Parsippany Based Flight Lights Band Lands Big Win @ NJ State Fair

If you live in the Lake Parsippany area, you may have heard some funky tunes groovin the airwaves last summer/fall. Flight Lights, a SoulFunk band consisting of Parsippany Hills alum Tommy Riley (drums) and Chris Riley (bass), along with their bandmates Matt Takesh (guitar/lead vocals), Sam Ciceri (guitar/vocals), and Caleb MacGray (keyboard/vocals), found a way to start a band in the middle of the pandemic. They relied on long practices on the back porch of the Riley’s Parsippany home to stay safe yet satisfy that need to jam!

All of that hard work paid off as Flight Lights won the 103.7 NNJ Battle of the Bands at the State Fair this past Friday, August 13th and took home the $1,000 grand prize. Their performance was electric, seamlessly flowing between their original music and covers of the bands who have influenced their style, like the Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band. The set took the crowd on a little journey, with the band guiding the energy levels as professional jam bands do. Matt and Sam fed off each other with face-melting solos and funky rifts that got the crowd moving. Tommy laid down his distinctive deep rooted funky grooves on the drums, while Caleb filled their sound with soulful keys, and Chris held it all down with the groovy bass lines. Their chemistry was truly a sight to see! They finished off the set with a cover of Whipping Post that would have made the Allman Brothers proud. Check it out for yourself below.

Despite being together for less than a year, the band was incredibly tight and able to wow a panel of celebrity judges. Don Oriolo (a past publishing executive at top record labels who worked with Bon Jovi and signed Meat Loaf), Al Chez (longtime trumpet player on CBS's "The Late Show with David Letterman."), and Cat Chez (Home Shopping Network alum and band manager), made up the esteemed group of judges. The other bands World Gone Madd and Beyond The Daze brought the competition high energy performances.

This win is not Flight Lights' first time on top of the podium. The band won the Morristown On Stage talent show back in March. They took over that competition with their cover of Franklin’s Tower by the Grateful Dead which can be seen below. One of the Morristown judges claimed they were “so good, he would pay to see them again!”

Fortunately for Parsippany residents, Flight Lights will be playing right on Lake Parsippany at Drewes Beach, Saturday August 28th 7:30-9PM. Be sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with their music and shows!