Dancing on the Beach: Goldilocks Plays in North Hempstead's Summer Concert Series

The rain may have postponed the Goldilocks Band from performing last Sunday at North Hempstead Beach Park for the summer concert series, but the band got lucky with a gorgeous summer day Saturday afternoon when they performed over 20 songs for a mostly middle-aged to senior citizen crowd.

Goldilocks, a primarily Long Island-based cover band, consists of lead vocalist Leslie Kohn, drummer Mike Kohn and two back-up guitarists/vocalists and plays current and classic rock tunes from the 30s and 40s to the 60s and 70s and recently even some Lady Gaga.

“Mike [Kohn] was playing with a group and the girl left, so within a month of us meeting — and we’re also married — we started Goldilocks and the band is five years old,” Leslie Kohn explained.   

The name Goldilocks came about because, Leslie Kohn said, the band thought it was similar to the band Blondie, and with Leslie’s very blonde hair the name seemed perfect.

“We kind of drafted [Leslie] into the band,” said Mike Kohn, publisher of the newspaper Tower Times for the North Shore Towers residents in Floral Park. “The guys in the band wanted her and I was trying to avoid having my girlfriend in the band at the time, but it worked out really well and we’ve been playing all over the place.”

The band kicked off their hour and a half gig with a little reggae and the tunes “The Tide is High” by Blondie and “Hey Soul Sister” by Train.

As soon as the music started, a group of senior citizens started line dancing, and didn’t stop until the concert was over.

“We come out to do line dancing, we have a crowd that follows us and we just have a lot of fun,” Simon Lemli said. “I can’t think of anything nicer than to dance on the beach. It makes you happy and maybe get a little suntan.”

Lemli and his wife, Marilyn, belong to a leisure club in Mineola and although not professionals, they teach line dancing. They also attend all the concerts in the Town of Hempstead’s summer concert series.

As the band moved into songs like “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett, “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry  and a Jackson Five medley, audience members sang and clapped along in their parked beach chairs on the sand; getting tans while listening to live music.

Goldilocks plays gigs all over New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, whether it is at popular casinos, top bars and clubs or weddings and parties.

“If we’re playing somewhere that has a college crowd, we want to make sure we play the music that they would like to hear,” Leslie Kohn said. “Similarly, we’re here today so we’re looking at our set list and making sure that we select material that people will enjoy.”

The line dancers especially enjoyed the music stylings of Goldilocks and Lemli said, “I think they’re terrific…they do a beautiful chorus. They gave us a little spirit.”

Lemli’s wife Marilyn said, “We thought maybe you couldn’t dance to it, but you can.”