Three student-led bands — Punchdrunk, Sanitarium, and Sunlight Yellow — each brought their own sound and story to the Merrick Gazebo’s “Live Music” event on Oct. 14, performing for an enthusiastic crowd and gaining valuable stage experience.
The same trio of performers returned to the gazebo last weekend for the Merrick Fall Festival, where larger crowds turned out. Their return marks another milestone in a growing local effort to spotlight young musicians and give them meaningful opportunities to perform beyond the classroom.
The Oct. 14 show offered a preview of what audiences can expect at the festival. Punchdrunk brought an energetic blend of alternative and indie rock, channeling youthful chemistry and raw stage presence in their debut performance. Sanitarium produced a surge of classic heavy metal, combining precision and power while paying homage to bands like Metallica and Pantera. Closing out the lineup, Sunlight Yellow shifted the tone with its introspective indie-folk sound — a mellow, acoustic contrast that revealed the emotional range of the young musicians.
Each group reflects a different corner of the local student music scene. Punchdrunk brings the excitement of a band just finding its rhythm, Sanitarium delivers the polish and passion of seasoned metal enthusiasts, and Sunlight Yellow offers a more reflective, melodic perspective. Together, they illustrate how a small community stage can showcase an impressive spectrum of talent — and how the area’s next generation of artists is already making its mark.
Punchdrunk: It’s just the beginning
Punchdrunk, a Bellmore-based alternative rock band, is one of the newest groups on the scene — and one of the most promising.
The four-member band includes lead singers Mariela Pavlica and Aadi Maystry, guitarist Hallie Gillison, and drummer Ethan Kondak. Pavlica, a junior, and Gillison, a senior, attend Mepham High School in North Bellmore, while Maystry and Kondak, both seniors, attend John F. Kennedy High School in South Bellmore.
The band formed a few months ago when two duos combined forces after their previous projects ended.
“We made a group chat, we had a few practices, and things clicked really, really well,” Pavlica said. “It’s really — I hate saying it’s like a family, but it totally is.”
Their name, inspired by Maystry’s boxing hobby, started as a running joke. The band’s sound mixes their individual influences — from jazz and classic rock to metal — landing somewhere between alternative and indie rock. They cover artists like Radiohead, Paramore, and Arctic Monkeys, with Pavlica drawing vocal inspiration from the late Jeff Buckley.
Punchdrunk made its live debut at the Oct. 14 gazebo show, playing through cold weather and microphone hiccups with enthusiasm.
Sanitarium: Helping animals with their music
Sanitarium, a heavy metal trio from Merrick, was formed in September 2024 by brothers Tyler – a recent Calhoun graduate -- and Matt Acquavella and their friend Justin Mitkish, whom are both seniors there. The band began after the Acquavellas moved from Freeport in 2023 and bonded with Justin over a shared love of classic metal.
“We just started playing covers of stuff, and we didn’t have a vocalist or bassist,” Tyler Acquavella said. “So, then I’m like, ‘You know what? Let me just step it up, like, start doing vocals, too.’”
Sanitarium performs covers by Metallica, Megadeth, and Pantera, while working on their own original material.
“We’re working on a song right now and we made a pretty cool riff,” Tyler Acquavella said. “We didn’t post anything about it yet because we want to make it a surprise.”
Their name pays tribute to Metallica’s “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” and the band’s shared fascination with eerie, abandoned places. They’ve played the Merrick Library, local street fairs, and the gazebo. The trio also uses its performances to raise money for animal shelters through raffles.
“We make little baskets and stuff, do raffles to raise money for animal shelters,” Tyler Acquavella said. “We all have dogs. We love them.”
The group hopes to expand its reach this winter with indoor shows around Long Island and possibly add a bassist.
“We just want to play,” Tyler said. “Make a few bucks even if we can’t — just play.”
Sunlight Yellow: One album out, another on the way
Sunlight Yellow, an indie-folk trio from Merrick, features twin brothers Joncarlos and Mark-Anthony Funes and guitarist Daniel Faherty, all Calhoun High School graduates. Now freshmen in college — the Funes brothers at Adelphi University and Faherty at Stony Brook — the trio formed just over a year ago, uniting long friendships and shared passion.
“We decided we wanted to start a band because I had an interest in music and they didn’t even know how to play any instruments,” Joncarlos said. “So, I taught them how to play guitar and stuff because I always loved music.”
Over the summer, Joncarlos self-produced their debut album, “Heart Shaped Cloud,” an eight-track acoustic collection blending love songs, poetry, and influences from Radiohead, The Smiths, and Nirvana.
“We produced it ourselves, you know, so I had to get into sound editing,” he said. “It was definitely a process.”
The band’s ironic name — a nod to an inside joke inspired by the anime “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” — contrasts their often mellow, introspective sound. “It’s also meant to be a bit ironic because our music is a bit mellow and not so happy all the time,” Joncarlos said.
Since forming, Sunlight Yellow has played at school events, restaurants, and multiple gazebo shows, using social media to build an audience and promote their album. “Ever since we started about a year ago, we’ve been trying to play around even when they weren’t so good,” Joncarlos said.
The trio is already planning a second album and says making music together has deepened their friendship.
“It brings all three of us closer,” Joncarlos said. “We’ve never been closer, really.”
