Posted by There are few things capable of bringing people together quite like great food and live music. This October, Long Islanders will once again have an opportunity to enjoy plenty of both when The Famous Food Festival: “Taste the World” returns to Tanger Outlets in Deer Park from October 9 through October 12, 2026.
Held twice each year, with editions in June and October, the Famous Food Festival has grown into much more than simply a place to grab something to eat. With more than 100 food vendors representing flavors and culinary traditions from around the world, the festival combines food, music and entertainment into a four-day experience designed for virtually every generation.
And while the food may be the reason many people initially walk through the gates, there is plenty happening beyond the plate.
More Than What’s on the Menu
Live entertainment has become an important part of the Famous Food Festival experience, with the main stage providing a continuous soundtrack throughout the weekend.
Over the years, the festival has welcomed an eclectic collection of Long Island and regional performers spanning rock, pop, country, acoustic music, Top 40 and tribute acts.
Past and recent festival stages have included Party Rock Radio, Strawberry Gossip, Miss Mayhem, Ten Ton Mojo, Ask Your Friends Band, The NuGroove Project, That Diva Band, Chili Poppers, Voices Duo, Dean James Silva and Drive – The Cars Tribute, among many others.
Long Island’s own Last Child NYC has also brought the music of Aerosmith to the festival stage, while recurring DJ Pacasso keeps things moving between performances.
The entertainment isn’t limited to simply standing in front of a stage, either. Interactive events, including line dancing, have helped turn the performance area into another gathering place within the festival.
This October continues that tradition with four days of entertainment accompanying the seemingly endless choices of food.
Friday’s music begins when the gates open at 1:00 PM, with DJ Pacasso followed throughout the afternoon and evening by Dean James Silva, Voices Duo, Party Rock Radio, Erik Troqe, Hunter Road, Ask Your Friends Band and Nu Groove Project.
Saturday begins at 11:00 AM and features Gianna Rose, Leah and the Heartbeats, Whiskey Fever Country Trio, The Spinoffs, Erik Troqe, Dream of the Archer, Pine Street Band and Craving Strange.
But tucked into Saturday afternoon’s lineup is something considerably different.
Mad Painter Brings the ’70s Back to Deer Park
Taking the Famous Food Festival stage on Saturday, October 10, from 5:00 PM until 6:00 PM, Boston-based Mad Painter isn’t particularly interested in sounding like everybody else.
Instead, the band has deliberately reached backward several decades for inspiration, embracing the heavy, melodic and sometimes wonderfully unconventional musical landscape of 1970s British hard rock, glam, progressive rock and psychedelia.
At the center of the Mad Painter sound is an instrument that once played an enormous role in rock music but isn’t heard nearly as prominently today—the Hammond organ.
Rather than relegating the keyboards to the background, Mad Painter allows the Hammond to become one of the driving forces behind its music, surrounded by heavy guitar riffs, blues-influenced rock, infectious bass lines and layered vocals.
Listeners familiar with bands such as Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and Mott the Hoople will probably recognize some of the musical DNA, but Mad Painter isn’t a tribute band attempting to recreate somebody else’s catalog. The group takes those influences and uses them as the foundation for its own original material.
And the musicians behind it have accumulated plenty of history of their own.
Meet Mad Painter
Keyboardist, lead vocalist and primary songwriter Alex Gitlin is the architect behind Mad Painter. His musical background stretches through heavy metal, glam and funk, along with time spent performing in Deep Purple and UFO tribute bands before deciding that he wanted an original vehicle for his own music.
That idea eventually became Mad Painter in 2015.
Joining Gitlin is bassist Kenne Highland, a longtime figure within Boston’s underground punk and rock community whose résumé includes The Gizmos, Africa Corps and Hopelessly Obscure.
Guitarist Al Naha (Nahabedian) brings the vintage guitar hooks and also performs alongside Highland in the Kenne Highland Airforce, while drummer Al Hendry brings a background rooted in blues and rock, including work with Bubba Loaf and Tokyo Tramps.
Backing vocalists Julie Gee and Sharon Crumrine complete an important part of the band’s identity, adding the layered and theatrical vocal arrangements that further reinforce Mad Painter’s unmistakably retro character.
It is an unusual musical combination for 2026—and that’s rather the point.
Island Poetry
Mad Painter’s Long Island appearance also happens during an important weekend for the band.
On Friday, October 9, just one day before their Famous Food Festival performance, Mad Painter will release its third studio album, Island Poetry, worldwide through the Epictronic record label.
While the band’s 2023 sophomore album, Splashed, incorporated material Alex Gitlin had accumulated over a period of years, Island Poetry represents something different. The new record was developed as a more cohesive effort involving Mad Painter’s current lineup.
Even the concept behind the album fits the band’s unconventional personality.
Gitlin has described the imagery surrounding Island Poetry as people gathered around a campfire on a small tropical island beneath a full moon—chanting, meditating, praying and looking toward the stars.
Musically, the band has described the album as its heaviest and rawest work to date.
Songs including “Debt Collector” and “Spin Your Ventilator” have already provided listeners with a preview of the direction Mad Painter is taking with the new record.
That makes their October 10 appearance in Deer Park more than simply another date on the calendar. Long Island audiences will be seeing Mad Painter during the release weekend of Island Poetry.
Come Hungry. Stay for the Music.
Of course, with more than 100 food vendors gathered in one place, deciding what band to watch may prove considerably easier than deciding what to eat.
That is part of what has made the Famous Food Festival such an interesting Long Island event.
You can arrive looking for something familiar, discover a dish you’ve never tried before, wander through dozens of vendors, hear an acoustic performer, catch a rock band, do a little shopping at Tanger Outlets and somehow find yourself standing in front of a stage listening to a Hammond organ roaring through music inspired by 1970s British rock.
Not a bad way to spend an October afternoon.
The Famous Food Festival: “Taste the World” takes place October 9–12, 2026, at Tanger Outlets in Deer Park, New York.
And if your travels through more than 100 food vendors happen to bring you near the main stage at 5:00 PM on Saturday, October 10, Mad Painter will be there—Hammond organ and all.