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Zigmund’s Bar in Bridgehampton positively glowed with low lights, laughter and music as Gene Casey of The Lone Sharks took the stage, Gretsch guitar in hand, inimitable honky tonk acoustic sound emanating throughout the barn-style restaurant.
“I’ve got your burger working, but we’ve run out of shrimp cocktail, I’m afraid,” said the bartender to a patron who had sidled up for a beer and some live, original music on this crisp late fall Wednesday night.
As Mr. Casey cranked out his original tunes, such as “It Turned Out That Way,” heard on TV’s hit show “Justified,” and “It Should Rain,” from the Robert De Niro flick “Killing Season,” local music aficionados bustled in, and an intrepid few took to the dance floor.
Musicians were clapping along, talking, shoulder-slapping friends and fans. The lineup was tight. Mr. Casey, the featured artist, would be followed by two mini-sets: Klyph Black would open for and then join Mick Hargreaves. Afterward, the mic would open.
It was even more fitting that this first night of the rebirth of the East End Opry would feature Mr. Casey, who led the house band at the Wild Rose, in the same building, two decades earlier, gracing the stage in the exact same spot.
Neil Young may have said it most simply, and best: “Live music is better.”
Members of the East End Opry—an informal collective of talented singer-songwriters and musicians on the East End—couldn’t agree more. Determinedly, they have found a home at Zigmund’s Bar every Wednesday for the winter season, and music lovers are rejoicing.
“One of the things I am very surprised and pleased about is that there is just a wonderful community of original singer-songwriters out here—that’s why I got involved in the first place,” said Fred Raimondo, one of the ongoing event’s organizers.
A singer-songwriter himself, Mr. Raimondo performs solo and with a number of bands, including Damaged Goods, The Woodworkers and the Bredfrys, and he can’t say enough about the passion people on the East End share for original music.
“When [East End Opry founders Mariann Megna and Randolph Hudson III] approached me about this, it just spoke to me,” he said.
Ms. Megna and Mr. Hudson’s words quickly found other receptive ears and a collective, which they named the “East End Opry,” was formed. The phrase was coined by Ms. Megna to describe a musical community collectively participating in the creation of exciting, interesting and unique music events on the North and South Forks of Long Island.
The East End Opry’s live series showcases a different featured performer weekly and two 30-minute “spotlight” mini-sets, plus open mic segments with performers who are vetted in advance. All performers play primarily acoustic instruments and are joined at times by percussionists. The absence of a drum kit creates a live music scene where patrons can enjoy a bite to eat and a drink, talk to their companions and, most importantly, hear the lyrics and appreciate the music of the folks onstage.
The Opry began four years ago, at Robert’s, a former Water Mill restaurant, and the response was instantaneous.
“We wanted a way to showcase original talent, and Mariann started this,” Mr. Hudson said. “There’s a lot of open mics out here and attempts to play live music with a lot of cover songs, but our intent was always to feature original music.”
Mr. Hudson went on to say that currently there are more 300 members. “We’ve developed a peer group working to support singing-songwriting and the creation of independent music.”
It helps that they count among their members Cynthia Daniels, who owns Monk Music, and Mr. Hargreaves, who owns Lantern Sound Recording—both acclaimed musicians in their own right, as are founders Ms. Megna and Mr. Hudson.
“As soon as we announced we were starting this up again, we were booked well into next year,” Mr. Raimondo said. “From the beginning it felt like the real deal. Then people starting stopping us on the street, asking what’s going on and when we’d be playing again. That was affirming.”
The group moved the regular events from Robert’s to Fresh on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, before Fresh closed and Zigmund’s took over the space earlier this year. East End Opry grew in popularity at the turnpike location, and the weekly shows resumed in November after Zigmund’s settled in.
The collective is nothing if not passionate about original music. Not that a cover tune isn’t thrown in every once and a while: Mr. Black is also in a Grateful Dead tribute band called the Zen Tricksters, and Mr. Hudson fronts a Bob Dylan tribute band called The Complete Unknowns. In fact, these musicians have all played with top artists in the business.
But at Zigmund’s, it’s intimate and authentic.
“The Stephen Talkhouse is where you get national acts, and most of us play there in some capacity,” Mr. Raimondo said of the Amagansett music venue and bar. “But what I like about the East End Opry is, it’s a place where anyone can go, and on any given night you can just hear something unique and meaningful.”
Mr. Hudson said, “We throw out some feature acts who will be the main draw, and then mix and match new and up-and-coming artists and established artists with new material. We like to try out different styles with different artists.”
He also noted that the support of the East End Opry has been a boon to new artists. “Many have gone on to record albums because of the support,” he said. “Which is so great to see. We have become somewhat of an incubator.”
Reminiscing, he said, “There have been just so many memorable evenings. It’s amazing to have the incomparable Glenn Feit, in his mid-80s, performing with a teenager on the same bill. Or when you’re sitting there and Dickey Betts’s guitarist Andy Aledort steps up to sit in with someone, and it’s like you’re at the Fillmore East!”
This heady mix is an ongoing, every-changing brew, which makes Live Music Wednesdays at Zigmund’s a place that begs for an encore. Patrons can come back every week and never see the same thing twice.
“To have people with this kind of depth—it really inspires audiences and younger artists, and what you end up with is this incredible mix of talent at various stages of development,” Mr. Hudson said.
Upcoming on December 28, Klyph Black and Fred Raimondo will kick it off, followed by Jim Turner and Mr. Raimondo’s band The Woodworkers. On January 4, Mr. Black’s band Black & Sparrow will perform plus lots of surprises and local—and fantastic—talent.
For more information on the East End Opry, visit the Facebook page or check out Zigmund’s events at zigmunds.bar.
on Dec 21, 2016