The security guard didn’t look convinced. I stood at the edge of the backstage entrance to the Clamshell Bandshell, heart thudding, trying to explain that I was with Five Towns College, who were set up just a few feet ahead, and that I was supposed to grab and bring Americana/country artist Chloe Halpin over for a live radio interview. The problem? I didn’t have a press pass. Just nerves, a name, and a shaky sense of direction.
It wasn’t until a friend and classmate, who did have a pass, stepped in and vouched for me that the guard waved both of us through. I went through the door and into a world I’d only ever seen from the audience side: scattered instrument cases, a few crew members moving things around to get ready for the next set, wires taped across the ground, and the muffled sound of the festival continuing just outside.
Chloe was warm and kind when we found her, saying she only needed a minute and would be right over. Listening to my classmates interview her turned out to be one of my favorite moments of the weekend. Turns out she could get just as nervous.
“Usually, I’m like freaking out about something or crying, and that will lead to a song that’s usually the truth,” Halpin said about her songwriting process. “But I do have several songs that came from me watching different episodes of The Office and taking Michael Scott quotes and turning them into whole songs. I have several of those.”
It was after that interview, as day one was beginning to wrap up, when it truly hit me: I was part of the team making this happen.
Read also: Great South Bay Music Festival: Four days of genre-bending sounds
There’s a big difference between attending a music festival and working one. I learned that firsthand last summer at the Great South Bay Music Festival held at Shorefront Park in Patchogue each July. While thousands of people showed up each day to enjoy the music, food, and sun, I was one of the mass communications/broadcasting students from Five Towns College working behind the scenes to help broadcast and cover it. From arriving hours before the gates opened to interviewing performers live on air, I gained full access and a hands-on look at what really goes into covering a major festival.
And the best part? This wasn’t just my first time working a festival; it was my first music festival.
Each summer, students in the mass communications program at Five Towns College help bring the Great South Bay Music Festival to life by producing live content and broadcasting full video performances from the Five Towns College Clamshell Bandshell stage. I had heard over the course of my freshman year from classmates how valuable and exciting the experience was: fast-paced, real-world pressure, great music, and free entry to one of Long Island’s biggest summer events.
So when I got the opportunity to volunteer, fresh off completing my first year of college, I jumped at the chance to put my skills to the test.
As a first-time participant, I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I knew it was a big commitment and a great opportunity, which was made clear on day one when we arrived a few hours before the gates opened to the public to make sure everything was set up correctly and review the day’s lineup. I was assigned to radio coverage for days one, two, and four, with the unique experience of helping kick off the coverage on opening day and close it out on the final night.
In the two weeks leading up to the festival, I researched each performer scheduled to play the Clam Shell Bandshell, along with some from the other stages, where they were from, what genre they played, and listened to a few tracks from each. I wanted to be ready to speak about them accurately on air and ask thoughtful questions in interviews. It changed how I listened to music, less like a fan, more like a reporter.
It wasn’t just artists that we talked to, as we also got to speak with local vendors and organizations, both on air and in our own time, including the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, which I was already familiar with from the previous assignment.
Working the event alongside returning students felt like seeing the festival through their eyes. They pointed out favorites food vendors like Wild Bills Soda company known for its bold flavors which had become extremely popular among the five towns crowd due to its range of flavors and the fact if you bought one of their souvenir cups you got unlimited refills for the day and bringing the cup back the next day meant only paying a small fee to keep the refills coming.
On the third day of the weekend, I filmed a video package on one of the audio students working the sound board for the Clamshell stage. Watching him handle soundtracks and fine-tune everything before a set gave me a new appreciation for a behind-the-scenes role I hadn’t seen or experienced much as a broadcasting student. It was a reminder that live events are layered, so many people go into making it all work.
One of my favorite light-hearted bits of coverage came when I created a social media post highlighting the food and drinks my classmates have been enjoying. After long days on our feet, quick breaks and grabbing something from a food stand or cooling off with iced lemonade were well-earned.
While I was able to catch a few sets here and there, most of my time was spent working, and that made me appreciate the festival even more. Being part of the team that helps bring the experience to others gave me a deeper respect for what goes into live events, from production and press to audio, stage management, and everything in between.
Covering the Great South Bay Music Festival was more than just a cool summer weekend gig. It was a crash course and professionalism, creativity and adaptability and a reminder of how much goes into making something unforgettable.
Not a bad way to spend your first summer after freshman year.
