Dan's Papers - July 25, 2008

Nestled between the North and South Forks, on the Peconic Bay waterfront, downtown Riverhead is poised to become a new music and arts center for the East End.

Sure, there are a number of empty storefronts - including the abandoned 900-seat Suffolk Theatre - giving the area a semi-rundown vibe, but there are clear signs of a burgeoning original music scene that's struggling to grow. Eastenders Coffee House schedules an original music act - covering all genres, from blues to indie folk - every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And though they recently cancelled their weekly open mic night, owner Diane Reeve has hinted that it might come back in the fall.

Across the street from Eastenders is the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, an intimate and historic 220-seat theater, which also has a smaller, black box theater - the home of the new open mic series, "Original Voices at the Vail." It's held the third Thursday of every month and includes a different featured performer each time. "We're really looking to create a scene," said Jessie Haynes, a singer-songwriter and one of the organizers of the series. "We're not cliquey. This isn't a club house." She said they're always looking for new musicians - of all genres - to join the open mic. Though it just began five months ago, the series usually attracts between 30 and 35 musicians and listeners from east of Patchogue, predominantly coming from the two forks.

The waterfront is also home of the annual Riverhead Blues Festival, and the East End Arts Council, though it focuses mainly on visual arts, holds occasional music programs, including a weekly outdoor drumming class, and the Mosaic Street Painting Festival, which melds together all of the arts and features performances by local musicians.

Riverhead was an artistic powerhouse as little as 10 to 15 years ago. In fact, at a point, Town legislation maintained that the apartments above the shops that lined Main Street were for artists and musicians only. This legislation was altered about eight years ago, when the artistic population began to dwindle, said Vincent Tria, who sits on Vail's Board of Directors.

Reeve thinks the main reason for the lack of a cohesive arts scene in recent years is because of the development of the Tanger Outlet Center and other big box stores along County Road 58, which forced the mom and pop shops in downtown Riverhead to shut down because they couldn't compete. In order for there to be a vibrant music and arts scene, most of the storefronts need to be occupied. "There's a tremendous, tremendous amount of potential," Reeve said. "I've been waiting for Riverhead to come to life and I think it will in its own time. There's a whole lot of potential here."

"I really feel like it's going to happen. It has that artsy in the making kind of vibe," Haynes added.

And a lot of things are scheduled that will transform Riverhead - Riverhead Resorts will be built on the old Grumman site, Atlantis Marine World is planning a hotel of its own and, next week, a local developer will raze a dilapidated building on Peconic Avenue to make way for brand new shops and a restaurant facing the waterfront. The Town also recently took over control of the Suffolk Theatre - which Tria, Haynes and Reeve think could become a Stephen Talkhouse for the area.

These changes could bring in the foot traffic needed to transform the downtown from merely a handful of single destination attractions into a destination unto itself, much like Port Jefferson or Greenport Village. "Riverhead will eventually become a tourist attraction," Tria said. "In not too many years, we'll be able to offer people a lot."

And when this happens, the local music scene will be in a place where it has everything it needs to grow.

For more information about what's going on at the Vail or Eastenders, go to vail-leavitt.org and eastenderscoffeehouse.com.

If you're a band or musician interested in being featured in our new music column, email tiffany@danspapers.com.