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Dayna Kurtz

Saturday, May 20, 2023 @ 8:00pm



Grunin Center - Studio Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754

Over the past decade, the New Jersey born, now New Orleans (and seasonal Vermont) resident vocalist/writer/musician/producer has been bestowed with many awards and praises, including being named the Female Songwriter of the Year by the National Academy of Songwriters.  Norah Jones and Bonnie Raitt have raved about her in interviews, and she’s performed on such high-profile radio shows as World CafeMountain Stage and NPR’s Morning Edition and Tell Me More.  She’s toured and opened for the likes of Elvis Costello, Richard Thompson, Mavis Staples, Rufus Wainwright, B.B. King, Dr. John, Richie Havens, Keren Ann, Chris Whitley, and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

Dayna’s new disc (Here, Vol. 1 due March 2017), is a live record with career spanning tracks, culled from her 2016 Dutch theater tour with guitarist Robert Mache.  It manages to capture the heart-stopping edge-of-your-seat mesmerized silence that Dayna Kurtz seems to magic from her audiences.  “I began my career as background music in crowded beach bars,” explains Kurtz, “and I used to make a game of seeing what it would take to shut people up. I got good at it.  Although there’s some tricks to it, it was really more a kind of witchcraft than anything – I learned to draw whatever power and attention there was in the room being sent my way and sent it back out again.  Other people got caught in the loop and started paying attention too.  And as long as the crowd wasn’t shitfaced or distracted by a TV I could usually get them.  It was good training, even now that my audiences are more inclined to listening already anyway.  I write music that requires some attention.”

On her work and friendship with Robert Mache (Continental Drifters, Steve Wynn) Kurtz says,  “I’ve loved Robert’s playing for such a long time, and we’ve been friends longer than we’ve been touring partners – he was one of the first musicians to befriend me in New Orleans.  That we had such undeniable chemistry has been one of the greater recent gifts of my life, and I just wanted to document it somehow, and quite a few people in my life including my label have suggested a live record.  I’d been hesitant, only because there’s only a few live records I listen to with the devotion I’d give a beloved studio record.  It’s notoriously really difficult to capture the feeling of being there in the dark experiencing it.  Then the challenge of it intrigued me.”




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MICHAELINA

MICHAELINA PETTI and COYOTE JACK RECORD RELEASE CELEBRATION

Thursday, May 15, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music

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Donna

Donna McKechnie: Take Me to the World The Songs of Stephen Sondheim

Friday, May 16, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Bell Theater
101 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel, NJ 07733
category: music

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Jeffrey

Jeffrey Gaines

Friday, May 16, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music

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Eaglemania

Eaglemania

Friday, May 16, 2025 @ 8:00pm
Carteret Performing Arts Center
46 Washington Ave, Carteret, NJ 07008
category: music

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Leonid

Leonid & Friends

Friday, May 16, 2025 @ 8:00pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: music

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EVENT PREVIEWS

State

State Theatre New Jersey presents The Fab Faux performing "A Hard Day's Night" and "Abbey Road" albums

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents The Fab Faux on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 8:00pm. The band will perform A Hard Day's Night and Abbey Road in their entireties. Joining The Fab Faux are The Hogshead Horns (with Blues Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and SNL band alums) and The Creme Tangerine Strings.



Mahwah

Mahwah Museum Hosts "Les Paul's 110th Birthday Celebration Tribute Concert" on June 7th

(MAHWAH, NJ) -- The Mahwah Museum hosts Les Paul's 110th Birthday Celebration Tribute Concert, on Saturday, June 7, 2025 at Ramapo College of New Jersey's H-Wing Auditorium (505 Ramapo Valley Road) in Mahwah. The event runs from 2:00pm to 5:00pm.



Lizzie

Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Sean Chambers & The Savoy Brown Rhythm Section

(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- Rock n' blues guitar ace Sean Chambers is on tour with the fabled Savoy Brown Rhythm section, and will perform locally at Lizzie Rose Music Room on Friday, May 23, 2025. Doors: 7:00pm, showtime: 7:30pm.



From

From Privilege to Purpose: An Evening with HRH Crown Prince Manvendra

(WHIPPANY, NJ) -- Harmonium Choral Society is hosting an evening of music and conversation with HRH Crown Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil and his husband, HH Prince deAndre, Duke of Hanumanteshwar, on their 2025 USA PRIDE MONTH TOUR: Human Rights Advocacy, on Friday, June 13, 2025 at the Ukrainian American Cultural Center (60 N Jefferson Rd) in Whippany. Showtime is 7:00pm.



North

North to Shore Festival presents George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic with Special Guest Living Colour at Stone Pony Summer Stage

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The Prudential North to Shore Festival is set to present a night of funk featuring George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, with special guest Living Colour, on Sunday, June 29, 2025 at The Stone Pony Summer Stage. Showtime is 5:00pm.




 

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