Uniphi Good: Three Days Of Music and Art

Hand-signed artwork by musicians, including this self-portrait by Ringo Starr, will be on display at the 69 Main Street Gallery in Southampton

A highlight of the festival will be a Sept. 19 concert at the Stephen Talkhouse

Sep. 10, 2015

Christopher Walsh

Uniphi Good, an East Hampton and Manhattan management, marketing, and media company that emphasizes selfless action and universally beneficial outcomes, will present its second annual East End Music and Arts Festival from next Thursday through Sept. 19. The three-day festival will benefit the Springs Food Pantry, the Wounded Warrior Project, and Higher Orbits, the latter a nonprofit organization that promotes science, technology, engineering, and math along with leadership, teamwork, and communication through spaceflight.

A highlight of the festival will be a Sept. 19 concert at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett featuring Darryl (DMC) McDaniels of the pioneering rap group Run-DMC, the Grammy-nominated band Tonic, and the singer-songwriters Glen Phillips, of Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Toby Lightman.

The festival will also feature a three-day art show at the 69 Main Street Gallery in Southampton, at which hand-signed artwork by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Bob Dylan will be exhibited for the first time. The show will open with a V.I.P. reception on Friday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m.

For children, Art and Astronauts happens on Sept. 19 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Springs Presbyterian Church community center. Art educators will lead children in projects related to space and the Abstract Expressionist movement. Capt. Frank Culbertson, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut, will be on hand, as will the Vanderbilt Museum’s Discovering the Universe mobile classroom.

Mr. McDaniels will sign copies of his comic books, from his Darryl Makes Comics publishing house, on Sept. 19 at 2 p.m. at BookHampton in East Hampton. At 5 p.m. on the same day, Tonic, Mr. Phillips, and Ms. Lightman will perform and sign their recordings at Innersleeve Records in Amagansett.

The festival’s timing, two weeks after Labor Day weekend, was intentional, said Annie Balliro, Uniphi Good’s president and chief executive. “We wanted to do something slightly after the really crazy season, but also, I think fall is perfect here,” she said. “We wanted to create a multi-event festival to not only speak to visitors, but for our local folks and community.”

All of the company’s events benefit charity organizations. “It’s really important to us to give back,” she said. “I think there is a big disconnect between this glamorized version of the Hamptons and an awareness of how many people are in need. The reality is that the Hamptons are like any other place in the world. There is need out here. Our company wanted to support the community and raise money for these organizations.”

Fortunately, all those participating in the festival are part of the Uniphi Good family, Ms. Balliro said. “We always say, ‘Good friends, good times, good vibes.’ That’s where this comes from. This is an invitation for the whole community to join this wonderful group of friends and come together to support wonderful music, great art, and a kids event with astronauts — a unique multiplatform event that everyone can come celebrate with us.”

As a management agency, Uniphi Good represents over 20 astronauts. Last year, Ms. Balliro said, the firm began an effort to promote an extension of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education that adds art to the mix. “It’s important to figure out a way to create an event where we could have STEAM education activities.” In Springs, she said, “there is an incredible force for artistic expression,” referencing artists, including Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, who lived and created there.

“We do a very cool, borderline-nuts art project,” Ms. Balliro said, “where we compare a lot of Abstract Expressionist art to what space looks like. When you ask, ‘Is this space, or a picture by Pollock?’ it’s hard to tell! They’re getting an education about the area and local art history. From there, we segue into a real treat, meeting real, live astronauts.”

General admission tickets to the Sept. 19 concert at the Stephen Talkhouse cost $75. A limited number of V.I.P. packages that include a preshow meet-and-greet with the artists and a limited edition festival poster that can be signed by them cost $100. They are available at uniphigood.com/tix and stephentalkhouse.com. Doors open at 6 p.m. for V.I.P.s and at 7 for general admission ticketholders.