WE have a celebrity in our midst. He is also a virtuoso guitarist. His name is Bay Melnick Virgolino, but like many a star he is usually referenced by the monomym ‘Bay.’
Bay appeared on America’s Got Talent (AGT) on July 7 and wowed the judge’s with a rendition of Lenny Kravitz’s ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way,’ but that’s only part of the story. Did I mention that Bay lives in Long Island City? Or that he is only ten years old? Facts dispensed, we sat down with Bay to discuss his music career and future plans.
Bay’s fascination with music started when he became obsessed with the Steve Miller song ‘Rockin Me’ at age three, and asked his parents for guitar lessons. Wish granted at age four, he then gravitated to guitarists like Slash, Marcus King, and Joe Bonamassa, and eventually to the roots of today’s music: blues-men such as Buddy Guy, with whom he eventually got a chance to play with.
Bay (and his mom Michele), credit the ‘Kids Rock for Kids’ program for providing a tremendous amount of camaraderie and visibility to help Bay and many other young rock musicians all over the globe, come together, virtually and in-person. In addition, Kiko Loureiro the ex-guitarist from Megadeth has been a very helpful mentor to Bay and an”incredible human being” for advising him on all aspects of his career and musically.
Despite his age, Bay has already played many gigs, but none bigger than his AGT performance. Given the humongous audience, was he nervous? ‘A little bit,’ but he was also sick, having caught a cold flying to LA for the show. The day of the performance, he woke up and couldn’t swallow. Scrambling for remedies, manuka honey ended up doing the job, and the rest is history. Bay made it to the next round, so keep an eye out for him this Fall when he’s back on AGT.
//The US Open Qualifiers, also known as Fan Week, takes place next week at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing. Not only is it completely free, but in some ways it is even better than the actual tourney. Most of the matches are held in small venues, so you’re never more than one, two, three rows away from the action. Because of the intimacy, it’s not unusual for you to be sitting next to coaches, family and friends of the competitors on court. And a lot of these friends and families are from other countries, adding an international rivalry to the matches.
My recommendations are to stick to the first four days (Aug. 18-21), go earlier in the day as it’s been getting increasingly more crowded in the afternoon, and keep your eye out for close matches – if the score is tied 1-set apiece, take a seat and watch the final, then rinse repeat. Finish it off with dumplings in Flushing and you’ll have plenty to crow about to your frenemies ‘Augusting’ in Montauk.
10-Year-Old Guitar Prodigy Bay Melnick Virgolino SHOCKS The Judges! | AGT 2025
The Only Bay – Bay’s YouTube channel including his latest original
Kids Rock For Kids – a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that provides an opportunity for talented young musicians from around the world to use their voices and skills to uplift others, creating powerful live performances that connect young musicians through music and helping kids in need
The Best Restaurants in LIC – according to Eater NYC
I think they should have gone on to the top 10 and the top five he was incredible, that kid has more talent than some of the famous musicians! He’s got a great future and can become one of the greatest guitarists of all time if he keeps it up! Don’t know what happened to him in the final rounds on AGT!