Long Island’s most famous music festival, Great South Bay, has wrapped up for 2025! This was the festival’s 17th year with an incredible turnout of thousands across four days of impeccable live music. Each day had a different theme of bands: Pop-Punk Thursday, Reggae Friday, Jam Day Saturday, and Yacht Rock Sunday. Some of the largest acts included Gym Class Heroes, Taking Back Sunday, Men at Work, Moe, and Damian and Stephen Marley. 

Taking place on the water at Shorefront Park in Patchogue, there were three stages: the main stage, Five Towns College stage, and the Jambalaya stage. The Five Towns stage is where I spent a lot of my time, because I just graduated from FTC. The students fully run the stage, with the band doing lighting, audio, and media, gaining incredible hands-on experience and connections. They had live broadcasts throughout the day featuring several camera operators and radio shows. 

The festival is perfect for all ages, covering everything you need. The KidZone is an exclusive experience for children, featuring a family-friendly tent and stage. Another nice perk is children under 10 get into the festival for free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Some of the entertainment for kids included magic and circus shows, kids’ yoga, and jugglers. 

The food and drinks are amazing every year, with a wide variety of choices from pizza to shish kabobs. There were lots of selections featuring food trucks and a fan favorite: fried Oreos. Lots of Long Islanders like myself look forward to this festival every summer, and seeing which next Long Island star will be taking the stage!