Long Island Songwriter Ranks First In Audacy's 'Opening Act' Contest

WEST ISLIP, NY — A Long Island musician is leading a national competition to perform at Audacy's "We Can Survive" concert for suicide prevention awareness.

Brianna Calcagno, of West Islip, currently has two original songs that have made it to Audacy’s TOP 20 public voting round, as of Friday. The competition,"Opening Act", allows for an undiscovered artist to open for the benefit concert, whose proceeds benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

"We Can Survive" raises money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and has drawn big named performances from Alanis Morissette, One Republic, Taylor Swift, Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Ariana Grande and many others.

The first-prize winner will also take home $10,000.

Under the stage name "bree -on-uh", the Long Islanders currently ranks as the top of her group voting phase, for her songs "Dysfunctional Gamble" and "Meet me on the Red Eye."

Marcy Calcagno, the musician's mother, told Patch that suicide awareness is a cause close to her daughter's heart.

In the 8th grade, she suffered a traumatic brain injury that produced a painful condition called Occipital Neuralgia. It caused debilitating headaches and nerve pain shooting through every part of her body that left Calcagno bedridden for three years.

"It was a scary time as doctors couldn’t figure out how to relieve Brianna’s pain," Marcy said in an email. "Her high school years were slipping by, and suicide was a real risk for her and anyone like her in that amount of pain for so long."

Luckily, Calcagno was "blessed to finally" find a doctor who slowly reversed her condition to a point where she could live a normal life again, pursuing her dream of becoming a singer and writing her own songs.

The public can vote once a day for free, and donate to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to cast additional votes.

Voting ends on Thursday at 8 p.m. PDT. However, there will be eight more back to back public voting rounds, Marcy said.

"So keep voting, keep supporting and keep those who suffer that would consider suicide as the answer to their pain or problems in your thoughts and hearts," she said.

You can hear both songs on all streaming platforms like Apple iTunes and Spotify under "bree-on-uh."

To vote for Calcagno, click here.

To learn more about Opening Act, click here.