Bradstock: The Beginning

In the Summer of 1994, Brad Ringhouse  was merely planning a party to be held in his small backyard in Bayport. "We wanted to hear some good music and have a good time" he said. "We accomplished this and to our surprise we had several hundred people in my small backyard."

Now 17 years later that backyard party has expanded and what we all know as Bradstock exists, allowing all who attend to experience the very core of what Bradstock originated from – a good time with good music.

"The name Bradstock was just a joke," revealed Ringhouse. "The 25th anniversary of Woodstock was taking place that August and many of our friends were attending."  But not too far from its joking derivation, Bradstock incorporates a lot of what Woodstock had offered attendees back in 1969. Bands play throughout the day, bringing together friends, families and supporters to enjoy music, food and drinks and a place of peace and love to take it all in. And so Bradstock was born, all joking aside.

After the first year's unpredicted success, Ringhouse knew he had touched on something very special. "The next summer we started Friends of Bradstock, which had several meetings over the summer to make Bradstock II even better," said Ringhouse. Bands started contacting him looking to donate their time and Friends of Bradstock were donating their money to take this backyard party to a whole new level. 

After two years of hosting this massive party in Ringhouse's backyard, Bradstock III was held at Meadow Croft in Sayville, charging a donation at the door, which covered 12 hours of music, food and drinks. "By the time we got to Meadow Croft we really had something going. Good bands were contacting us to play," said Ringhouse."

From that point on, Bradstock continued to grow, moving to larger venues to accommodate the ever increasing number of bands and fans who wanted to be part of this fun-filled festival.

Today Bradstock had made its home at the Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville, with thousands of attendees and hours of music, food, drinks all in good fun, and all for a good cause. Bradstock XVII will be held on Sunday September 5. The minimum donation is $30 in advance and $40 on the day of the event.

All net proceeds of the event go to the museum and other local environmental and civic groups.

"The thing that makes Bradstock possible is the number of volunteers," said Ringhouse. "People want to help to make Bradstock better every year!"

For more information on Bradstock or to get involved as a volunteer, visit www.bradstock.org.