Deer Tick shines light on RVC

Cinematographer Connor Reid, left, soaks in the sounds with Anthony Roman, Irene Vasiliou and illustrator Dan Curran, far right.

Penny Frondelli/Herald

Katie Moore of Rockville Centre, left, held down the merchandise table, selling shirts and posters illustrated by resident Dan Curran and printed at Madeusa Clothing in Farmingdale.

John Maher/Herald

John McCauley of Deer Tick, left, watched the show from backstage with event coordinator Martin Brull.

Penny Frondelli/Herald

Keith Lucchesi thanked crowd and bands alike for their support, and reminded patrons to leave a tip.

Penny Frondelli/Herald

Ian O’Neill, left, shredded strings while McCauley belted out barroom sing-alongs with style.

Penny Frondelli/Herald

Drummer Dennis Ryan kept the evening upbeat from behind the set.

Penny Frondelli/Herald

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Cannon’s Blackthorn was packed with music buffs on May 23, when the Rockville Centre-based Tommy Brull Foundation held its third annual Shine A Light Music Festival.

Rockville Centre resident Martin Brull established the foundation in 2008, along with his family and Kenny Lucchesi of Point Lookout. The group is dedicated to the memory of Martin’s brother Tommy, who died in a Williamsburg Bridge car accident on Christmas Eve in 1999 at the age of 23.

The concert featured Providence, RI-based country-fried indie rock mainstays Deer Tick as the headlining act, with Rockville Centre’s Matt Barthel and The Midnight Snacks, a surf/noise band from Long Beach, opening the night.

“I thought it went great — I don’t have a complaint,” said Brull. “The bands played really well, they were really into the causes, and there were no problems except for the weather.”

The crowd agreed with Brull’s sentiments — over 500 people attended the event, and the foundation brought in over $11,000 in ticket and memorabilia sales. The money will be donated to Camp Anchor, where the Brulls and Lucchesi worked during their youth. To date, the foundation has raised over $60,000 for Camp Anchor, which plans to dedicate a soon-to-be-open auditorium to Tommy’s memory.

“We all worked there for a long time, so the program is very close and dear to us,” Brull said.

Volunteers poured in from Rockville Centre and Long Beach to help with the show — handmade silkscreen posters for the event were illustrated by resident Dan Curran and printed at Farmingdale’s Madeusa Clothing, owned by Rockville Centre native Tyler Pruyn, while Connor Reid, another resident, headed a concert film crew made up entirely of village residents. Brull’s family and friends operated the merchandise booth and helped keep things moving smoothly backstage.

“It was great to design posters for one of my favorite bands,” said Curran. “And to see them in my hometown. It was awesome.”