Refugee shared the stage with The 90’s Band. Front-man Mike Epstein (Tom Petty) sang lead vocals and accompanied himself on guitar. They kicked off their set with “Runnin’ Down a Dram,” which was followed by “Listen to Her Heart” and “Don’t Do Me Like That.”
Aside from Epstein, this ultimate Tom Petty tribute band is made up of Dominick Rosato on lead guitar, Andrew Nadien on keyboards and background vocals, Phil Weiss on drums, Hillary Epstein on backing vocals and keyboards, and bassist Matt Lauro.
It was great to see Mike and Hillary Epstein collaborate together on “Stop Dragging My Heart Around,” where they were both transformative as Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks respectively. Hillary noted that if the audience liked what they just heard (the Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks duet), they are also in a tribute band called Fleetwood Macked, which honors the music of Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks. “American Girl” was the quintessential sing-along tune with the Mulcahy’s audience, and another song that was well-received was their namesake song “Refugee.”
They closed their show with the Tom Petty signature tune “Free Fallin’,” where everybody was singing along, and several audience members lit up their phones, during this moving performance. The inclusion of “Big Weekend” in their set was an added bonus.
The Verdict
In summartion, Refugee put on a soaring Tom Petty tribute show at Mulcahy’s Pub and Concert Hall on Long Island. Their live set at Mulcahy’s garnered two giant thumbs up.
For more information on Refugee, check out their official homepage, and their Facebook page.
