A Night Of Dancing At Gerry Park

BY JOE SCOTCHIE
jscotchie@antonmediagroup.com
The annual Roslyn Rocks The Park concert, sponsored by the Roslyn Chamber of Commerce, drew another large crowd to Gerry Park last Wednesday night to hear the popular band Somethin’ Fresh perform. It was also a loyal crowd. A power outage caused the concert, which was slated to begin at 6 p.m., to be delayed for almost an hour. A few people packed up and left during the delay, but most of them stayed, a few of them, anxious to enjoy the music and start dancing, even began chanting, “We want Somethin’ Fresh.” Which is what they got.
Introduced by Lou Federico, vice president of events for the Roslyn Chamber of Commerce, Somethin’ Fresh was praised as “the best dance band on Long Island.” Federico also noted the staying power of the annual concert, noting that it was the ninth concert held in the past seven years.
The crowd was happy to finally get the chance to see the band perform. So, too, was Wayne Wink, the East Hills resident and town clerk for the Town of North Hempstead. The chamber sponsors the concerts, but the town is responsible for logistics.
“On behalf of the Town of North Hempstead, thank God we got that light tower working again,” he told the sun-baked crowd, sprawled out in lawn chairs and blankets, while their children used the opportunity to play at the park’s big playground.
Somethin’ Fresh is a Long Island-based R & B band that specializes in hits front he 1980s. Inspired by Luther Vandross and Earth, Wind and Fire, the band is made up of musicians who have worked with some of the biggest recording artists the industry has to offer. With its signature tight and funky rhythm section and powerful lead vocalists up front, the band played hits from the ‘80s by such stars as Madonna and Kool And The Gang. The crowd came to dance and the band gave them plenty of tunes to do just that.
“Every year, this concert draws hundreds of local residents together for a fun evening,” Federico said, “We were thrilled with the band. The weather couldn’t have been better. The turnout was great, and we look forward to next year’s concert.”