By Gary Wien
originally published: 08/20/2015
He may always be a slave of New Brunswick, but Glen Burtnik was reborn in Asbury Park. His story is about to embark on a new chapter on September 19 when he will marry fellow musician Christina Shafer on stage at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park.
It’s been a wild ride for Burtnik throughout his musical career and he’s definitely hit a second act ever since moving to Asbury Park around 2008. His career began on Broadway alongside Marshall Crenshaw in Beatlemania in the seventies. Since then, he’s had minor success as a solo artist, major success as a songwriter, and been a member of Styx, The Orchestra (featuring former members of the Electric Light Orchestra and ELO Part II), as well as several Beatles cover bands. For nearly a decade, he’s produced shows replicating Beatles albums note for note along with the popular Summer of Love concerts. These days, you can follow his jet-setting performances across the globe and his current group, The Weeklings, via his very active Facebook account.
In a strange twist of fate, Burtnik’s career and personal life both took off after he moved to Asbury Park. He soon found himself becoming part of the local scene again for the first time since the eighties when he was a regular on the Stone Pony stage with La Bamba & The Hubcaps and Cats On A Smooth Surface. Shafer was one of many musicians that became part of his inner circle, many of whom got their first exposures on major stages when Burtnik included them in his Beatles and Summer of Love shows.
At the Asbury Music Awards last December, Burtnik received the Living Legend Award. While on the Stone Pony stage, he proposed to Shafer. He described his plans for the wedding on his Facebook page:
“Instead of hiring a hall and inviting friends, we’ve decided to share our nuptials publicly, incorporating the moment as part of The Love Concert,” said Burtnik. “But here’s the thing: we do not want gifts. We only ask people - friends included - to buy tickets. Your ticket is your gift to us. You might say our wedding registry is the Paramount Theater.
“I know it’s unusual. So is my life. So is our love for each other. Love should never be typical or ‘usual.’ This will be a concert to celebrate love. We just so happen to love each other and love Asbury Park and want to include our wedding with our friends. All of our friends. And it will be a fabulous show.”
The slate of musicians involved in The Love Concert reads like a who’s who of Burtnik’s musical career. Dusty Micale, who has been friends with Burtnik since they were both teenagers, is composing and arranging the strings for the concert; Marshall Crenshaw is on board, The Burtnix (a group comprised of Burtnik’s son Beau, his daughters Darla Rose and Sally, and Glen himself) will reunite for a performance, Tony Pallagrosi (who played trumpet in La Bamba & the Hubcaps with Glen long before becoming a promoter) will “come out of retirement” to sing a song, and Shafer’s 16-year old nephew Tommy Shafer will perform as well.
In addition to Burtnik’s current band, The Weeklings (which includes Bob Burger, John Merjave, Dave Anthony, and Burtnik), performers include Remember Jones, Williams Honor, Rick Barry, Emily Grove, Tom Brislin, the Barefoot Strings, Jerzy Jung, Brielle Von Hugel, Mike Stein, Joe Bellia and New Yorkers Mark Hudson, Fawn Segerson, Freedom Bremner, and Sammy Boyd. Additional artists are likely to be added as well.
After a summer filled with shows in places like Scotland, Israel, Germany, Estonia, Finland, and Spain, it will feel good to be home again. And being on stage in Asbury Park has always been home for Burtnik. He’s just adding another memory to a very long list.
Photo by John Cavanaugh
Burtnik brings his Summer of Love show to The Levoy Theatre in Millville on October 23.
About the author:
Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Upstage Magazine, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of
Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and
Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station
The Penguin Rocks. His personal website is at
lightyscorner.com. He can be contacted at
[email protected].
The Righteous Brothers: Lovin’ Feelin’ Farewell Tour
Sunday, November 08, 2026 @ 3:00pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
100 South Street, Morristown, NJBlue-eyed soul pioneers The Righteous Brothers are back! With a string of #1 clas-sics, including the most played song in radio history,
You’ve Lost
That Lovin’ Fee/in’, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield topped the charts in four decades. After Bobby’s death in 2003, Bill Medley con-tinued to perform to sold-out crowds around the world, but fans and friends pleaded with him to keep The Righteous Brothers alive.
Beat: Belew/vai/levin/bozzio Performing The Music Of King Crimson
Monday, November 09, 2026 @ 8:00pm
NJPAC - Prudential Hall
1 Center Street, Newark, NJFollowing more than 100 acclaimed performances across North and South America, Europe, and Japan, BEAT returns this fall for the last North American tour. Former King Crimson members Adrian Belew and Tony Levin are joined by guitar virtuoso Steve Vai and legendary drummer Terry Bozzio to perform the music of the three landmark 1980s King Crimson albums—Discipline, Beat, and Three of a Perfect Pair.
