Long Island Stage Joins Forces With Suffolk Theater

Up and coming local musicians will have a chance to display their talents at Riverhead’s Suffolk Theater in March thanks to a partnership with the growing nonprofit, Long Island Stage.

The organization was launched in 2021 by Brian McAuliff, the owner of the commercial and residential electronics company, Bri-Tech in Bohemia, which provides audio visual service to museums, homes and conference rooms. McAuliff’s mission with Long Island Stage is to give a boost to artists looking to make a name for themselves in the local music scene.

While Long Island Stage styles include musicians who are well-versed in folk, funk, rock, alternative, electro-pop and, jazz, the performances at the theater will feature three genres throughout the month of March: soft rock, rock and folk.

“We hope that these musicians walk out of these shows with some new fans and maybe even some more opportunities down the line,” said Suffolk Theater’s executive director, Gary Hygom. “The purpose is to highlight the talent that is right here on Long Island and get these artists in front of crowds that they belong in front of — and we hope these audiences walk away listening to a new artist they never heard before.”

Rock performers Kate Van Dorn, Playing Dead, and Azwel will take the stage at The Suffolk on March 2; Folk singers Karen Bella, The Belle Curves, and Nick Russell will have their turn on March 9; And finally, soft rockers Rorie Kelly, Whaley and Chelsea Takami will perform on March 16.

McAuliff first got the idea for Long Island Stage when Bri-Tech lost the ability to service conferences during the pandemic, a large part of its business. To pivot, he turned his showroom into a video studio, allowing nonprofits to host virtual galas. A longtime follower of the local music scene, McAuliff, then decided to use his studio to help local artists who were out of work due to the pandemic, to promote themselves.

“I’m pretty tight into the music community here and on the South Shore to the Patchogue area … and they weren’t able to do anything,” he said. “They couldn’t play out, some of them couldn’t make a living by doing gig work.”

So, McAuliff brought local artists into his studios and produced seven extensive episodes which were live-streamed on the Long Island Stage website. The episodes featured performances and brief interviews with local musicians who had access to the videos, which they could use to market themselves. They also received write-ups, another tool to promote themselves.

As the pandemic began to ease, McAuliff started looking for an opportunity to expose the musicians to a live audience, and settled on the Suffolk Theater, which, after hosting a series of cover bands, was looking to expand the number of original artists performing at the venue.

“We’ve already begun to make a large shift back toward original artists,” Hygom said. “Tribute bands will always be a part of what we do, but original artists will always be a top priority for us. And we hope to bring in more local artists as we move forward with this series.”

In addition to the performances, there will be a live-stream and video camera rolling during the show, so the artists will have a high quality reel from the show to display their craft, just like those who recorded in the studio. Audiences will also have an opportunity to tip the musicians they connect with. Each artist will be onstage for about 20 minutes, and each performance will last about 90 minutes, with sponsor messages and high quality video running of up-and-coming artists.

“We’re running it like an hour and a half TV show,” said McAuliff.

The artists for the performances were selected by the Long Island Stage board after an audition. For Delaney Hafener of the Belle Curves, who will perform on folk night on March 9, the collaborative component of the show is just as impactful as the promotional aspect.

“To able to be on the scene, the biggest thing is sharing the stage with other musicians,” she said. “I think it’s so important to be able to make friends in the industry.”

Of course, she added, performing at Suffolk Theater is a “huge honor” and a “feather in the cap,” that she can take with her to other performances.

Rorie Kelly, who is performing with the folk group and has performed at the Obama White House, is also eager to collaborate with her fellow artists.

“Long Island has so much talent, and we all rise together when we support each other in the community,” she said.

Kelly said she aims to write “songs with thoughtful lyrics and soaring melodies,” and she performs using her “looper to create big layered arrangements on the fly with keyboards, guitars, beatboxing and vocals.”

Karen Bella, who will be performing on folk night with a full band, said her music has “layers of multiple genres.”

“Each song represents a time in my life and its own soundtrack,” she said. “I’d describe myself as singer-songwriter with elements of alt rock, pop, folk, country and R&B. That’s a lot in one.”

After the shows, McAuliff hopes to continue to “create a space for original music,” in encouraging artists and boosting their profiles by having additional live events and recording opportunities. Eventually, he would like to expand the concept to other categories, such as poetry.

“Long Island Stage: Rock” is Thursday, March 2, at 8 p.m., followed by “Long Island Stage: Folk” on Thursday, March 9, at 8 p.m., and “Long Island Stage: Soft Rock” on Thursday, March 16, at 8 p.m. Tickets for each show are $25, plus fees at suffolktheater.com. Suffolk Theater is at 118 East Main Street in Riverhead.