Promoters Bank On an Island Renaissance
Volume 49, Issue 7
By Mike Lavers

In July 1979, France Joli, a then unknown French Canadian chanteuse from Montréal, performed her debut single, “Come to Me,” for 5,000 beachgoers in the Fire Island Pines for the first annual Pines Party. Donna Summer, the reigning disco queen of the era, had suddenly cancelled at the last minute and Joli, then only 16, reaped the rewards as her song quickly shot to the top of the charts and became part of the Studio 54 generation’s soundtrack.

More than a quarter of a century later, Joli made her triumphant return to Fire Island on July 16 with a packed performance at Cherry’s in Cherry Grove.

“You guys made me who I am,” she said to the crowd. “You were my first crowd.”

Joli is just one of a growing list of singers and performers who have either come to the East End or are planning to appear in the Grove and the Pines this season. Legendary New York DJ Junior Vasquez, who is currently in residence at New York’s Discotheque nightclub, spun for a packed crowd at the Pavilion during the Fourth of July weekend and club impresario Kevin Aviance was on hand to greet the hundreds of drag queens who descended upon the community during the 30th annual Invasion.

Meanwhile, the Grove has hosted the likes of Flotilla DeBarge, who famously parodied over-the-top daytime diva Star Jones Reynolds in a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) anti-fur campaign earlier this year, disco/club queen Carol Douglas and Carol Williams of the Sal Soul Orchestra this season. RuPaul, Bronx-born songstress Reina, who performed on the island once before, Martha Wash, Shannon and gay porn star Matthew Rush are also on the bill in the Grove this year.

In an interview with The News, Reina said that she decided to return to the island because of its beauty and what she described as the “great group of fun, party people.” And she added that she feels this season’s impressive roster of performers would make the Grove hotter than ever.

“It keeps the people coming back for more year after year,” Reina said. “Knowing that there will be good entertainment will bring the boys and girls out time and time again.”

Mike Fletcher, a promoter at Cherry’s, agreed. He said he hopes Reina and others would help to reintroduce people to the Grove and to Fire Island again.

“At this point, we hope to bring people out here to show people what Cherry Grove is all about," he said as he referred to the community’s heyday when clubs, such as the Monster, attracted thousands of clubgoers every weekend. “This is an effort to get people to notice Fire Island again.”

Larry Bullock of the Pavilion and the Blue Whale in the Pines took note of this effort when he noted that Madonna and Dionne Warwick were two of the many now A-listers and up-and-comers who flocked to the community during the 1970s and early 1980s. Bullock admitted that the community has seen a decline over the past decade, but he added, however, that his new line-up, which includes the colorful Robin Byrd’s weekly bulgefest, the classically trained Shequida, Cashetta and Candis Cayne, are reviving Pines nightlife.

“[People] need a reason to come out,” Bullock said. “There are social aspects here and people are forced to interact with people on an individual basis. It’s so beautiful [and] we want to be part of the Fire Island revival.”