After Split Level Concerts announced their lineup for the new season in May, we interviewed Mark Klemow who founded the series back in 2000. Originally a house concert series, it now brings great songwriters to the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove. Here's an interview with another member of the Split Levels Concerts team.
The first season in Ocean Grove was a success with performances by Steve Forbert, Brian Dunne, Griffin House, Jill Sobule, Maia Sharp/Antje Duvekot, Michael McDermott, and Rod Picott/Anya Hinkle. The upcoming season begins in November and will feature James Maddock and Band, Tim Easton, Nathan Graham and Band, Shannon McNally and Band, Joy Clark, Lucy Kaplansky, and Kim Richey.
The addition of Troy Deckebach helped the series get off to a great start. He brought in 90.5 The Night and others to sponsor the series, reached out to the local press for coverage, and helped bring in organizations from the local community to the mix. He’s in the process of lining up sponsors for the new season and you can learn more about that at the end of this piece. We reached out to him to learn more about his role in Split Level Concerts.
Troy, you help promote Split Level Concerts and do work behind the scenes as well. How and when did you get involved with Split Level Concerts?
Mark Klemow (founder of Split Level Concerts) and I met through our volunteer work at the Asbury Park Music Foundation. Mark and I first bonded over similar musical tastes and worldviews. Only later did I learn that he had been the founder of a long-running concert series in North Jersey. When Mark shared he was contemplating re-booting Split Level Concerts in this area, I told him I wanted to be part of it as soon as I retired from my full-time teaching career. He heard the first part of my sentence but not the last.
One of the artists who performed in the first season at Ocean Grove was Michael McDermott. He is someone you've known for a long time and was your Best Man when you got married. Do you have a music industry background?
There was a time when it looked like a possible path for me. Just out of college, I had some success working radio and promoting a couple of shows back in my home state of Michigan. Later, I became an east coast point person of sorts for Michael McDermott when I moved to Philly. I’ve worn a few different hats in Michael’s organization, and we had a nice decade or so run together that started in the late 90’s. I’ve been involved in a few projects for Michael since that time, but my teaching/coaching career and parenthood became priorities. It probably saved our friendship that I stepped back when I did, but his music never stopped being an integral part of my life and putting on his show this past season was a full circle moment in a lot of ways.
Troy Deckebach and Michael McDermott in the 1990s
I believe you said you're still living in Pennsylvania but thinking about moving to the Shore, is that right? Any concrete plans yet?
Thanks for asking, Gary. We sold our house in PA a couple of weeks ago and are moving to Ocean Grove. So further from my roots but back to my wife’s as she grew up in Neptune. I also happen to be retiring from full-time teaching this year, so a lot is happening really fast! It feels really wonderful to already be an integral part of something in the community that will soon be my home.
How was the first season in Ocean Grove for you? Was it more or less what you expected?
The only parts that met my expectations were that I knew it would be a ton of fun working with Mark and that it would be very rewarding to introduce people to artists they may not know since there hasn’t been a great singer/songwriter venue in Asbury Park/Ocean Grove for some time. Everything else I could have never dreamed.
Jill Sobule, photo by John Decker Studio
In fact, when Mark and I started brainstorming this series, we had our sights set on something much more scaled back. More of a professional public house concert experience along the lines of what I had seen Mark do in Rahway. Truth be told, we couldn’t find a room we liked for that vision but Jeanne Power-Galli at JSAC took a chance on us based on Mark’s track record and our enthusiasm. Funnily enough, Jeanne was so new to her position when she first met with Mark that she under-reported the number of seats in the theater!
We spent a few restless nights wondering if we could still make the show feel intimate in such a space. Turns out, the theater itself is our secret weapon. Tip of the hat to our sound engineer Crafton Barnes, too.
What were some of the highlights from Ocean Grove this year?
So many highlights from the inaugural season. Selling out opening night is something I will never forget, realizing just how special the sound was in the room the moment Brian Dunne started singing during his soundcheck. The great Mark Masefield sitting in with Griffin House. The way that Jill Sobule turned the entire theater into her living room with her warmth, open-heartedness and humor. I still can’t believe we’ve lost her.
People are still talking about McDermott closing the March show on the grand piano … off stage … without a mic … with the full house lights on.
