Billy Joel Band member Michael DelGuidice's Live on the Porch opens this weekend in Smithtown

A new music venue is officially opening its doors on Long Island this weekend. Michael DelGuidice’s Live on the Porch in Smithtown will hold its grand opening celebration Friday and Saturday featuring performances from its owner. The venue held a soft opening last month.

“This has been a dream for 20 years,” said DelGuidice, 55. “I’m drawing upon my experience of playing different venues all over the world for the past two decades. It was hard to find a room where I could do my own original material and people would actually listen. Instead of finding one, I built one.”

Since 2013, DelGuidice has played guitar and sang background vocals in Billy Joel’s band in addition to leading his own, The Michael DelGuidice Band, performing classic rock covers at places like Mulcahy’s in Wantagh and The Paramount in Huntington. During the pandemic, DelGuidice developed a large following on Facebook Live on Wednesdays and Saturdays with his streaming concert series, “Live on the Porch.” DelGuidice connected with his fans by taking requests through the comments feed.

“The heart and passion for this project stems from the ‘Live on the Porch’ series on Facebook during COVID,” he said. “Many people became friends and bonded with each other. It carried over into the spirit of this venue.”

During the two-night grand opening, he will be backed by his six-piece band performing original material from his solo albums “Miller Place” (2010), “My Street” (2011) and “Mask Production” (2023).

The venue will also focus on supporting local artists playing their own songs.

“We are in a TikTok world where it’s show me 30 seconds and move on. This venue brings people back to a place where they can sit down and properly listen to music,” DelGuidice said. “With A.I. taking over the industry, we want to return to people sharing their stories and their souls, which are imprinted on their music, by giving young artists a chance to grow and build a local following.”

DelGuidice said he plans to hold his own monthly game show called, “Porch Idol” where new local artists will get an opportunity to perform before a panel of judges and a crowd, both who vote to see who gets booked for a headline show.

The 4,000-square-foot mini-theater seats 127 people with a VIP balcony section that holds 20. The front room of the venue features an L-shaped fully stocked bar with high-top cocktail tables and a small stage in the right corner.

“The smaller stage is a place to groom younger artists,” DelGuidice said. “We want them to get comfortable with an audience first before they move to the bigger stage and command a room.”

Other upcoming shows include DelGuidice’s tribute to John Lennon and Paul McCartney with his bandmate Joe DeJesu called “John vs. Paul” on May 19, an acoustic spotlight night with Michael Also and Dan Wood on May 20, local country singer JD Leonard on May 22, DelGuidice’s yacht rock tribute From the Cans Band on May 23 and Long Island’s folk rock fivesome Miles to Dayton on June 6.

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.