When it comes to seeing a concert at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater, Lenny and Susan O'Donnell, of Plainview, have a routine.
"We usually hit the beach, either Field 5 or Field 6, during the day, then shower and mosey over to the theater because that's how comfortable and casual the venue is," Susan, 62, says. "For dinner, we will tailgate in the parking lot with sandwiches, pizza or fried chicken and make it to our seats just before the opening act."
The O'Donnells are like many Long Islanders who make the concerts at Jones Beach Theater a cornerstone of their summer. Since 1983, the venue has been offering an annual full summer roster blending music genres from pop and country to heavy metal and classic rock.
"It's a big venue, but it feels small," Rosie Fiumara, 48, of Lido Beach, says. "Plus, you don't have the schlep and the hassle of going into the city. Everybody who goes there is in a beachy mode and ready for a great night out with open air and a nice breeze."
Newsday spoke with several local residents about some of their memories and traditions at the outdoor amphitheater in Wantagh.
Every year, Carol Albertus, of Long Beach, catches the Dave Matthews Band headlining Jones Beach Theater. She has been seeing them since they started playing the venue in 1994.
"Dave Matthews Band has a huge community," Albertus, 64, says. "I typically tailgate with 10 people and that crowd grows larger every year."
Albertus gets her tickets via the Dave Matthews fan association, called the Warehouse. Fans from that group tend to be very communal.
"It's customary as a Dave Matthews fan to bring small gifts such as stickers, bracelets or jewelry to give out to all the other Dave Matthews fans that you meet," Albertus adds. "You receive them as well."
The hard-core DMB fans get to the venue early to purchase the individual event posters the band sells that are specific to the Jones Beach Theater. Fans collect these $60 posters, which only go up in value as time goes on.
"They usually do an online poster drop at about 3 or 4 p.m. on the day of the show, but they sell out within minutes," Albertus, who has 50 posters in her collection, says. "If you can't get the poster during the online drop, fans go to the theater early to try and buy one."
The late Jimmy Buffett's annual concerts at Jones Beach were legendary. Even more iconic was the parking lot scene where his fans, affectionately known as Parrotheads, gathered hours before the show to collectively create the biggest tailgate party the venue ever saw.
"It was the most joyful, colorful and eclectic group of people you could ever find," Sarah Greller, 45, of Levittown, says. "Politics didn't matter. It's all about the love of the music, the lifestyle and the experience."
Fans wearing Hawaiian shirts, grass skirts, shark fin hats and leis around their necks would set up Caribbean-themed villages with palm trees and full-size tiki bars as live bands performed and they would even layer the ground with sand and grass.
Jen Davis, of Babylon, has attended Buffett shows since 1990 and she, along with her husband, Tim, are proud members of the Metro Parrot Head Club.
"The vibe was always great and everybody was so into it," says Jen, 50. "We would get to the parking lot at Field 4 by 6 a.m. Every year we would have breakfast, lunch and dinner there."
The couple was at Buffett's last Jones Beach show in 2022.
"His last show was one of his best because he sounded very fresh and enthusiastic," Tim Davis, 54, says.
Jen adds, "Jimmy's whole mantra was to keep the party going and that's what we are going to do."
Back in the '80s and early '90s before the internet, the Jones Beach summer concert season used to be unveiled all at once.
"I'd wait with anticipation for that full page ad in Newsday listing all the shows," Peggy Morrison-Moore, 66, of Holbrook, says. "Back then, tickets for the entire season went on sale on the same day."
Morrison-Moore would get up early and head to the Jones Beach Theater box office on the morning tickets were released.
"Sometimes you would get up in the middle of the night to go down there. You'd call in sick if you had to," she says. "They gave you a bracelet and when your number got called, you would go to the box office with your wish list and cash. I'd save up my money all year just for that day."
By going directly to the box office, Morrison-Moore would avoid paying Ticketron fees. During that time, she could score $18 seats for acts like Eric Clapton, Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Men at Work, Steve Winwood and more.
She says, "About $200 would get you tickets to 10 shows. Your summer entertainment would be set. You would even schedule your vacation around it."
All experienced concertgoers know purchasing a ticket to a Jones Beach show is a gamble because there's always a risk of rain. The key is to be prepared.
"You buy a poncho and stick it out," says Charlie Sterbini, 61, of Amityville, who saw Lenny Kravitz, Pink and System of a Down in the rain. "When you get a full moon tide, the water will come up, cover the orchestra floor and you are standing in a pool. I try not to let it bother me and get into the music."
Lenny O'Donnell, 59, recalls seeing the Counting Crows in 1997 when the skies opened up and a thunderstorm took over.
"After the Wallflowers opening set, a massive storm came rolling in. Security sent us to our cars, saying we can all come back after the storm passes," he says. "They were confident it was just going to pass over. Once it did, the sun came back out and we had the show of our lives. It was so much fun."
Surprisingly, through all his years of touring and being the biggest music artist from Long Island, Billy Joel has only played Jones Beach Theater twice. The Piano Man held two back-to-back sold-out benefit concerts on Sept. 4 and 5, 1990. Called "A Concert for the Bays and the Baymen," the profits were shared among several environmental groups such as the East Hampton Baymen's Association, the Group for the South Fork, Greenpeace, the Clean Ocean Action Committee and the Coast Alliance.
The original first show was scheduled for Aug. 29, 1990, but a rainstorm caused it to be rescheduled.
"Right before the concert began, there was a report of a storm coming in," Lenny O'Donnell remembers.
The skies opened up and the rain came down hard.
"We were in the tunnel, waiting it out because the storm was so bad," Susan O'Donnell says.
"Billy came out to the end of the stage and said, 'Look, if you guys all agree to come back, so will I," Lenny says. "Go to your cars, head home and be safe. We will put on an amazing show when we return."
The show was rescheduled for Sept. 4, when Joel played a 21-song set that included his tribute to the Baymen, "The Downeaster Alexa."
"This song is dedicated to a group of Long Island Americans who are disappearing just like the Indians," Joel told the audience, according to Newsday. "I don't care how many shopping developments and malls they put up -- we are still an island and we are islanders."
Singer-songwriter Paul Simon was a surprise guest performing two Simon & Garfunkel classics with Joel, "The Boxer" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" plus his solo hit, "Still Crazy After All These Years."