Deer Tick to rock Shine A Light fest in Long Beach

Tommy Brull Foundation to donate proceeds to Mr. B's Playground in Rockville Centre

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The Tommy Brull Foundation will hold its 12th Shine A Light Music Series event on Saturday, June 9, with alternative rockers Deer Tick headlining the sold out show at Junction in Long Beach.

This will be the fourth time Deer Tick has partnered with the Rockville Centre-based nonprofit foundation, which raises funds to help children and adults with physical, mental and emotional disabilities in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

“What I’m trying to do is bring good music to Long Island that people are excited about,” said organizer and foundation co-founder Martin Brull. “As always, all profits from the show will be donated to help improve the quality of life for children and adults with special needs in Long Island.”

The So So Glos, a punk rock band from Brooklyn, is also set perform. Saturday, June 6 at the Long Beach Junction.

Brull said the foundation expects to raise between $15,000 to $20,000 from ticket sales, merchandise and a donation from a generous sponsor.

The organization will be using the funds raised from the Shine A Light Music Series to help build Mr. B’s playground, an adaptive play area in Rockville Centre named in honor of Recreation Superintendent Anthony Brunetta that will be inclusive of kids with varying degrees of abilities, Brull said.

In addition to the Shine A Light Music Series, the Tommy Brull Foundation has raised more than $500,000 for 40 charitable organizations, including Camp Anchor. It also chooses a recipient from the community to support each year.

Brull said Shine A Light was inspired by his late brother, Tommy. The two would go to music events together, and he wanted to put together events that his brother would have enjoyed with bands he would have liked.

In December, folk rockers the Felice Brothers headlined the event at Junction, and featured a performance by Spirit Family Reunion — a Brooklyn-based group influenced by traditional American music such as country, folk and gospel.

Martin co-founded the Tommy Brull Foundation in 2008 in memory of Tommy, who died in an accident in 1999. Both were counselors at Camp ANCHOR.

Since 2011, the organization has also held a series of benefit concerts called Shine A Light, which have featured headliners such as The War on Drugs, Luna, Deer Tick and Strand of Oaks. The series celebrated its 10th show on last June with headliners Kurt Vile and The Violators.

When he founded the organization, Martin said, he never thought that he would be booking Tommy’s favorite band, Luna, to play a reunion show for the cause, which was held in 2012 at Mulcahy’s in Wantagh.

For more information, visit www.tommybrullfoundation.org.