Every show was special in unexpected ways.
Credit must go to the audiences, too. The artists have all been incredibly complimentary of what energy they feel coming back at them. I think we are building something pretty special.
Tell me about the artists scheduled for the upcoming season.
We open with the British singer/songwriter James Maddock who has recently relocated to this area after living in New York for two decades. This will be a full band show and should rock a little more than anything we had in season 1.
I am really excited about Tim Easton in December as he is the perfect example of a singer/songwriter that has been putting out one great record after another but hasn’t played a public show in this area in years. His new album Find Your Way is as good as anything he’s ever released.
2026 will kick off on 1/24 with Nathan Graham who is an electrifying guitarist. Shannon McNally follows in February. Both Graham and McNally will also be full band shows. McNally is a household name to those that love the Americana genre as much as Mark and I. People who take a chance on Nathan Graham are in for a treat.
Next up is Joy Clark and, if her star continues to rise, may just be a household name in March. We close the season with two legendary singer/songwriters – Lucy Kaplansky and Kim Richey. Kaplansky had the number one album on the folk charts for a couple of months earlier this year and Kim Richey is simply a master of her craft.
What would you like people to know about the series?
In my mind, we have three missions with our series: to bring national touring singer-songwriters to the area, to support organizations doing good work in our community, and to shine a light on the local music scene.
Firstly, Mark and I aim to introduce audiences to incredible songwriters and musicians that we love. Although many of our artists in seasons 1 and 2 are critically acclaimed, and have very loyal fan bases, they simply have either not had the level of commercial success to make them household names or simply haven’t performed in this area publicly between regular touring stops in Philly or New York in years.
Secondly, in addition to all net proceeds for these concerts going to support the programming at Jersey Shore Arts Center (we are a 100% volunteer operation), we have been very fortunate to partner with Musicians on a Mission for this series. MOAM, also entirely made up of volunteers, does incredible work in our community raising awareness and funds for local charitable organizations by inspiring giving through music. In season one, they paired us with seven different local groups doing good and collected food items for Fulfill (formerly the food bank of Monmouth and Ocean County). After learning about the supply crisis caused by the current administration’s cold-hearted decision to halt the thousands of pounds of food from being delivered locally by the Department of Agriculture, it was decided that Fulfill would be the sole beneficiary of all monetary donations this coming season. The food drive will continue in season 2, as well.
Finally, there is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talent right in this area and we are thrilled to have been able to tap into that for our openers. We are doubling down on that this season and I cannot wait to announce next month the talented group that has accepted our invitation to join the series. Truthfully, to call some of these openers local artists is a bit of a misrepresentation as, in addition to being able to headline most any venue in the area, some tour around the world. In fact, we start our shows at 8:00pm so people have time to have a nice dinner in town without risking missing the opportunity to see two amazing sets.
Rod Picott, photo courtesy of Bill Zweiman
Interested in becoming a sponsor or want to learn more about it? You can contact Troy via email at [email protected] - Here’s a little more info from Troy.
It's important for folks to recognize that so much of our success in season one was because we had sponsors willing to support our stated mission before we had sold a single ticket. The backing of local businesses helped us bring in partners like 90.5 early and to create a buzz about the series that motivated some folks, who may have previously had very little exposure to this type of concert experience, come out on a Saturday night knowing very little about the artist at the top of the bill. Sponsors also allowed us to add incredibly talented artists based in this area as openers and made the evening that much more special for ticket buyers.
We also had another group of volunteers from MOAM at each show doing their work to support local charities and the more people we had in the house, the more food we collected for Fulfill, and the more donations MOAM collected for that month's charity. That success story is an indirect result of sponsorship, as well.
Above all, every dollar of net proceeds from these shows goes right into funding the programming at JSAC which, in turn, has allowed JSAC to continue to serve the community. It also gave JSAC the confidence to allow us to bring in full bands shows in season 2 and we're recruiting new sponsors now that will allow us to continue to grow the series.
(LEFT to RIGHT) Jeanne Power-Galli, Jeff Raspe, Mark Klemow, Anya Hinkle, Rod Picott, and Troy Deckebach. Photo courtesy of Split Level Concerts
