Posted by By definition, being born in 1967, I am Generation X, considered a product of both the 60’s & the 70’s. My musical tastes consist of the late 60’s and mid – 70’s and as much as music is part of who I am, I never had the opportunity to see a lot of my musical heroes. I never got to see Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Beatles or Creedence Clearwater Revival, among many many more! It wasnt until the late 70’s and early 80’s when I would see my first “Elvis Impersonator”. But now, Impersonators call themselves “tribute” artists which is quite fitting as they do in fact, pay tribute to particular artists.
Its been a hot topic over the past couple years. Extremely talented artists have a hard time creating a following, playing to half-house capacity, while tribute artists throw on a wig and hop on a stage to perform to a full house, (I mean no disrespect!) But again, music is a large part of who I am and I love all genres of music, with the exception of rap, but thats another conversation!
As Ive been filling my calendar for the next couple months Ive been noticing an increase of tribute artists that I would love to see, sometimes to see again; is this a trend? Ive also noticed, the past 5 out of 6 shows Ive seen in 2025 include Strawberry Fields(Beatles tribute), Adrenalize(Def Leppard tribute), The Fast Lane(Eagles tribute), Fleetwood Macked(Fleetwood Mac tribute) & The Machine(Pink Floyd tribute); Blackberry Smoke being the only original musical performance! But to be clear, its not for lack of disinterest! But I ask again, is this a trend?
To be honest, in my humble opinion, its more than a trend. And I think a lot of musicians enjoy the music that they were brought up on. I, for one, enjoy picking up the guitar or sitting at the keyboard and plucking or “tickling the ivories” of my favorite songs and I firmly believe if I actually had the patience to get good at either one, I’d probably join a cover or tribute band! I dont have the creative mind set to put lyrics to developed songs that float around in one’s head.
No matter how my calendar gets filled over this upcoming year, one things for sure, music is life! It can be transcendent, raw emotion, heart pounding and head bobbing, all of which make for a strong mental health state of mind.
Here are a few highlights of the past few tribute bands Ive seen so far this year.
Long Island Sounds 