(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College continues its thrilling spring season with a special performance by acclaimed singer-songwriter Vance Gilbert on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at 7:00pm. The concert takes place in the Prima Studio Theatre (Building #12).

With a career spanning over three decades, Gilbert has captivated audiences with his acoustic storytelling and is considered an essential part of the folk and Americana music scene. He first gained national attention in 1992 when Shawn Colvin invited him on her Fat City tour, where he wowed audiences with what the Fort Worth Star-Telegram called “the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god.”

Since then, Gilbert has recorded 14 albums, opened for legends like George Carlin, Arlo Guthrie, Anita Baker and Southside Johnny, and has been a presence at some of the world’s most prestigious festivals and venues. Most recently, he’s been the opener of choice for actor/comedian Paul Reiser’s standup shows, all while navigating his own demanding touring schedule.

Tickets are $34 and available for purchase online or by calling the Grunin Center Box Office at 732-255-0500. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience one of folk music’s most engaging and dynamic performers.

Vance was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. Starting out hoping to be an R&B and jazz singer once at college, there he discovered his affinity for the storytelling sensibilities of the acoustic singer-songwriter thing. Word spread like wildfire about Gilbert’s stage-owning singing and playing.

Gilbert has also been a prominent presence at some of the world’s most prestigious gatherings and halls, among them the Newport, Winnipeg, Rocky Mountain, Calgary, Ottawa, and Falcon Ridge Folk festivals, the Kate Wolf Music Festival, and Australia’s Woodford Folk and Mullum Music Festivals, Mountain Stage, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Nashville’s Lyman Auditorium, The Barns at Wolftrap, and a private party for his veterinarian where there was terrific lo-mein.

Considered by many to be an integral part of the national folk scene, his previous record “Good Good Man” features an eclectic roster of musical types including rocker Mike Posner, world renown Celtic harpist Aine Minough, bluesman Chris Smither, and Al Green’s organist Stacey Wade.

Most recently he’s been the opener of choice for Mad About You/Stranger Things star Paul Reiser’s stand-up shows (50 +) for the last 7 years, along with his own busy acoustic music touring and coaching schedule. That current schedule includes Vance’s Monday Night Acoustic Pajama Party on YouTube. Having started the first week of the pandemic in 2020, Vance has played a live, themed, weekly 90 minute mixed bag of originals and cover tunes to a rotating following of about 200 folks. 10 to 20% of his weekly tip jar is donated to a local 501(c)3 of his choice. At the time of this writing, having done 155 of these shows has become newsworthy in itself.

Gilbert has been a songwriting, performance, and voice coach all around the world, kinda, from Australia to Winnipeg, at all the festivals above plus The Kerrville and Rocky Mountain Song Schools, he is currently on staff as Instructor/Professor at the University Of Colorado Denver and has a decade worth of summer programs at the Berklee College Of Music under his belt. What? Private coaching? Yes, 6-10 students weekly too.

For 60 years, Ocean County College, a public two-year community college sponsored by Ocean County and the State of New Jersey, has provided area residents with the opportunity to benefit from higher education. OCC is an innovative academic leader offering affordable, student-centered, high-quality educational experiences that prepare and empower diverse learners to contribute to and succeed in global societies.

OCC invests in and fosters academic, economic, and cultural excellence, and ensures financial strength by generating new revenue streams, engaging in national and international university and corporate partnerships, and cultivating a technologically progressive and entrepreneurial spirit.