Long Island's Nine Days to play two shows in one night at Boulton Center

For Nine Days, the YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts in Bay Shore has become their special place.

“We think of it as our room,” says singer-guitarist John Hampson, adding that the St. James-based band did the album release party for “Snapshots” (Digitally Sound) there in 2016. “I want every one of these shows to be different. I see it as keeping our little community alive.”

On May 12, Nine Days is actually planning two shows at the Boulton. The early show will be an acoustic show, where Hampson says the band will do “rare songs that we haven’t played since our Village Pub days when we played everything we had.” The 8 p.m. show will feature a full set of songs from the band’s two-decade history, including the chart-topping “Absolutely (Story of a Girl).”

“The fun part is when you stumble across a reinvention of a song — something that makes it feel fresh and new and fun,” says Hampson, adding that the band is planning a summer tour. “We’re never going to break up. We’re always creating. And this just feels right in our lives right now.”  

Nine Days plays Boulton Center, 37 W. Main St., Bay Shore, 631-969-1101, boultoncenter.org, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on May 12. Tickets are $20-$30.