On a Monday night in East Setauket, the sounds of guitars strumming and drums blaring poured out from the Country Corner. Inside, artists of all kind supported one another in their craft.

This open mic, a time when poets, musicians, comedians and performers of all kinds have the stage for themselves for a slot of time, came from Planet of Sound Promotions, a Long Island based “music promotion and booking collective.” And events like this from Planet of Sound Promotions are not rare, as concerts, open mics and other events are practically held every day on Long Island.

“About a decade ago, me and a group of friends founded Planet of Sound Promotions,” said Maxwell Peters, who calls himself the “captain” of Planet of Sound Promotions. “We were all musicians. There was a few people in the group who weren’t necessarily musicians but were very big fans and were involved in the music scene and were photographers or people writing reviews. There was about 15 people or so.”

This design lasted for a couple years, a time where the group built up Planet of Sound Promotions, hosting open mics and other types of events at an old art gallery in Rocky Point.

“Over the years it just kind of became my baby,” Peters said. “It just became a hobby and then it became an occupation… I do a whole bunch of different things in the music industry, but this basically part of my life now.”

Today, Planet of Sound Promotions holds events that have hosted upwards 500 people, and there are events all the time, providing a space for local artists and musicians to share their skills and creative work.

“It grew exponentially in the last decade,” Peters said. “The music scene, just like anything in New York, in the winter goes into hibernation. But the winter before the pandemic, November of 2019 to… January even, it kept going. It was almost like it didn’t die down like it normally would in the winter. So, that was ironic, but then of course it stopped completely two months later.”

The pandemic for musicians and promoters like Peters was a difficult time, as it practically made their job impossible to do in a time of quarantine and isolation.

“I definitely learned to be resilient,” Peters said. “And I think a lot of musicians who are still here, I think a lot of people who are enjoying the music scene, have learned to be resilient.”

Different avenues had to be taken in order to make these culturally and artistically important events happen, whether it was virtual or outdoor events. And streaming events was something Planet of Sound Promotions was doing even before the pandemic.

Since the pandemic, Peters said that there’s been an influx of people he’s never seen at the events before, as “cabin fever” had local music fans missing live music.

“There’s people who came every now and then to events before the pandemic, and the pandemic actually, for some people, made them change their mind and made them think ‘wow, I can’t believe I didn’t check this out more,” Peters said.

The latest Covid surge, however, posed another challenge for bookers like Peters: cancellations.

“Usually cancellation is because of the weather, not because half the lineup couldn’t make it,” Peters said. “During Christmas and Hanukkah, I would say you had a lot of people who maybe they booked the event, thinking they would see how everything plays out, and then maybe they thought ‘I want to visit my family, should I really be playing this show on Friday before I see them on Saturday?'”

But as the new year progresses, cancellations are becoming less and less.

What Peters said he has learned the most about the Long Island music scene is that there are so many people from many different walks of life who are contributing to the culture, and that’s what makes it vibrant.

To find Planet of Sound Promotions’s events, visit the Facebook page.