There was a time when I would spend countless hours online, sifting through the refuse that makes up the bulk of Long Island music, in desperate hope of
Beat Radio is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Brian Sendrowitz of Bellmore, who collaborates with a handful of friends to create some of the most original, deep and genuine music in modern Long Island.
Is Long Island indie saved? Straylight Run’s June 19 release, “The Needles The Space,” is certainly a shift in the right direction. In the four years since their debut, the indie piano rockers have explored the world outside suburban Baldwin and returned to the Island with an array of healthy new influences; namely, the brainy Midwestern folk-rock of Connor Oberst and Tim Kasher, among others.
What can I say, I'm a sucker for good ol' folk music every now and again. I rely on my good friend Garrison Keillor, of his relatively popular Prairie Home Companion radio show on NPR, for my occasional Folk Fix. Garrison and I haven't ever really met, in any literal or figurative sense of the word, but I knew that he had me in mind when he invited newcomer Amos Lee to perform on his show some months back. Well, one thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had gone and given iTunes another ten bucks. Shucks, what I can I say. It was worth it. Amos Lee's debut album of the same name, released in 2005, has given me more than its money's worth.