Long Island Summer Events Guide 2011

Sunday, July 3

Freedom Fest Concert & Fireworks @ Ducks Bethpage Ballpark
Featured artists such as Jaron and the Long Road to Love, Jacob Lyda, Sarah Darling, Due West, Bad Horse and Long Island’s very own Lisa Mattasa. A special Independence Day Grucci Fireworks Extravaganza follows.

Steel Pulse @ Stephen Talkhouse

TD Bank Celebrate America Fireworks Show @ Eisenhower Park

Family Fun Day @ Belmont Race Track

Live Music on the Patio @ Duck Walk Vineyards

FOURTH OF JULY

2011 Fireworks Spectacular @ Jones Beach State Park
After a dark Fourth of July in 2010, the Jones Beach Fireworks Spectacular returns to kick off summer 2011. Since this event normally locks up traffic from the Robert Moses Causeway to the Meadowbrook Parkway, and those who got stuck two years ago and swore they’d never return probably have forgotten that by now, you may want to get there early and hit the beach for a few hours.

Independence Day @ Sagamore Hill

Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Championships @ Coney Island

Old Fashioned Independence Day @ Old Bethpage Village Restoration

LI Philharmonic Pops Concert @ Brookhaven Amphitheater

Bouncing Souls
One of the reasons the pride of Basking Ridge, New Jersey have enjoyed such a lengthy career since forming in 1987 is the tight bond they have with their fans. For this unique tour, the Bouncing Souls are going to be playing four nights on each date during which point the band will be playing all eight of their studio albums. WED 7.6-SAT 7.9, Highline Ballroom

Wednesday, July 6

Jennifer Hudson @ Beacon Theatre
The American Idol antithesis of DeWyze and Allen, Jennifer Hudson has arguably had the greatest amount of success, particularly impressive given that she lost out to Fantasia Barrino in Season 3. Not only did Hudson beat out Barrino for the role of Effie White in the film Dreamgirls, but won an Oscar for her performance. On the music side of the coin, the Chicago native’s two studio outings have been commercial successes with this year’s I Remember Me featuring contributions from Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo and R. Kelly.

Hairspray
Take a trip back to the ’60s in Baltimore where the loveable Tracy transforms from an outsider to celebrity when she wins a spot on the local dance program The Corny Collins Show. Can a larger than life adolescent manage to vanquish the program’s reigning princess, integrate the television show, and find true love without messing up her hair? THU 7.7-8.28, John W. Engeman Theater

Thursday, July 7

ArtHamptons @ Sayre Park
Last year, more than 8,000 people came to Sayre Park for one of the largest summer post-war and contemporary art fairs. Also on view will be legendary Hamptons painter Peter Dayton’s new VW Touareg specially painted for the show. The event includes book signings and film screenings. Through 7.10

Censorship @ B.J. Spoke Gallery

Underoath @ Crazy Donkey

Friday, July 8

Vince Dantona & George @ Governor’s Comedy Club
Vince Dantona (along with his puppet, George) is one of America’s premiere ventriloquists. Besides being a favorite at America’s top resorts such as Caeser’s Palace and The Tropicana in Atlantic City, he and his “partner” have been entertaining audiences for over 30 years and were the first $10,000 winners on America’s Funniest People.

Random Movements @ Boltax Gallery

Blake Shelton @ Rockefeller Plaza

Miranda Lambert @ Central Park SummerStage

The Rabbi and the Toyota Dealer Opens @ Second Stage
A comedy about a repentant philanderer’s desire to become a born-again Jew.

The Who’s Tommy Opens @ Theatre Three

Happy Together Tour 2011 (Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie/The Association/Mark Lindsay/The Buckinghams/The Grass Roots) @ NYCB Theatre at Westbury

Saturday, July 9

Forgotten Transport Opens @ Ripe Art Gallery

Paula Poundstone @ Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center

Minivan Demolition Derby @ Riverhead Raceway

Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes @ Stephen Talkhouse

Midsummer Party @ Parrish Art Museum

Rick Springfield @ NYCB Theatre at Westbury

Carousel Opens @ Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts

The Catskills in Dix Hills @ Dix Hills Performing Arts Center

Soundgarden/Coheed & Cambria @ Nikon at Jones Beach
The 2010 reunion that ended a 12-year hiatus for Soundgarden has carried over to 2011. With the release of Live on I-5, which features performances recorded during the West Coast leg of the band’s 2006 tour earlier this year, the Seattle quartet is working this string of live dates around cutting new material set to drop in 2012.

