The inaugural Fire Island Theater Festival (FIT Fest), produced by nonprofit CHANGE Arts, will celebrate Fire Island’s musical legacy with Songs on the Sand, a benefit concert on Friday, September 25 at 7 PM at the Ice Palace in Cherry Grove.
Hosted by Seth Rudetsky and Ben Rimalower, Songs on the Sand brings together generations of Fire Island artists for an evening celebrating the composers who have called the Island home and the performers who continue to make it sing. The concert will feature Jack Bartholet, Jamie Lynn Beatty, Marc delaCruz, Michelle Dowdy, Julie James, Bob (Rose) Levine, Seth Sikes, Jae W.B. and more, honoring longtime Fire Island resident Jerry Herman as well as a new generation of Fire Island composers, including Billy Recce, Clarke Sondermann, and composing partners Matte O’Brien and Matt Vinson
Songs on the Sand is part of the inaugural Fire Island Theater Festival, September 23–27, 2026, a five-day celebration of queer storytelling across Cherry Grove and the Fire Island Pines. Through plays, readings, music, history, and site-specific experiences, FIT Fest explores the communities’ past, present, and future while celebrating Fire Island’s extraordinary role in queer cultural life. The Festival culminates September 26 and 27 with its Marathon Theater Weekend, a theatrical journey across Fire Island featuring Chris Weikel’s Pride House at the historic Cherry Grove Community House and Theater and Gianfranco Lentini’s Ocean Walk at Reflections in the Fire Island Pines, connected by historical and environmental experiences across the Island.
The concert benefits CHANGE Arts, which connects classrooms and communities with intentionally-curated arts experiences designed to deepen learning, empathy, access and engagement. Through partnerships with artists, educators, and cultural organizations, CHANGE Arts works to connect the right story with the right audience at the right time.
For more information and tickets, click here.
