Great South Bay Music Festival returned to Patchogue, NY’s Shorefront Park over the weekend for four days of diverse rock music. The genre-curated 15th-anniversary event included headlining sets from Hot Tuna, Dirty Heads, Phil Lesh & Friends, and Gov’t Mule playing a special Dark Side of the Mule set.
The weekend got started a little early in Patchogue, where GSB kicked off on Thursday with sets from Traffic‘s Dave Mason, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Kerry Kearney Band. The headlining performance from Hot Tuna, helmed by Jefferson Airplane‘s Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, was billed as the band’s final electric set.
Things got a bit more contemporary on Friday, with reggae headliners Dirty Heads topping a lineup that included ska stalwarts Goldfinger, Sublime tribute Badfish, Ballyhoo!, Oogee Wawa, and Cliff Diver.
On what has been affectionately dubbed “Jam Saturday”, Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh rounded up a group of Friends that included Eric Krasno (guitar/vocals), Jason Crosby (keys/vocals), John Molo (drums/vocals), Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet/vocals), James Casey (saxophone/vocals), and his son Grahame Lesh (guitar/vocals). The band basked in the sunshine during its first of two sets, welcoming the change in scenery from the rain and lightning that forced the cancelation of the group’s Friday show in Boston.
Elsewhere on Saturday’s lineup, Eric Krasno staged a solo set with his eponymous trio featuring Otis McDonald (drums/vocals) and Eric Finland (keys). Rising jam favorites Neighbor from nearby Boston also performed a daytime set along with Baked Shrimp and local favorite Cassandra House.
Finally, Great South Bay 2023 wrapped with a tribute to classic rock favorites. Gov’t Mule closed the weekend with a performance of Pink Floyd‘s classic Dark Side of the Moon, but tributes abounded through the rest of Sunday with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, Allman Brothers Band kin Duane Betts with his band Palmetto Motel, and guitar prodigy Brandon “Taz” Niederauer.
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Check out a gallery of images from Saturday and Sunday at Great South Bay Music Festival 2023 courtesy of photographer Kevin Cole along with some fan-shot videos.
Dave Mason – “Feelin’ Alright” – 7/20/23
[Video: Thomas Lawson]
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