The late Jerry Tuthill, namesake of Claudio’s Crabby Jerry’s in Greenport, loved music, said his daughter Jackie Tuthill Sarkis. To honor him his family is presenting Tribute Thursdays at Claudio’s Clam Bar featuring some of his favorite music.
“We started to think about what he liked best,” says Sarkis. “Chicago, Billy Joel, Jimmy Buffett — we just started looking at exciting bands that people could dance to, something for the 30-plus crowd.”
With help from sister Erika Tuthill Cabral, mom Beatsy Tuthill, aunt Kathy Claudio, and aunt and uncle Jan and Bill Claudio, Sarkis’ dream of a summer of tribute band performances is now set.
“Every single band we asked was available,” says Sarkis, “so everything just fell into place. In fact, one of the Bee Gees band members remembered a great experience with my dad here 15 years ago and said he couldn’t wait to come back. It’s like it was meant to be.”
Last Thursday, the New York Bee Gees tribute band kicked off the series; next in line is ABBA tribute band Dancing Dreams.
Each Tribute Thursday will also include a fundraiser to benefit the American Legion Burton Potter Post No. 185 in Greenport, Sarkis said.
“We’ll have a weekly raffle and drink special to help with the renovation,” she said.
Greenport’s American Legion was closed 10 years ago and restoration efforts have been ongoing since 2011. For many years, the Legion’s roller rink was a favorite spot for local families until the building fell into disrepair.
Sarkis said that many members of her family are native Greenporters and they wanted to tie the event in with the American Legion to give back to the community.
Performances take place each Thursday at 8 p.m. until August 31. Tickets are available for pre-purchase and the events are for adults 21 and over. For more information visit the Claudio’s website.
Correction: The tribute band was misidentified in the original version of this story. Pictured in the photograph are the New York Bee Gees.
