Excitement is building to a fever pitch as the finalists have been named in the 2019 Your Big Break talent competition presented by the Gold Coast Arts Center, Love Revolution Org, and the Rick Eberle Agency.
Finals will take place on Saturday, May 4 at the Gold Coast Arts Center, 113 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., with the first act taking the stage at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students, and $20 at the door. Online tickets can be purchased at https://bit.ly/2UESBew.
Now in its seventh year, Your Big Break contestants get the chance to perform before music business insiders while competing for great prizes, hoping to get that “big break” to propel their careers to the next level.
This year’s final competition will pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of Woodstock by performing songs by artists who appeared at the iconic music festival, including numbers by Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and The Who.
The final performers will have the opportunity to meet with experienced music industry professionals they have selected to serve as their mentors before the final performance to provide advice to help them compete, with the ultimate goal of winning and advancing their careers in the performing arts.
The finalists vying to be named the winner of this year’s Your Big Break competition include Jackie Romeo, a 15-year-old resident of Massapequa whose musical genre includes soul, pop and R&B. She has been singing since childhood, but has gotten serious with her music over the last two years. Romeo has performed with Long Island native, singer, songwriter, producer and actress Debbie Gibson and her Electric Youth Workshop. She has sung the national anthem for the Town of Oyster Bay’s Summer Music in the Parks concerts. She will perform “Somebody to Love” by Jefferson Airplane in the final competition, and is being mentored by Long Islander Cass Dillon, a songwriter, producer, sound mixer, and engineer who has toured with Billy Joel.
Another final contender is Over the Garden Wall, a band formed by Westbury resident Jonathan Gardyn, along with Ryan Wall of Valley Stream, and Garden City’s Aidan Larenas, previous performers who play classic rock and are currently experimenting with original music. Actively searching for members of the new band, Wall was put into contact with Grey Wilson and elementary school classmate Sarah Hock, both of Valley Stream. Wall and Gardyn attended the School of Rock in Rockville Centre with Grey. The band’s performance in the finals will be “Can’t Explain” by The Who. Over the Garden Wall is being mentored in the Your Big Break competition by David Caggiano, a record producer, songwriter, and mix engineer who served as stage manager for Art Garfunkel from 2007 to 2013.
Finalist Arizona Lindsey, a 22-year-old aspiring country-pop singer/songwriter from Lindenhurst, gave a passionate vocal performance with heartfelt and powerful lyrics in the semi-finals. She is also a passionate mental health advocate who strives to de-stigmatize mental health issues through her music and intimate conversations with her fanbase. Lindsey recently released a single and accompanying music video, “The Desired Way,” that tackled topics such as grief, loss and how to help those who may be grieving. She will perform the Joan Baez hit, “The Last Thing on My Mind,” and is being mentored in the competition by Lem Payne, Jr., an accomplished singer, songwriter, and producer with major label credits and national touring experience as a performer.
A Band Called Sad, an alternative rock band that performs with an undercurrent of sadness that captures a certain nostalgia for events of what could have been, is another contender. The band consists of front men Marlon Marcy and Taylor Crawford and some alternating performers, all of whom have been influenced by Radiohead, the Smiths, the Talking Heads, and others. The New York City-based group will be performing the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young classic, “Wooden Ships.” Mentoring the band is Long Island native and music industry executive, Jason Melker.
Rounding out the five finalists is Lydia von Hof, a 16-year old singer, piano player, and songwriter from Commack who has performed as a soloist at a New York Knicks half-time show at Madison Square Garden, The Bitter End in NYC, and the Hard Rock Café in Boston, and was a finalist in last year’s Your Big Break. She has performed as a singer and pianist at New York City venues such as the Broadway Comedy Club, The Duplex cabaret club, and with the New York Opera Exchange. von Hof will perform “Summertime” by Janis Joplin, and is being mentored by Mark Ambrosino, who has written for artists and composed music for television shows, films and commercials, including “HBO Sports,” “The Sopranos,” “Chicago Fire,” “One Life to Live,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Rescue Me,” Mercedes Benz and Budweiser, to name a few.
In addition to the talented acts contending to be the Your Big Break champion, there will be a special performance by last year’s winner, All Types of Kinds, a band that plays a variety of music ranging from rock to pop, folk, punk, funk, hip-hop, blues and country — even sometimes all at once. The band’s members come from diverse backgrounds that make for an amalgamation of musical textures and vibes. Their EP, “Love Songs (or Songs For Your Ex)” debuted in 2018.
Prizes in the Your Big Break competition include the chance to open for national acts at major venues like The Paramount in New York City, recording time at Mix Place, public relations and social media campaign management, including booking and label consultation with the Rick Eberle Agency, musical equipment from All Music Inc. and ZOOM North America, a homepage feature on ReverbNation.com, and a feature article in Good Times Magazine.
For more information about Your Big Break, visit www.goldcoastarts.org or call 516-829-2570.
