The twangy guitar and driving beat are the sounds of the Brooklyn-based trio Habbina Habbina. If you ask the guys about their sound, they will sum it up as Mediterranean surf, with a nod to their Israeli roots.

“Not enough people play it as loud as we would like it to be, and it’s music that is so good, and it should be not only preserved, but celebrated,” guitarist Amit Peled said.

The band is one of many musical groups of different genres playing free concerts at Culture Lab LIC. There are shows every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the end of October on the outdoor stage set up in a Long Island City parking lot. 

“Queens is the world’s borough, so this is the world’s parking lot, right, I guess, for concerts? We have Habbina Habbina, which is surf, Middle Eastern, we have rock bands, we have hip-hop, a lot of jazz bands, classical music, any genre you can think of, we have out here," Edjo Wheeler, the executive director and founder of Culture Lab LIC, said.

Visitors can also check out Culture Lab’s indoor galleries.

The current exhibition is called “The Search For Utopia,” an arts exchange between the United States and Slovakia. They have performances year-round, also on two indoor stages.

But summer is for the parking lot, and the guys from Habbina Habbina say it’s a cool place to play and get some new ears on their music.  

“It’s such a different vibe than playing at a venue where you've got to promote, and people that follow you are the ones that are going to come, but here you've got people from all walks of life, and they might have never heard this sound,” drummer Dani Danor said.

Bass player Ran Livneh agrees it’s a cool vibe outdoors in Long Island City. 

“I really love the environment here, especially with the open air. It feels like a music festival,” Livneh said.

For a schedule of concerts and other events at Culture Lab LIC, head to their website.