Punk rock, hardcore music scene still thriving on Long Island with hundreds of shows booked each year

From CBGB to the LIE.Just when you thought it was “so last summer,” the iconic punk rock/emo and hardcore scene is still moshing hard on Long Island.The Big Apple’s far east neighbor is home to massive bands like Taking Back Sunday, The Movielife and Brand New — which is touring this summer for the first time since 2017 — and promoters said there are no signs that the beloved angsty genre is slowing down.“Out-of-state bands specifically ask to play Long Island,” Lina Mavruk, 24, a promoter for the Bored Friends Presents booking company and resident of Lawrence, told The Post.“If the dates don’t work, I’ll offer them a spot on a Brooklyn show, but they’ll say they’d rather play a Long Island hardcore show.”One of the bands living the pop/punk and emo dream is WAIVER., which formed in 2021, with its melancholy and introspective lyrics captivating the crowd.The band – singer Nick Valero, drummer Dan Avellino, bassist Dave Carroll and Joey Valero, and Stin Barrow on guitars – have spent the last few months juggling recording new material with their day jobs and often mingle with their dedicated fans after their sets.The Valero brothers are Local 3 Electricians from Bethpage, while Avelino is a teacher, Barrow repairs guitars, and Carroll studies music at SUNY Purchase. The latter three hail from Massapequa.“Nick would teach the audience the lyrics, and everyone would climb on top of each other singing just the one song,” said Carroll, 20, of Massapequa.

“On Long Island, people keep coming back having learned more of our songs.”After then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s sweeping nightlife restrictions in the 1990s, the hardcore scene moved to the New Jersey and Long Island suburbs, where shows were initially held everywhere from dive bars to VFW halls. Today, Amityville Music Hall (AMH) is the center of Long Island’s hardcore universe and will host roughly 250 events in 2025.Miles to Go (MTG), Golden Hour Bookings, and Bored Friends a...