Sunday, July 10

Grand Funk Railroad @ Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center

Wicked Wheelers vs Rolling Thundercats Roller Derby @ United Skates of America

Scars on 45 @ Stephen Talkhouse

Antique & Classic Car Show @ Vanderbilt Museum

Like Moths to Flames @ Vibe Lounge

Monday, July 11

Manhattanhenge
Building-lined streets usually make it hard to enjoy a Manhattan sunset, but on these days you’ll have a clear view—for four to five minutes anyway. Derived from Stonehenge, where the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices, “Manhattanhenge” happens twice a year, when the setting sun aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan’s main street grid above 14th Street. What does this mean? At sunset, around 8:15 p.m., the sun will fully illuminate every cross street from the west, and for the entire day, there will be perpendicular shadows that exactly line up with sidewalks, street corners and painted lines. The best places for photos and viewing—and the worst places to drive—are along 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th Streets. MON 7.11 & TUE 7.12

GreenFest @ Port Jefferson Harborfront Park

Yes & Styx @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Both the pretentious and poppy side of prog-rock, buyers should definitely beware given the line-ups for both bands. Since 2008 health concerns sidelined Jon Anderson, headliners Yes have since been going with Montreal native Benoit David, formerly the frontman for Yes tribute band Close to the Edge. As for Styx, Canadian Lawrence Gowan has been filling the seat vacated by vocalist/keyboardist Dennis DeYoung since 1999. A series of acrimonious lawsuits followed with things getting bad enough that DeYoung’s name was removed this year from the history section of the band’s official website.

Bill Callahan @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Hamptons Collegiate Baseball All-Star Game @ MCU Park, Brooklyn

S.T.O.P. Recycling Event @ Bay Park, East Rockaway

Girl Scout Day @ Long Island Game Farm

Tuesday, July 12

Fire Island Brewery Beer & Cheese Pairing Sail @ Classic Harbor Line, Chelsea Piers

Def Leppard & Heart @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Arguably the most successful group to emerge from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWBHM), the Leps have come quite a ways from being looked at as leaders of the movement to the pop-metal titans who’ve most recently started dabbling in the country music market. As for Heart, the Wilson sisters are back on the road supporting new material off last year’s Red Velvet Car, the band’s thirteenth studio album and first in six years.

Animal Collective @ Prospect Park

RX Bandits Farewell Tour @ Irving Plaza

Great South Bay Music Festival
In past years, the Great South Bay Music Festival has featured performances by a mix of national and local acts. Expect more of the same from this slate of performers that includes Electric Hot Tuna, Caroline Doctorow, the David Bromberg Quartet, Umphrey’s McGee, Railroad Earth, Carbon Leaf, Steve Adelson Band, Reckoning, .38 Special, Marc Broussard, Antigone Rising, Randy Jackson, Artimus Pyle & Street Survivors, Cathy Kreger and more. Fri 7.15-7.17, Patchogue Shorefront Park

Wednesday, July 13

Spamalot Opens @ Gateway Playhouse
Dueling shenanigans, killer rabbits, tap dancing knights and their ladies fair, spoof and poke fun at everything, from chivalry to the musical theater form itself.

A Perfect Circle @ Hammerstein Ballroom

3rd Annual Suicide Awareness Walk Registration Begins
The Long Island Crisis Center is hosting “Let’s Walk, Let’s Talk…Stepping Together to Prevent Suicide” on September 18 on the Long Beach Boardwalk to help raise the public’s consciousness about suicide and demonstrate the need for everyone to be involved in its prevention. Walkers will be able to register online at www.longislandcrisiscenter.org beginning in early July, where they can create a personal webpage and receive online donations. A minimum $25 donation is needed to participate in the event.

Thursday, July 14

Pat Benatar @ NYCB Theatre at Westbury
Was there ever a more underappreciated talent to come out of Long Island? Yeah, Pat Benatar sold scads of albums and was a regular presence on MTV in the early to mid-‘80s, but did she ever get the kind of critical props for someone who blazed a trail for women in rock? Nowadays more about playing live than recording, Benatar and husband/creative partner Neil Giraldo are swinging through for their annual hometown gigs.

Rebirth Brass Band @ Stephen Talkhouse