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Pamela Steen
willie nelson
Here’s a roundup of arts events taking place across New Jersey through July 4th.
music
• willie nelson’s year Outlaw Music Festival The tour will head to the PNC Bank Center for the Arts in Holmdel on June 30 at 5:30 p.m.; Bob Dylan at the Liberty Mortgage Pavilion in Camden on July 4 at 2:30 p.m. and Robert Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will join Nelson, who turned 90 last year, for both shows, and Celisse will also be in attendance. In addition, “Fourth of July Picnic” will feature Maren Morris, Mavis Staples and Bowen*Young (starring “Nashville” actress Clare Bowen and her husband Brandon Young).
Nelson, 91, has recently missed several dates on the tour with an unexplained illness. In his absence, his son Lucas and his backing band the Family Band performed a set featuring his songs. But he is expected to be back in time for the jersey show.
• Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, Blackberry Smoke, Larkin Poe, The Outlaws, The Artimus Pyle Band and Molly Hatchet will perform at the 14th annual festival rocks, ribs and ridges The festival will be held June 28-30 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta. As the name of the festival suggests, both music and barbecue food will be featured. “Ridge” refers to the festival’s scenic area. Overnight camping and late-night karaoke will also be offered June 28-29.
Jukes will headline on June 28th, Blackberry Smoke on June 29th and Larkin Poe on June 30th.
Wycliffe Jean
• hip hop star Wyclef Jean and Fat Joe will perform at a free Fourth of July show on the banks of the Hudson River in Jersey City. Jean will perform at 8pm, Fat Joe will take the stage at 7pm and Funk Flex will DJ at 6pm.
Starting at noon, there will be food and craft vendors, family activities and performances by local musicians.
• Attendees are invited to attend wearing Druid or Roman attire new jersey operaVincenzo Bellini’s 1831 opera “Norma” will be performed June 30 at 4 p.m. at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Lowe. The story, set in 50 B.C., is basically a love triangle, featuring the Druid high priestess; Pollione, a Roman official with whom she had two children out of wedlock; and Adalgisa, a young novice priestess, with whom Pollione falls in love.
As with all New Jersey Opera performances, admission is free to students with ID. “I don’t want anyone to not have the opportunity to hear this music,” said New Jersey Opera founder and artistic director Joseph Mayon, who has sung the role of Pollione at Carnegie Hall and will perform the role this year. Singing again in this performance.
• Homemade guitars made from cigar boxes first appeared in the mid-1800s, but every generation has had its followers since then. Shane Speal, known as the “King of Cigar Box Guitars,” will join his band Snake Oil on Jersey Shore Cigar Box Guitar Festivalwill be held June 29 from noon to 8 p.m. at the Asbury Park Wall Elks Club in Neptune.
Other performers include April Mae & the June Bugs, James Day’s Suitcase Ramblers, Louie La Manna’s Electric Folk & Blues Band and The Cigar Box Stompers, and there will also be vendors, workshops and a display of antique guitar case guitars.
Alanis Morissette
•Alanis MorissetteThe Triple Moon Tour, with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Morgan Wade as opening acts, will take place at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden on July 2 at 7pm; July 3 at 7pm, Morissette shared on social media Mixes by DJ Cummerbund (listen below) her signature song “You Oughta Know” and Jett’s hit “I Hate Myself for Loving You.”
Wade is a country singer and songwriter who was nominated for the American Music Honors and Awards “New Star of the Year” in 2022 and the Academy of Country Music Award “New Female Vocalist of the Year” in 2023. Her biggest hit to date is her 2021 single “Wilder Days.”
• The Blues People band, which was sent by the North Jersey Blues Association to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis this year, will compete again at next year’s International Blues Challenge hosted by NJBS. Local IBC Challenge Held at Stanhope House on June 30 from 11am to 6pm Other participating bands include The Robert Hill Band, Charlie Apicella & Iron City, The BBD Rhythm & Blues Band, The Fabulous Rhythm Aces, Gypsy Eyes and Bone Daddy & the Hoochies, Big Frank & Mike Smith and Eddie’s Gumbo City will compete in singles/duos.
