaters, stage workers and other related small businesses.

If this is not a viable option, refunds will, again, be offered and information will be forthcoming shortly. Otherwise, all 2020 and 2021 tickets will be honored for GSB 2022, no further action is necessary and this will also protect you from expected price increases next year.

Some of you know that The Tedeschi Trucks Band – Wheels of Soul Tour has just confirmed that they will also be postponing their tour to 2022 and will now be performing at Great South Bay Music Festival on Sunday, July 10, 2022 (and adding Los Lobos to the lineup.)

We are also very close to confirming the rest of our other headliners, so please stay tuned.

We are humbled that the majority of you have held on to your tickets. Please know that a festival in this situation is the first to close and the last to open. We have no income all year and no cancellation insurance to cover us in the event of a problem. As an independent festival, we do not have the support and safety net that the larger corporate festivals enjoy, yet even they have moved most of their fests to 2022.

For all of these reasons and more, we would be beyond grateful if you could please support us by holding on to your tickets for just one more time.

So, how did we get to here…?

Obviously, we waited as long as we could, while continually monitoring the progress being made with this pandemic before making any final decisions. We were excited to watch the decline in the virus’ positivity rates, hospitalizations or worse, as vaccinations increased. We were encouraged by the restrictions being lifted around Long Island and the rest of the northeast. But today, as we watch those restrictions being lifted, we are also watching the numbers increase faster than ever, with more closures starting to appear.

Moving a festival is a huge undertaking, with hundreds of moving parts. Much harder than postponing a concert with one artist. This pandemic ensures that all live events will incur cost increases and safety restrictions, which will affect every moving part of the festival. From artist cancellations to their travel, load in, backstage, security, staging, production, attendees entering and exiting, ticketing, how everyone purchases and receives their food and beverage or their use of porto-johns. Changes in space (sq. footage) will limit the amount of attendees, which decrease income …and on and on. The sad truth is that even if we were allowed to open in 2021, we would not be physically or financially able to safely produce this event, or provide the experience that you expect and deserve.

Great South Bay Music Festival has always been about music and connection. Connection to family and friends. Embracing, dancing, sharing without separation, ..no distancing! Freedom to walk around un–restricted and unfettered, enjoying the vendors, the experiences and the many artists on multiple stages. That’s the festival that we envision for our fest family. Pods, car speakers, virtual entertainment or having to stay seated or in one spot all have the potential to destroy the essence of GSB.

When we are able to return, we will be in a position to give you the best and safest Great South Bay Music Festival possible, rather than jumping into something in the more immediate future because of a decision based on greed or impatience. As a local and independently owned event and me personally as a promoter, we have that responsibility to you.

Some good news, all may not be lost this year, there may be: EBB-Fest

In addition to our rescheduled Great South Bay Music Fest dates in 2022, we are planning (if conditions allow), a multi-day, “re-imagined” festival to take place October 1-3 at Shorefront Park. We will be calling this festival: “EBB-Fest”.

Why EBB-Fest?

Ebb means to “recede,” to “fall away,” or to “retreat,” which is what we all hope for the life of this pandemic. And we will revel in that “melting away” with a celebration.

The plan is to still present a few national acts, but we are more interested in supporting our local artists who have suffered alongside us this past year. It will give us an opportunity to share live music and hopefully celebrate the death of this nightmare with our local community in the safest way possible.

We must stress that we will only move forward if the numbers are favorable and guidelines allow.

Stay tuned for updates as we get closer.

I can honestly say that all of us here at GSB love and miss you, our fest family. We can’t wait to be walking through the crowd, hearing the music and seeing the smiles on all of your faces again, with the cool breeze and backdrop of the magnificent Great South Bay!

With love,
Jim, Jamie, Larry