Long Beach Island bade farewell to summer with a resounding bang, kicking off Labor Day weekend early with a Thursday evening performance by nationally revered folk and blues artist Chris Smither.

A delighted audience enjoyed an intimate performance at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences in Loveladies. An Americana contemporary to Greenwich singer/songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Eric Andersen, Smither cultivated himself in the Cambridge, Mass.