Endless Summar, the Hamptons' Fresh and Fun Teen Band

During the summer season, live music can be found all across the East End. From solo acoustic acts at local breweries and wineries to full bands rocking out on local stages, there’s an abundance of artists and musicians looking to tap into the local music scene.

One of the newest bands looking to break through is Endless Summar, a band made up of local teens bringing their fun summer sound to the local scene.

Based in Hampton Bays, Endless Summar is one of the youngest new bands around, with three of its members being high school freshmen, and one sophomore. The four-piece group consists of Charlotte Summar (lead vocals), Luke Hefter (lead guitar), Nathan Kearns (bass) and Cristian Kearns (drums).

What the group lacks in age is made up for in experience. The Kearns twins grew up playing music with their father, Sherman Kearns, who sings and plays guitar in the local band Souliztik. Together, the three have performed as The South Pawz Trio for the past three years at local venues and open mic nights. Eventually, they started inviting Summar, a friend of theirs from school, to be a guest singer with them.

Their journey as Endless Summar began last year when they competed in the Southampton Youth Bureau’s 20th annual Battle of The Bands competition at Ponquogue Beach. It was an intimidating experience at the time, as the Kearns twins and Summar were only in eighth grade. But despite feeling “scared and unprepared,” they took home second place in the competition with their classic rock-focused set.

Now, with another year under their belts, the band as a whole feels more confident in their abilities going into this year’s Battle of the Bands, now that they’ve had the experience as the youngest performers at the event.

“Last year, we were like the underdogs, because we were still in middle school and were the youngest people there,” said Cristian Kearns. “But this year, all of us know what to expect.”

Another key element to the group’s growth and increased confidence is the addition of lead guitarist Luke Hefter, a seasoned veteran of the local young music scene and the Battle of the Bands. He has won the competition for the past three years, winning with En Fuego in 2021 and 2022, and with Deka last year.

Mainly a rhythm guitarist before, this band marks the first time that he’s been tasked with lead guitar duties. But the transition from rhythm to lead has gone well so far, as Hefter has cited his previous bandmates for their insight into soloing and guitar playing as a whole.

This also marks the first time that Hefter is in a band with people close to his age, as he was the youngest member of the last two bands he was in.

“It’s exciting to finally be playing with kids my age,” he said. “I loved playing with my last two bands, and I’ve learned a lot. But now I’m even and at the level of my bandmates.”

The band’s current set includes a wide range of music, including early 1960s rock and Beatles songs, 1990s ska and reggae, and 2010s pop. Simply put, in the words of Nathan Kearns, they’re trying to “play a mix of good songs.” Their pop and ska-based sound reflects the summer beach aesthetic of the South Shore, and their song selection features something for people of all ages and music tastes.

The band members have greatly enjoyed their time as a band, they said, especially with their current lineup. They’ve largely avoided band arguments, save for some minor disagreements about song selection, though these have been rare.

The members also spoke at length about how they’ve become close friends and have established a good dynamic with each other both as musicians and as friends.

“I feel like we’re a good group, in that we all have the same thing going on in our brains with all our song choices,” said Summar.

The group members said that they hope to use this year’s battle as a springboard to get their name out there and expand their fan base going into their summer gig schedule. They can be found performing this summer at places such as Oakland’s restaurant, Seaside Grill in Riverhead and at the East Quogue Village Green as part of the summer concert series there.

No matter what happens at the competition this year, Endless Summar’s members said they hope to continue to spread their fresh and fun sound across the East End all summer long — and for years to come.