Local artists dish out live music at Mister Lee’s

Suited up in a heart-patterned shirt and cowboy boots, Michael Rafalowich — also known as DJ Big Sir —  shuffles through his record collection as he blends one R&B track into the next.  

It’s past 9 p.m. on Feb. 15 when he finally finishes his set at Mister Lee’s Noodles on East Third Street. By then, diners have all left, and the restaurant is ready to close. 

Rafalowich is one of several musicians who takes the stage at the restaurant each Friday and Saturday from 6-9 p.m. For this roster of performers, the South Side ramen spot serves as a place to add to the ambiance, to play music with old friends or to take part in the local arts scene.

When Rafalowich moved from New York City to Easton in 2018, he was looking for places to perform in the Lehigh Valley. He said he felt his energy complimented Mister Lee’s aesthetic, so he was happy to join its rotation of musicians. 

“The nice thing about Mister Lee’s is you can pretty much play whatever you want here,” Rafalowich said. 

He said his sets are influenced by the Latin and Black-inspired music he grew up listening to. Most nights he plays alone, but he is sometimes joined by other members of the Night Lighters trio, a group he created with fellow DJs Eric Sanders and Andrew McIntosh in 2021.

Rafalowich said the group began as a way to avoid competing against each other for gigs in the area, and the three have since become best friends. The group has also become his support system and creative outlet, he said. 

For Rafalowich, DJing is only a hobby. He said he knows people in the area who DJ full time, but he thinks they’re restricted to only playing the most popular music out of their laptops.

“I want to have the freedom to do what I want to do,” he said. “I don’t want it to be a job.”

Rafalowich started playing at Mister Lee’s through the restaurant’s manager, Steven Pekarik, who is responsible for booking artists.

Pekarik said featuring live music at Mister Lee’s Noodles has always been a goal for owners Erin Shea and Lee Chizmar. Since they opened the South Bethlehem location in 2021, the restaurant has welcomed a range of Lehigh Valley musicians.

Pekarik also said when he first heard the owners wanted to book live musicians, he was skeptical. 

“I had some doubts about it, because I know how guests can get, especially with the volume,” Pekarik said.

But with time, he said he’s learned a lot in the role, including the best volume to play the music at and the types of artists that will best fit the space. The artists’ response to constructive feedback and their ability to communicate is also important to him when considering who to book, he said. 

Because Mister Lee’s has a good reputation among artists, Pekarik said many people want to play there. Many of the artists were recommended by other performers, he said, and he frequently receives emails from guests and other musicians wanting to play at the restaurant.  

Pekarik currently has a lineup of reliable artists, and he said he tries to create a blend of new acts and ones who have been there from the start. 

“I try to balance it out and not stick to one specific genre,” Pekarik said. “I think I have a nice mixed bag of different flavors.”

Cory Shelly, another musician who regularly appears at Mister Lee’s, said performing there is different compared to most venues, as there’s a balance between playing background music while still being able to connect with audiences. 

Shelly said guests mostly keep to themselves while eating dinner, but some approach him and his band to compliment them, sing or dance along to the music and request songs. 

He said it’s special to share music with strangers and have his songs mean something to them.

For his first performance at the restaurant in 2023, he only brought an acoustic guitar, a harmonica, a kick drum on one foot and a hi-hat on the other. While performing makes him nervous, he said he finds joy in the anticipation that comes with seeing how the crowd will react to his music. 

After a couple of shows, Shelly said he asked guitarist Nick VanWert and drummer Bob Stevens to join him. VanWert is Shelly’s former co-worker and roommate, and Shelly met Stevens through mutual music circles. Shelly said the three bandmates are close, often spending time together outside of their shows. 

He also said pursuing music became difficult after the COVID pandemic shut down much of the area’s music scene, but he returned to performing in 2021. 

While he hopes to turn his passion for playing music into a full-time job, Shelley said he has faced obstacles. 

“In the past four years, there have been potential and hopeful opportunities to make it more full time,” he said. “But they just haven’t panned out, so you take the hits and keep going.”

He said he draws song inspiration from the difficulties and setbacks he’s faced, such as a period of unemployment, when he experienced a stark contrast between dark thoughts and happy moments. 

“I’m in the backyard, and I’m throwing baseballs with my 9- and 7-year-old, so they’re having the time of their lives,” Shelly said. “But in the back of my mind, (I’m thinking), ‘I’m broke, I gotta pay bills, I gotta feed my kids.’”

Along with having his own passion for music, he said his family members have been his biggest supporters and have inspired some of the music he writes. His family also gives him a sense of completeness that was missing from his life growing up, when he turned to music to find safety, Shelly said.

For the last few months, Shelly has been working full time for his friend’s business, Eastern Forest Products, through which he stacks lumber and drives delivery trucks. Between jobs and on weekends, he tries to fly to Tennessee to work on his next album with musicians at Fatback Sound, but he said hasn’t been able to travel much this year because of the birth of his son. 

Pekarik said his role is all about inviting people who share that love for music, as the music and food is all curated with passion at Mister Lee’s. 

“Servers love what they do, chefs love what they do, management loves what they do, musicians love what they do, and it all makes sense,” Pekarik said. “If that’s all happening, then the guests reap the benefits.”