Get ready to groove, because the Big Easy is coming to the North Fork in the form of the four-day Quantum Leap Music Festival at Borghese Vineyard in Cutchogue.
From Aug. 14 to Aug. 17, the Quantum Leap Music Festival will be bringing the soul, with more than two dozen award-winning performers taking the stage. NOLA to NOFO, a new North Fork-based production team, presents the festival.
“It truly is a partnership between a North Forker and New Orleanian,” says operations director Jocelyne Ninneman.
It was co-founded by Bennet Lapidus, a 30-year North Fork resident who now lives in Mattituck, and Donald Harrison, a lifelong musician and the festival’s artistic director. A mini-pilot festival hit the stage last September, but this year’s is the inaugural full slate.
“The idea was a dream of our producer, Bennet Lapidus,” says Harrison. “We both love New Orleans and its culture, and he had the idea of presenting a festival with the greatest collection of New Orleans musical artists in the North Fork that had ever been done. He explained how great Long Island wine country is, and I agreed instantly to help make this a reality.”
Doors open each day of the festival at 3 p.m., with performances running from 4 p.m. until around 11 p.m. Along with the music, Quantum Leap festivalgoers will have the chance to try food and drinks from local restaurants and vendors. Borghese Vineyard — of course — will supply wines and Take Two Brewery of Bay Shore will offer a beer selection. Braun’s Seafood of Cutchogue, Green Hill Kitchen of Greenport, and local chef Chéo Avila, among others, will bring the eats.
“We just hope they enjoy all that they can in life, help each other as much as possible, and let music take them to as many inexplicable places of joy as possible,” says Harrison. “We hope they come to our festival and enjoy some award-winning Borghese wine, savor some great local food, have a great time, dance, relax, and experience some of the greatest musicians on the planet in their backyard. How cool is that?”
Mr. Harrison, who is a National Endowment for the Arts jazz master, became involved with music around the age of 16, when his father bought him a saxophone as a gift. He began to play and fell in love with it. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with tons of other artists, including The Headhunters, Miles Davis, Roy Haynes, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and more. He also acted as a mentor for artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Jon Batiste and Trombone Shorty. Additionally, he’s acted and played music in a few films and shows, including “Rachel Getting Married,” “When the Levees Broke” and “Luke Cage.”
Performers at the festival will include The Headhunters, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Erica Falls, Zaccai Curtis, a Quantum Leap Music Festival All-Star Jam Band and others. Mr. Harrison will be performing with a few groups at the festival as well.
Ninneman says the hope is that people come out, hear the tunes, meet the artists and engage with the company. That way, people can connect and get ready for, hopefully, more events and another festival next year. Harrison also adds that the group hopes to bring ideas learned from producing the festival to new musical ventures globally.
“What I hope people leave this festival with is a sense of the blissful transcendence New Orleans music gives you,” says Harrison. “A sense that we are all tied to antiquity, and for out-of-towners, an idea of how special the North Fork is.”
Single-day tickets and all-weekend passes can be purchased by going to nola2nofo.com/tickets.
