Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame to Host ‘Blotto Fest’ This November 8th
Long Island Musician ‘Broadway Blotto’ to host; open call for musicians to participate in unique tribute to iconic New York band
STONY BROOK, NY —Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) will host Blotto Fest at its Stony Brook Village location (97 Main Street) Fest on Sunday, Nov. 8th at 3pm. The event is free for members and included with general admission ticket or $10 at-the-door concert ticket. LIMEHOF is giving local bands a chance to participate in this unique tribute to the iconic New York group.
Blotto Fest will celebrate the popular rock band Blotto, formed in 1978 in Albany, NY, which was known for blending music with sharp humor, goofy charm, and a playful stage persona. The band became a cult favorite in the early 1980s, with songs like “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard” and MTV-era visibility helping spread their offbeat comedy-rock appeal.
“Blotto proved that great rock and roll doesn’t have to take itself too seriously, and we hope Blotto Fest becomes an annual celebration where fans can come together to laugh, sing, and keep their unforgettable spirit alive,” said Tom Needham, LIMEHOF Vice Chairman.
Mount Siani, NY Musician and Blotto band member Bill Polchinski, AKA Broadway Blotto (the only band member from Long Island), will host the event where performers will share the stage playing memorable songs and deep cuts from Blotto. It aims to launch a fun annual tradition celebrating the band’s humor and musical legacy. The surviving members of the band visited LIMEHOF in 2025 as part of LIMEHOF’s Music Documentary Film Festival which showed the film Hello My Name is Blotto: The Movie! (which won the LIMEHOF Music Documentary Film Festival’s Spirit of Independent Filmmaking Award).
“I was blessed to grow up on Long Island,” Broadway said. “Port Jeff High School and Suffolk Community College provided the musical foundation that I carried to Albany State where I got together with a like-minded bunch of guys who eventually became Blotto.”
Broadway says that his experiences on Long Island strongly influenced Blotto’s music.
“When we began to write our own songs, I drew subject matter from carefree adolescent memories of life in Suffolk County: garage bands, drive-in movies, shopping malls, cars, and, of course, the beaches where lifeguards reigned as the epitome of coolness during the hot summers. It was a personal thrill when WLIR, WBAB and WUSB started playing our record, “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard” and sponsored our first Blotto concerts at My Father’s Place, Long Beach Pier, Belmont Park and Stony Brook U. Forty-five years later, it was an even bigger thrill to have our biopic, “Hello! My Name Is Blotto. The Movie!” chosen for the inaugural Music Documentary Film Festival at the L.I. Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Most amazing to us was that the festival screening and a follow-up showing were both completely sold out. Talk about coming full circle, my first high school band rehearsed about a mile away from the Hall of Fame.”
As part of the event, LIMEHOF is calling for local bands who want to participate. Interested musicians should identify 3 Blotto songs their band would be interested in performing and include links to your band’s website and/or social media, and state how many members are in your band. Each band or performer should contact Tom Needham by August 28th at: info@limusichalloffame.org
“If Blotto could play these songs, anyone can play them,” said Broadway.