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Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites... 09/03/2026

by Danny Coleman

"We're a blues infused southern rock band out of Nashville, Tennessee," began Parker Barrow drummer Dylan "Trigg"Turner as he discussed the band, their new album, a local Jersey Connection and their show this evening, September 3 at The Debonair Music Hall in Teaneck. "My wife and I started the band about eight years ago and over the last several years we've put together a solidified lineup of extremely talented awesome musicians who are some of our best friends and are family. We are blessed to be out here traveling the country and even internationally to do what we love with the people we love; man, it's a real blessing and we're super excited to be returning back to Teaneck and back to New Jersey. Our keyboard player, Eric Safka is actually from Asbury Park so it's sort of a home market for us. Eric has been with us for about two years now and he is a madman on the organ (Laughs)."



 

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Mason Gross School of the Arts presents AJAYE in concert on October 1st

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Mason Gross School of the Arts is set to host a live concert by Nashville-based acoustic singer-songwriter AJAYE on Thursday, October 1, 2026 from from 7:30pm to 9:00pm. The free concert of original music, which will also include a short performance by a Rutgers music student, singer-songwriter Sam Tunkel, will take place at the intimate Victoria J. Mastrobuono Theater, part of the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center on the Douglass Campus.



George Street Playhouse presents "The Unexpected 3rd"

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- George Street Playhouse presents The Unexpected 3rd, written by and starring Kathryn Grody (A Mom's Life), and directed by Timothy Near (A Doll's House, Part 2). Previews begin October 13, 2026, at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center with opening night set for October 16, for a run through November 1, 2026.



Celebrate Spanish Dance, Music, and Culture with Alborada Spanish Dance Company at the Jackson Library on September 19th

(JACKSON, NJ) -- A joyous celebration of Spanish and Hispanic cultures in a dazzling display of beautiful traditional costumes and Flamenco dance and music by Alborada Spanish Dance Company will take place at the Jackson Branch of the Ocean County Library on Saturday, September 19, 2026. The event begins at 3:00pm.



Monmouth Arts presents "Culture Around the Corner"

(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- Monmouth Arts presents the inaugural "Culture Around the Corner," a FREE three-day multicultural festival taking place Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4 in Long Branch. The festival will bring Long Branch alive with music, dance, food, visual art, artisan experiences and family-friendly programming that celebrate New Jersey's cultural traditions and creative communities.










FEATURED EVENTS

Sun Ra Arkestra

Thursday, September 03, 2026 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
Princeton, NJ

The legendary Sun Ra Arkestra returns with exuberant cosmic jazz — a stirring blend of big‑band swing, free jazz, bebop, spiritual jazz and Afrofuturist spectacle. Formed in Chicago in the mid‑1950s as the vehicle for the visionary composer Sun Ra, the Arkestra has spanned seven decades, touring the globe and inspiring generations with its bold, otherworldly sound.



A pioneer of early synthesizer use and the free‑jazz movement of the 1960s, Sun Ra combined musical innovation with a spiritual mission—using positive vibrations and music to uplift the universe. The Arkestra’s theatrical live shows fuse space‑age improvisation, singing, dancing, chanting and Afro‑pageantry, and helped define Afrofuturism in music and performance.



 

Flawless

Thursday, September 03, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Premiere Stages - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
Union, NJ

A writer and an AI software designer battle to create the next great play in this cautionary tale about the impending intersection of technology and creativity.

 

Mei Semones

Friday, September 04, 2026 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Berlind Theatre)
Princeton, NJ

Mei Semones is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and guitarist crafting jazz-inflected indie pop in both Japanese and English. Drawing on her background in jazz guitar and her Japanese heritage, she blends inventive harmonies, intricate rhythms, and bilingual lyricism into a sound that is both intimate and exploratory. 



 

Your Lips Never Left Mine – Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7PM

Friday, September 04, 2026 @ 7:00pm
NJ Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ

A young woman is hired by a finance couple to tutor their son at their summer lake house, and finds herself increasingly enmeshed in the undisclosed darkness of their past.

 

Flawless

Friday, September 04, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Premiere Stages - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
Union, NJ

A writer and an AI software designer battle to create the next great play in this cautionary tale about the impending intersection of technology and creativity.

 

Flawless

Saturday, September 05, 2026 @ 3:00pm
Premiere Stages - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
Union, NJ

A writer and an AI software designer battle to create the next great play in this cautionary tale about the impending intersection of technology and creativity.

 

Flawless

Saturday, September 05, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Premiere Stages - Bauer Boucher Theatre Center
Union, NJ

A writer and an AI software designer battle to create the next great play in this cautionary tale about the impending intersection of technology and creativity.

