Events

Karen Bella, is a NYC & Long Island-based performing and recording artist, who crosses genres in her songwriting, while having a strong foundation in the “classics.”  Her hard work, beautiful voice, and experience with live performances, all attribute to turning all eyes and ears in the room to her when she’s on stage.

Bella began studying music performance and acting in elementary school.  She started booking recording sessions by 9 years old and was writing songs at age 12.  After college, she pursued music full-time, releasing her first album, Ordinary Girl in 2013, Karen Bella, self-titled EP (produced by Josh Dion) in 2020, and the single, “Rise Up,” (produced by Dion) in 2023,  which currently has over 55.7k streams on Spotify.  She continues to perform throughout the tri-state area playing such notable venues as the Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End, the Landmark Theater in Port Washington, Great South Bay Music Festival and the Philadelphia Music Festival, Spotlight at The Paramount (opening for Hannah Wicklund) and is currently working on the follow up releases for 2024.  In October 2023, Karen had a show-stopping performance at The Bitter End in NYC, with musicians, David Cook, Josh Dion, Brian Killeen, and Teddy Kumpel.

From a recent interview, Bella expressed that, “I’m lucky that I get to share my love for Folk, Rock, R&B, Pop, and Country music to its fullest.  My shows and albums represent these little chapters of my life and give the fans and audience a glimpse into my heart and mind.  My goal as a songwriter is to have a positive effect on the listener, because music has been a miraculous coping mechanism for me, helping all of us to fight the sadness and anxiety that follow traumatic life events.”

Bella was named a Sam Ash “Spotlight Artist in 2019,” becoming an official Fishman-endorsed artist (2019).  She was also a Yamaha Guitar Ambassador in 2022 and in the same year she became an Elixir Strings Artist.  In June 2022 and April of 2023, Bella was chosen to perform at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) in Anaheim, CA.    Most recently, she was nominated as Best Singer From Long Island 2023, by the Town of Bethpage.  The self-titled EP, Karen Bella, charted #30 in the Folk Alliance International Charts and received commercial airplay in 2022.  The single, “Indio,” charted #2 on the World Indie Music Charts in 2023, including more than 31.7k streams on spotify.

Facebook/Instagram/X: @karenbellamusic

Accompanying Karen Bella: Teddy Kumpel 

Teddy played guitar on the Grammy winning album “Home” by Tim Kubart, sang backgrounds with Nine Inch Nails on the MTV music awards, toured and/or recorded with Joe Jackson, Rickie Lee Jones, Goodie Mob, Feist, Toots Hibbert, played on many soundtracks including Anchorman and Talladega Nights, produced, engineered and helped develop many artists all while nurturing his own art and unique vision over his 30 year + career.

Join us for a screening of the documentary “Dare To Be Different”. The story of WLIR, followed by a Q&A with Larry The Duck (WLIR), Denis McNamara (WLIR) and Ellen Goldfarb (Movie Director). Hosted by The Sound of Film’s Tom Needham.