Cabin Fever Rocks Away Winter Blues

Cabin fever (noun): irritability, listlessness and similar symptoms resulting from long confinement, or isolation indoors, during the winter.

Westhampton native Brendon Henry is a bar guy. He grew up in them, worked in them, partied in them. And he can say, on good authority, that February is the worst—the absolute worst. Everyone stays home. It’s cold. It’s miserable.

It’s cabin fever, Hamptons edition.

“I used to get cabin fever, bad. Now, I’m turning into an old man,” Mr. Henry laughed last week during a telephone interview. “But, years ago, it was awful. I had to get out of the house.”

Based on the packed-out audiences during the inaugural Cabin Fever Music Festival—a showcase of independent musicians launched by Mr. Henry and Paul Fallo in 2007—the feeling was mutual among 21-and-overs as they rocked to nine bands playing to three venues every weekend in February.

Now in its eighth year, the grassroots festival has doubled in scope, with eight shows, six venues and 21 bands, starting off with Souliztik and Satchel Boogie on Saturday night at Southampton Publick House, and continuing through February with every genre in the book—from punk rock and reggae to country and hip-hop.

“There are so many good musicians out here, and they’re ignored. You hear about the same four people who have played out here for 30 years—and there’s more than that,” Mr. Henry said. “There’s a really good scene, if we put our minds to it. One month a year, people notice it.”

Ed “Panama” Arguello said he saw it two decades ago, when he migrated from his home in Brooklyn to the East End with musician Winston Irie. Their first summer was a dream—demand for reggae music was high, and supply was extremely low. Gigs came flowing in.

But, soon, the crowds were gone, and second-home owners flew to warmer weather. And the reggae singer said he had the East End to himself, with the rest of the year-round residents.

“It felt like we owned it in the winter. It was our beaches again,” Mr. Arguello said last week. “And after a while, you get to that point where you don’t just miss the sun in the summer. You miss the music.”

Mr. Arguello said that when he heard about Mr. Henry’s start-up festival, he was immediately on board. His reggae band, Project Vibe, has played all seven years and will take the stage again on Friday, February 27, at Buckley’s Inn Between in Hampton Bays.

“Cabin Fever is keeping our scene alive,” Mr. Arguello said, for both old talent and new. Instrumentalist Kyle Horn is a fresh face on the Cabin Fever scene, and he will play his first solo festival show on Saturday, February 21, at Doran’s in Hampton Bays.

Last year, the 24-year-old Westhampton native jammed alongside Craig Whitney at Cowfish in Hampton Bays, he recalled last week, to a wall-to-wall crowd buzzing with a palpable energy. This time around, it’ll be just him and his guitar—and no vocals.

“In a typical band, you’ll have a rhythm section and someone singing the melody, and someone playing guitar,” Mr. Horn explained, who identifies as a percussive fingerstyle guitarist. “I try to incorporate all of that onto the guitar. I use different parts of the guitar to play rhythm and melody, if you let your imagination run free with that idea.”

Closing out the festival on Sunday, March 1, is Mr. Henry’s punk rock band, Haunted Hacienda, at Jimmy C’s in Hampton Bays. “I love it,” he said. “It’s almost tradition, to a lot of people. Every year, after the last show, I’m done and I don’t know if I’m going to do it again. But the next December, there I am, calling bands again and booking venues. It’s a labor of love.”

The eighth annual Cabin Fever Music Festival will kick off with Souliztik and Satchel Boogie on Saturday, February 7, at 10 p.m. at Southampton Publick House. Doors open at 9 p.m. with a $5 cover. The festival continues through March 1 at various restaurants and bars on the East End. For a full schedule, visit 27east.com.