 

Mike Zito

Saturday, September 05, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
Tuckerton, NJ

From his childhood in St. Louis to the global blues-rock circuit, Mike Zito has always kept it real. He began playing guitar at age five and by his late teens was a fixture on the St. Louis music scene. For Zito, honesty, authenticity, and integrity aren’t just part of the brand, they’re the foundation. “I have nothing to hide; it seems my honesty is what people relate to most,” he once told Vintage Guitar.

 

Clan of the Painted Lady - Online for 24 Hours!

Saturday, September 05, 2026 @ 12:00am
NJ Film Festival
New Brunswick, NJ

The 45th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place between September 4-October 4, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid as we will be presenting it online as well as doing select in-person screenings at Rutgers University. Almost all the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person shows when both are offered. This program is only available Online for 24 hours on this show date!

 

Vivid Stage presents The Flip Side

Saturday, September 05, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Madison Community Center
Madison, NJ

The Flip Side offers our unique spin on short-form improv, taking audience input to create instant scenes that are both unexpected and hilarious.

 





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Masquerade Theatre presents The Long Story Short Play Festival on September 3rd

(RIVERSIDE, NJ) -- Masquerade Theatre presents The Long Story Short Play Festival on Thursday, September 3, 2026 at 7:30pm.  Come celebrate the birthday of local playwright Amber Kusching and watch a collection of new plays written by the local theatre community.


Broadway Theatre of Pitman presents "The Bodyguard, The Musical"

(PITMAN, NJ) -- Broadway Theatre of Pitman presents The Bodyguard, The Musical from September 4-27, 2026. This is a thrilling, romantic musical that combines high-stakes suspense with unforgettable music based on the Warner Bros. film screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan.


Music Mountain Theatre presents "The Cher Show"

(LAMBERTVILLE, NJ) -- Music Mountain Theatre presents The Cher Show weekends from September 4-27, 2026. This powerhouse musical celebrates the legend that is Cher, from her humble childhood to her teen pop stardom, to her celebrated film career and her evolution as a rock goddess.


Ritz Theatre Company presents "La Gringa" by Carmen Rivera

(HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- Ritz Theatre Company presents La Gringa by Carmen Rivera weekends from September 4-20, 2026 in their intimate black box space. Directed by Edwin “Rico” Santiago, the play is about María Elena Garcia, a young Puerto Rican woman born and raised in New York City, travels to Puerto Rico for the first time during Christmas, hoping to connect with her roots and find a sense of belonging.


Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey presents "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

(MADISON, NJ) -- The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (STNJ) presents Edward Albee's landmark American masterpiece Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? from September 5–27, 2026 at the F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre on the campus of Drew University.







LATEST FEATURES

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY | KIDS

(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Three of the 1960s' most popular artists take the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) stage in September. From the classic doo wop sounds of Dion, to the bouncy pop of British Invasion faves Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone to classic American hitmakers The Rascals, MPAC will reverberate with the sounds, hits and memories of the 1960s.


(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band as part of the Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour on Friday, October 2, 2026 at 7:30pm. Tickets start at $52.



Here is the New Jersey Film Festival Fall 2026 Short Film Video Panel with Filmmakers Lukas Berger, Filip Jacobson, Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu, Andrea Otto Longhi, and Festival Director Albert Nigrin.



Here is my interview with Clan of the Painted Lady Director Jennifer Chiu who is a Hakka-Canadian filmmaker who contends with the loss of her ancestral community in Kolkata, India. She journeys across the world to uncover the story of her family’s past and confronts the effects of migration on family, belonging and the uncertainty of preserving culture in the modern world. 



Your Lips Never Left Mine is a modern mystery/thriller, with traces of neo-noir, and features many of the nuances of classic horror films. Making his feature directorial debut, Matthew Kozlark, delivers an exhilarating story with lots of twists and turns that is sure to leave the viewer on the edge of their seat, anticipating what will happen or be revealed next.







LATEST COLUMNS

Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Listen for a Moment" by The Beagles with Joy

The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "Listen for a Moment," the title track and second single of the latest LP from Princeton-based The Beagles with Joy.


Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites... 08/27/2026

"John and I started the band," said Scuffletown guitarist and founding member Marc Carraway, "We've been playing together for 28 years primarily as a duo but we also bring other folks in and Matty is our go to third man for many of our tours and big shows. So, we started 28 years ago as an acoustic duo with guitar, vocal, harmonica, accordion and flute and we've been going strong in the Charlottesville area ever since."


Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Tide and the Moon" by Cory Blair

The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "Tide and the Moon" from "Midheaven," the debut EP of Asbury Park singer-songwriter Cory Blair.

* Events This Week in New Jersey

* This Week in Music

* This Week in Theatre

* Top 15 Most Read Stories from the Past Week

Daily Edition 09-02-26

Here is a look at the articles published yesterday. The Daily Edition comes out Monday through Friday with a recap of articles published Friday through Sunday on Mondays.



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