Joe Russo's Almost Dead
Thursday, November 12, 2026 @ 7:30pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJJoe Russo's Almost Dead is Marco Benevento, Dave Dreiwitz, Tom Hamilton, Scott Metzger and Joe Russo. We're a Grateful Dead cover band.
Mccarter At The Museum: An Evening With Jason Robert Brown
Thursday, November 12, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Princeton Art Museum
45 Elm Drive, Princeton, NJJoin us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band
Friday, November 13, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center
46 Washington Ave, Carteret, NJThe legendary Rhode Island multi-platinum rock’n’roll group JOHN CAFFERTY & THE BEAVER BROWN BAND began their career in 1973 and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s with the “Eddie & The Cruisers – Motion Picture Soundtrack”. The hit single “ON THE DARK SIDE” held the “#1” position on the Billboard Rock charts and the MTV video charts for five consecutive weeks.
EVENT PREVIEWS
The Newton Theatre presents Puss N Boots featuring Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson, and Catherine Popper
(NEWTON, NJ) -- The Newton Theatre presents Puss N Boots featuring Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson, and Catherine Popper on Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 7:00pm.
Grunin Center's "Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon" Celebrates 100 Years of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five Recordings
(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts' "Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon" series brings a century of jazz history to the stage this fall with a celebration of Louis Armstrong's groundbreaking Hot Five recordings, featuring trumpeter Andrew Stephens on Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 3:00pm.
U.K. Folk Trio, The Longest Johns, to Perform at The Vogel
(RED BANK, NJ) -- U.K. folk trio The Longest Johns will perform at the Vogel on Sunday, November 8, 2026. They are are known the world over for their rollicking harmonies and raucous energy, blowing new wind into the sails of traditional sea shanties and work songs. They are on a U.S. tour to support their latest release End of the Earth. Showtime is 7:00pm.
State Theatre New Jersey and Relix present Joe Russo's Almost Dead
(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey and Relix present Joe Russo's Almost Dead on Thursday, November 12, 2026 at 7:30pm. The band was formed in Brooklyn, NY in 2013. While they are a Grateful Dead cover band, they are known more for interpreting songs by the Dead rather than attempting to replicate the band's work.
NJPAC presents Gregory Porter with special guests Madeleine Peyroux and Catherine Russell
(NEWARK, NJ) -- With a voice that can fill a concert hall and make every listener feel personally embraced, Gregory Porter has become one of the most beloved artists in contemporary jazz. On Friday, November 13, 2026 at 8:00pm, the two-time GRAMMY® winner returns to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) with special guests Madeleine Peyroux and Catherine Russell for an evening of soulful expression, exquisite storytelling and remarkable vocal artistry, presented as part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival.
Forte Piano Music Company presents Exquisite Contrasts: Haydn & Schubert Piano Trios
(PARAMUS, NJ) -- The Forte Piano Music Company presents a Piano Trio Concert - "Exquisite Contrasts" - Haydn & Schubert on Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 2:30pm. This program brings together two landmarks of the piano trio repertoire, revealing the evolution of the genre from the Classical era to early Romanticism.
Mahwah Museum Hosts "Les Paul from Start to Finish" with Jim Wysocki
(MAHWAH, NJ) -- Come to the Mahwah Museum on Sunday, November 15, 2026 for a discussion of a 29-year friendship, rare memorabilia, and the story behind Les Paul's home with Mahwah Mayor Jim Wysocki from his nearly three-decade friendship with legendary musician and inventor Les Paul. The event begins at 2:00pm.
Princeton Folk Music Society presents Kate Taylor
(PRINCETON, NJ) — The Princeton Folk Music Society presents Kate Taylor on Friday, November 20, 2026 in an evening of upbeat and bubbling song filled with enthusiasm and love. The concert takes place at Christ Congregation Church in Princeton. Showtime is 8:00pm. A livestream option is available as well.
NJPAC to Celebrate Ben Vereen's 80th Birthday with All-Star Concert on November 21st
(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents Ben Vereen's 80th Birthday Concert on Saturday, November 21, 2026 at 8:00pm. This special one-night only celebration is part of NJPAC’s 2026 TD James Moody Jazz Festival (November 6-22). Several of today's leading Broadway stars and vocalists unite for a spectacular birthday bash performance toasting the legendary actor/dancer/singer Ben Vereen who turns 80 on October 10, 2026.
Musicians on a Mission to Celebrate 16th Anniversary with Gala Concert at Jersey Shore Arts Center
(OCEAN GROVE, NJ) -- Musicians on a Mission (MOAM) will celebrate sixteen years of friends helping friends through music with a special anniversary gala and concert on Sunday, November 22, 2026, at the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove.
