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Cabin Fever music festival at Übergeek Brewing Co. (Photo courtesy Cabin Fever music festival)

In the winter of 2007, Center Moriches resident Brendon Henry was bored.

In the winter months, the music lover struggled to find any local venues hosting live shows. That’s when Henry decided to organize a winter-time music festival that would benefit both the bands and the venues, naming it after the stir-crazy feeling of being stuck inside: the Cabin Fever Music Festival.

Now in its 17th year, the festival offers something for a wide variety of tastes, from punk rock to folksy acoustic to straight-up rock’n’roll. All of the dates will take place in Riverhead, with the Feb. 1 and Feb. 22 at Übergeek Brewing Company (400 Hallett Ave.) and the Feb. 15 show at North Fork Brewing Company (24 E. 2nd St., Suite A).

“The winters out here used to be brutal, no one was around,” says Henry. “So we kind of came up with an idea to get bands exposure,” he says, adding that but getting more people into local establishments at the slowest time of the year (February) was also a goal.

That first festival in 2008 featured nine bands, and they played almost every weekend for all of February at bars and venues along the South Fork.

“The first year was a little rough because I only had three venues,” Henry says. “It was the Fisherman’s Quarters, which was my father’s bar, the Southampton Publick House and Tom McBride, which is no longer even around … The turnout was amazing. There were 100-plus people [at] every show we did.”

The festival’s mission is to emphasize original music. While cover bands are fun and accessible, it was important to Henry to showcase the breadth of original songwriting and musical talent available on Long Island.

“This was always started to focus on original music of the East End and get that out. Because a lot of bands don’t get the opportunity to play their original music, and this is the perfect opportunity,” he says. “So we’re focused on pushing original music and getting artists out there.”

Rachelle Rossi, a solo artist performing at the acoustic night, credits Cabin Fever for helping her showcase her music as an emerging artist.

“It’s always given people an opportunity to have somewhere to play in the off season, which is really what this is for most musicians,” says Rossi. “This gives me an opportunity to help keep music alive out on the East End of Long Island, because there aren’t always places for people to play, and this is a nice opportunity to get people out.”

The Übergeek shows start at 2 p.m. and is open to all ages, reflecting Henry’s own changing life. “When I started this, I was 27 years old,” he says. “I wasn’t married, didn’t have kids, so back then it was basically living that lifestyle. And now with the whole family, I try and make things family inclusive. So we try to keep as many shows as we can all ages.”

Another factor in the new schedule is how the East End has changed, with more people living in the area permanently. “We can’t run those eight-to-10 show schedules anymore, because February isn’t what it used to be. It’s not like it’s dead anymore. Places are busy, and people are out and about.”

Übergeek will have food trucks available during the concerts, and the brewery even makes a special, limited-edition Cabin Fever beer for the festival.

“I think it’s so important for people to have a place to go, especially in light of this whole boom of technology where everybody just sits and looks at their phones,” says Jeanne Smith, Übergeek’s operations manager. “It’s such a great experience for people to come out and enjoy music and enjoy that lively scene that I feel has been lost for, like, the last 30 years. The ones that we do are mostly punk, metal, rock. There’s been rap and reggae.”

John Holub, of Hubba Promotions and Henry’s promotional partner, has been instrumental in bringing new bands into the fold.

“We bring them together and introduce bands to other bands to build a community, because the East End of Long Island lacks a little bit of the music community,” Holub says, adding “and a lot of people make friends from it, lifetime friends from playing at our festival, and connections with sponsors and venues.”

Kevin Saboe, featured on the rock night ticket, is a Cabin Fever veteran, having played the festival almost every year since its inception.

“There’s nights where it’s singer-songwriter, nights when it’s punk blasting off. There are nights when it could be just about anything… [the festival] gives artists the chance to really be artists, I think that is the best part of it,” says Saboe.

VJ Hannemann, frontman for the Huntington-based punk band Flak Jacket, has been participating in Cabin Fever for more than five years. With more than 30 years in the Long Island music scene, he has seen a number of changes. The one thing that keeps him coming back is the people.

“The community is just amazing,” Hannemann says. “It’s not even that they’re punk rockers, they’re my family now and then they’re my good friends. Cabin Fever, especially when they’re doing it at places like these, you’re no longer working. It’s like, you don’t even look at it like that. You really are going out to have a punk rock hangout with all your friends and family. And it’s like, the most wonderful, celebrated thing.”

Henry would like to expand the festival in the future, and possibly revive the summertime companion “Cabana Fever” festival. 

Holub also hopes to keep expanding in order to bring more bands and listeners together.

“I just see it growing and the community getting stronger,,” he says. “I see the smiling faces and the good times they’re having, and they tell their friends, and they just like bringing good vibes all around and helping out people who work hard to try to boost their careers.”

For the full schedule, visit Cabin Fever Music Festival on Facebook.

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