Community Corner

Event Preview: Bobby Bandiera to Perform Benefit Concert

Bandiera ticket sales to aid Alternatives for Children.

Eight-year Bon Jovi guitar player Bobby Bandiera will take the stage at the on Saturday at 4 p.m. for a benefit for Alternatives for Children, a pre-school for developmentally delayed children.

Bandiera’s grandson, Mateo, of East Quogue, is a student at the school’s Southampton location and has a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD-NOS).

Bandiera's son also has autism.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I am fortunate enough to have a very talented musician for a father,” said Bandiera's daughter, Carli Bandiera Rodriguez, who added she didn’t have to do much except make a phone call to get her dad, who lives in New Jersey, to do the concert. 

“My father is thrilled to be able to put on this concert to help out his grandson’s school,” she said.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Not only has Bandiera played with Bon Jovi, he has also performed with Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, B.B King, and Stevie Wonder. He is also a veteran member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

Rodriguez said she learned her son had a developmental disorder when he was just two years old.

With her son saying fewer than two words and not making eye contact, Rodriguez said she was advised by her pediatrician to call Suffolk County’s early intervention program.

While some days are hard and it is difficult sometimes to see other children who are developing normally, Rodriguez said she “counts her blessings.”

Her son Mateo is a happy child who enjoys going to school, she said.

“He has done nothing but progress at school,” said Rodriguez, who says he shows love to his teacher but putting his hands on her face.

“He doesn’t do that to just anyone,” said Rodriguez. “He was saying I love you.”

Alternatives for Children was started in 1988 and has four locations, Aquebogue, East Setauket, Melville and Southampton. The pre-school serves more than 600 children each year.

The school is funded through state grants, and the Bandiera concert is just one annual fundraiser that is necessary to keep programming in place.

In addition to hearing the sounds of Bandiera, attendees will be treated to a performance by Mean Gene and the Flame Throwers, who hail from Hampton Bays. Mean Gene, who has worked with Bandiera, will be opening the show.

Tickets to the show range between $50 and $150 with VIP tickets available for a cocktail meet and greet with Bandiera before the concert. For more information, click .


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here