Long before luxury beach clubs and celebrity hotspots became synonymous with the Hamptons, places like Summers Beach Club defined Long Island’s summer nightlife. During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, thousands of Long Islanders and vacationers made the trip to Dune Road in East Quogue to spend long summer afternoons listening to live rock bands, dancing under the sun, and enjoying one of New York’s most unforgettable beach party scenes. I was fortunate enough to experience Summers Beach Club from the stage as a member of the rock band Phase IV, giving me a firsthand look at one of Long Island’s most legendary beach clubs during its glory years.
Summers Beach Club Parking Lot Sign Photo: Brian Kachejian 1989
The Hamptons on Long Island have a long history of offering New Yorkers and tourists the ultimate lineup of legendary clubs, dating back to the 1960s. In East Quogue on Dune Road, there were three clubs that became the “it” places to hit during the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Summers Beach Club, Hot Dog Beach, and Neptune’s were packed on a daily basis. All the clubs were close to each other. They all featured live bands, DJs, and huge crowds.
The Nor’easter storm of 1991 destroyed Summers Beach Club. The club was eventually rebuilt, but it was not the same as before. Even though Summers Beach club remained successful, the emergence of hip hop in the nineties and other cultural changes turned the place into a very different club from what it had been in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
I was in a band called Phase IV that used to play Summers Beach Club in the 1980’s. We played there every Wednesday afternoon from June to the end of August for a few years. Summers Beach Club had their bands start at 1.00 pm and play until 7:00 pm. All bands played long sets with long breaks. Between sets, a DJ would spin records. The bands that played at Summers were all professional, full-time rock-and-roll cover bands. When the band went off at Summers, the band at Neptunes would go on. The clubs seemed to time the bands’ sets so there would not be competition for volume between the two clubs. Summers and Neptunes were not right next door to each other, but they were close enough that you could hear the bands from each club when they were playing.
The crowds at Summers were a mix of Long Islanders, city folk, and tourists. Most of the people who frequented Summers Beach Club were in their twenties, but of course, there was always a variety of people from every age group.
Summers Beach Club had an indoor bar that remained closed during the week. On weekdays in the 80s, the club closed at night. On weekends, they were open at night, and the indoor bars were only used then. However, the Summers Beach Club experience was all about the great outdoors. There was nothing like sipping a Pina Colada on a stool under the sun on an open deck, listening to some great music. While we are on the topic of Pina Coladas, I have never tasted a Pina Colada as good as the ones that were made at Summers. Unlike many clubs that used premixed drinks, Summers Beach Club would open a fresh can of Coco Lopez, fresh pineapple juice, and rum every time they blended a pitcher. They had many different frozen drinks at Summers Beach Club, but the basic Pina Coladas were by far their best.
There were two bars on the open deck at Summers Beach Club. There was a bar in the center of the deck with a wooden roof. The bar has about 10 chairs in a row on each of its four sides. There was also a small bar on the edge of the deck overlooking the beach that was uncovered. Summers Beach Club had a large stage for bands. Between the band stage and the center bar was a large area for dancing. However, when the bands were cooking, there was dancing everywhere.
Summers Beach Club – Phase IV on stage
The owners of Summers Beach Club wanted a wild party atmosphere. They wanted people to dance, sweat, and drink. The club owners would send shot girls up onto the stage to force the musicians to drink. They wanted the band to be as loose as possible to ignite that wild party atmosphere. In between sets, the musicians would MC drinking contests at the bar. A Summer’s Beach Club favorite was belly button shots, in which a person would lie down on the bar, and a member of the opposite sex would drink from a shot glass placed in the belly button of the person lying on the bar. The only catch was that they could not use their hands, and they had to crawl over the person to do it. At times, it got a bit crazy.
A big “no, no” at Summers Beach Club was drinking on the beach. All alcohol consumption had to be done on the deck. From the bandstand, I saw many people getting arrested for drinking on the beach. The East Quogue Police would handcuff people right on the beach if they were caught drinking on the sand.
The bands that played at Summers could be pretty loud. The East Quogue Police would often come up on the deck and measure our volume with sound meters. We were told many times to turn down or pack up. It was always tough to “turn it down” when the crowd was going wild, screaming at you to turn it up.
In the late 1960s, Billy Joel and his band The Hassles used to play at Summer Beach Club. I met the band’s original drummer, Jon Small, at Summer’s one afternoon when we were playing there. He had many great stories about the Hassles. A week later, we were on stage, and there was Billy Joel sitting at the bar watching us play. That was the type of place it was. You never knew who would show up.
Summers was one of three big-time beach clubs on Dune Road. Neptunes and Hot Dog Beach were the other two where bands played during the day and at night on weekends. They were fun places, but I always loved Summers the best.
The 70s and 80s were the time period when Long Islanders had so many clubs to choose from, where they could see great rock bands and have a really good time. So many clubs had live music seven nights a week. There was a different type of club for everyone. That was a long time ago…..
Updated June 28, 2026