The International Blues Challenge is an annual competition and conference sponsored by the Memphis Blues Foundation; it bills itself as “the largest gathering of blues musicians in the world.” The next IBC is scheduled for January 7-11 and will feature performances as well as workshops, social events and more at multiple venues in Memphis.
remember jones
• Remember Jones will perform his own music on June 29 at Independence House in Asbury Park, with an encore set of mini-Queen songs. (Remember, Jones has hosted acclaimed Queen music shows in the past.) Beardspace will kick off the 7 p.m. show, and some of its members will also lend a hand on Queen songs.
• Orchestra gin hop flowers – known for ’90s hits like ‘Til I Hear It From You’, ‘Hey Jealousy’, ‘Found Out About You’ and ‘Follow You Down’ – will take place on July 3 at Camden Waterfront for free They will take the stage for the Freedom Festival show at 8pm, with Tara Hendricks opening at 6pm and the fireworks starting around 9:30.
• this summer POP 2000 TourThe boy band, which celebrates the last decade of the 20th century and the first of the 21st, will perform a free performance outdoors on June 29 at the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, with DJ music and vocals from 1 to 3 p.m. The show runs from 3 to 5 p.m.
• singer-songwriter Joe DursoThe longtime mainstay of the Jersey rock scene will celebrate his 60th birthday with a “Birthday Bash” at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park on June 28 at 8 p.m. The show, which also featured the Billy Walton Band and the Jack Thistle Band, benefited the Alzheimer’s Association of New York and the Daylight Foundation.
Hezekiah Walker
• Bishop Hezekiah Walker A free gospel music festival will be held at Monument Square Park in New Brunswick on June 29 from 2 to 6 p.m., also featuring Jekalyn Carr, The Jenkins Brothers, Twanda Muslim, David Cross, Lenore Davis, Tangie Cobb and Valerie Adams.
visual art
• Artworks to be Displayed in Trenton Art All Night Trenton Held at the War Memorial on 29 June from 3pm to midnight and 6am to 3pm on 29th June, with online programming available 24 hours a day (3pm on 29th June to 3pm on 30th June) . Events will include art exhibitions, musical performances, classes, demonstrations, film festivals and more. There will be no admission fee.
Movie
•“Top side” is a new documentary by Chris Wilcha that is partly about Wilcha working at the Flipside record store in Pompton Lakes as a teenager. (See Stephen Whitty’s recent interview with Wilcha here). Free-form radio station WFMU will screen the film at Monty Hall in Jersey City on June 30 at 7 p.m., with proceeds going to the radio station.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A hosted by Flipside owner Dan Dondiego and WFMU’s Todd-o-Phonic Todd.
“Sing Sing” opens in Montclair on June 28.
• As part of the North Shore Film Festival, Montclair Films will present summer display, playing June 27-30 at The Clairidge in Montclair, screening more than two dozen films that have not yet been widely released. These include “singing” (See the trailer below), June 28, 7:30 p.m. — A drama based on a true story about a group of incarcerated men who band together to stage a play. Several of the actors are alumni of the program on which the film is based, the arts rehabilitation program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with several cast members.
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Click here to see a list of free shows taking place across New Jersey.
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Comment
“Ocean Gem” Held at the Two Rivers Theater in Red Bank. (As of June 30)
“Pippin” at the Montclair Pioneer Theatre. (As of June 30)
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” at the Paper Mill Theater in Millburn. (As of July 3)
“George Segal: Theme and Variations”“ Zimmerli Museum of Art, New Brunswick. (As of July 31)
“Launch: The Dynamic World of Richard Whitten’s Studio” Morris Museum, Morristown. (As of September 1)
“Morvern Revealed: The Untold Story of New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” Morven Museum and Gardens in Princeton. (As of March 2)
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