Mattituck Cinemas to host live music this summer

Fresh on the heels of fights filled with punches and kicks, Mattituck Cinemas will soon crank up the volume with guitars and drum kits.

The theater announced a slate of concerts coming this summer beginning Saturday, June 24 with a two-set performance by The X-Generation.

“They’re a ‘90s and 2000s cover band, sometimes they’ll do some more modern stuff,” said Louis Navas, the theater’s new event coordinator and talent booker. “They’re a rock band, and they rule, they’re fun to hang out with.”

“The focus right now is cover bands, DJs and parties that are undeniably just awesome,” Mr. Navas added of the forthcoming shows. “We also think that the original music circuit is something that we want to bring here more, so we’re actually doing our second show with a bunch of Manorville artists, including my band [Rats].”

The concerts — which are currently slated for Saturdays throughout the summer — are the latest alternative entertainment venture to crop up in Mattituck Cinemas this year after it stopped running new movies. Marc LaMaina, the restaurateur behind the cinema’s neighboring Mexican eatery, Lucharitos, and various partners began showing second run films in the theater’s sole remaining screening room and opened the Axe & Smash Axe Throwing Lounge and Smash Paint studios. Last month, they began hosting wrestling matches in a ring inside the still-operating screening room, which will double as a stage for forthcoming musical performances.

Concert goers can purchase tacos, tequila and other offerings from the Lucharitos-run concessions stand during each show.

Mr. Navas previously booked artists for Revolution, a long-running, notorious Long Island venue that showcased both up-and-comers and local legends, including Taking Back Sunday and The Stray Cats, from 2017 through 2020 when the club stuttered permanently amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Revolution, the perfect venue for an energetic electronic dance music or heavy metal concert, boasted an alien atmosphere compared to the live music scene across the North Fork. Venues from The Suffolk in Riverhead to the wineries and breweries throughout the hamlets of Southold Town host performances, often by cover bands or solo or duo acoustic acts, typically before seated audiences.

Mr. Navas may be able to shake things up with a slate of concerts that will likely attract different crowds with regards to age and the atmosphere and energy level they bring to a performance.

“Mattituck Cinemas is a movie theater and the cinemas always have all ages, so we’re really being careful to not overbook or oversaturate one specific corner or demographic yet,” Mr. Navas said. “We have seats, which is a good thing, because some places don’t have any seats, and we have enough room to move around and enjoy the facility.”

Following The X Generation’s performance on June 24, three rock bands — Bohemians, Rats and Atlantics End — will hit the stage July 1. Soul Purpose will perform disco, soul and funk July 8, and Speakeasy, a cover band, will perform hits by popular artists spanning genres and decades, from Led Zeppelin to Post Malone, July 22.

To view the complete list of performances coming to Mattituck Cinemas this summer and to purchase tickets, visit champtheatre.com.