Best Years Ever Band (B.Y.E. Band) Bands together and gives back to the community

By Paula Green

One Christmas gift purchased several years ago led to bigger and better things for Mike and Shirlene Bungo of Gibsonia. The couple has been performing together for the past year and a half. The name of their group is Best Years Ever Band (B.Y.E. Band). They have a unique and fun story about how things started for them.

“We have a band (duo) that plays around town. I bought my wife, Shirlene, a keyboard a few years back for Christmas. We got ourselves a music and vocal coach and began a journey toward being able to play some songs for our family and friends. After five years, a friend entered us in a talent show, which went quite well. From there, we decided it would be fun to see if we could get good enough to perform. Little did we know that to play a three-hour gig, you need about 40 songs! We started our trek to be the best live local show in town,” Mike said.

B.Y.E Band plays a wide variety of music. The most compliments they generally receive are around their setlist. They have played popular songs from the last seven decades. The couple likes to play songs that people love and can sing along to.

B.Y.E. Band made its debut in early 2022 and has played 24 times. The fantastic part of their story is that they donate 100% of their fees and tips to charity and the staff and venue that host their performances.

“A few charitable causes that we support are The Lori Fund (fallen soldier families), The Izzie Fund (lifesaving medical care for pet families), Hammock Dunes Care (local police athletic leagues), Pennies From Heaven (financial support for families that have hospitalized children), and Treesdale Golf & Country Club Employee Scholarship Fund. We donate all tips and fees and make personal donations. To date, we have only worked with charities that have zero admin fees, and we want to keep it that way,” said Mike.

“We are always looking for bigger audiences at our performances, as a larger audience provides a means to support our charities substantially. The generosity of our fans has been heartwarming. We have been earning our following with great music and have found that the combination of a great night out with the addition of supporting someone in need is what brings people to our shows. We enjoy going to a familiar venue where we know the staff and have the logistics down. It makes life easier, and having a waiter or waitress welcome us back is always great.” Mike added.

The couple has come a long way from their old corporate jobs. Shirlene used to work for Tropicana. She was a computer programmer who then transitioned into Supply Chain Management. Mike worked at Eaton Corp. for 37 years. Since they are retired, they’re snowbirds, so in addition to performing concerts in Pittsburgh, they also play in Palm Coast, Florida. “We head to Florida in mid-October and stay until early May. We came back one year in April, and it snowed! So, our all-go on the weather is now any time after the Kentucky Derby,” Mike said.

For more information on Best Years Ever Band (B.Y.E. Band), visit www.byeband.com. n