New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



Nicole Atkins

Friday, September 06, 2024 @ 8:00pm



Outpost In The Burbs
40 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair, NJ 07042

Nicole Atkins put out one of the best summertime records of 2020. Italian Ice was like a postcard from the Jersey Shore in the 1970s - full of warmth, vivid color and a tilt-a-whirl variety of musical grooves wrapped around Atkins' wonder of a voice.

You'd be forgiven if you missed it, as there was a bit of competition from world events. But now there's a second helping served up in Memphis Ice, a cabaret deluxe style reimagining of the songs.

“Italian Ice was one of the first feel-good records that I've made,” Atkins says, “and people needed to feel good last year. But of course, like everybody else, I couldn't go out and play it live.”

Resilient and resourceful, Atkins started hosting a variety show from her attic, distributed through Patreon. It was so well-received that Amazon soon picked it up and funded more expansive episodes, shot at Asbury Park's Paramount Theater, and featuring special guests like Ween and Kurt Vile. Atkins says, “Initially, I thought, 'We've got to figure out a way to keep playing, make some money and give ourselves something to look forward to.' But the variety show ended up saving our lives.”

It also reminded Atkins of where she came from as a singer. “I was doing a song on the show called 'A Night of Serious Drinking,'” she recalls. “It's very Dean Martin, very sparse, and it tells a story. I felt really connected to my singing and the story. Whereas the other songs, I'm caught up in all of the music and rock, rock, rock. So, I thought, 'How can I make my other songs feel like that?' And that's what Memphis Ice did.”

Backed by an ace trio of Dan Chen (piano), Laura Epling (violin) and Maggie Chaffee (cello), Atkins cut the album live in one day at Memphis Magnetic studio, simultaneously filming the performance with painterly shadow and light. The stripped-down, smoky style of both not only brings new emotional vistas to standout songs like “Domino,” “The Captain” and “Forever,” but opens the door even wider to where Atkins would like to go next as a singer.

“I always thought about my Judy Garland or Liza Minnelli moment coming later in life,” she says with a laugh. “But after we finished that day of recording, I had so much fun just singing and was so in the moment, I thought, 'I want to do that sooner, I want to do that for my next record.' I want to make a record of standards that are new if that's possible. Songs that make you feel like you're singing 'Stardust,' but you're not. I kept thinking that on my first record, Neptune City, the songs felt old, but they were new. Why can't there be new songs that feel like the old standards?”

And so, what Atkins calls “the happiest of accidents” has turned her pandemic year around with a new album, a film, an upcoming tour, and an exciting vision of a musical future that reconnects her with her beginnings. “I love rock music, but the way I really like to sing is long notes,” she says. “And you can really only do that over pianos and more orchestral-type arrangements. I can try all these different styles and put on different outfits with production. But at the end of the day, it comes back to me and my voice.”




For information on how your event can be listed, click here



 

Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month,
click here for info

FEATURED EVENTS

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Jax

Jax Hollow

Saturday, July 19, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

A

A Night of Worship with Bishop William Murphy - Live in Concert!

Saturday, July 19, 2025 @ 7:00pm
New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)
11 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Joanna

Joanna Connor

Tuesday, July 22, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Lynette

Lynette Sheard - ​​​​​​​Gatsby Reimagined

Thursday, July 24, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Back

Back to the Eighties Show with Jessie’s Girl

Thursday, July 24, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC)
100 South Street, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

More events

Event Listings are available for $10 and included with our banner ad packages




 

Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month,
click here for info


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Bergen

Bergen County Parks Department presents Music At The Barn

(PARK RIDGE, NJ) -- Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco and the Board of Commissioners invite the public to attend a free music concert featuring The Matt Chertkoff Trio and Houston Person on Sunday, July 27 from 4:00pm – 6:30pm at the Wortendyke Barn Museum, a County Historic Site (13 Pascack Rd, Park Ridge). This is the first concert in the 2025 music series.



71st

71st Annual Choir Festival: The Light of Life to Take Place on Saturday

(OCEAN GROVE, NJ) -- Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association joyfully presents the 71st Annual Choir Festival: The Light of Life on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 7:00pm. Set within the soaring arches of the historic Great Auditorium—an awe-inspiring 6,500-seat space revered as a sacred ground for worship and music—this beloved summer tradition gathers hundreds of singers for a night of profound praise.



Lizzie

Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Jax Hollow on Saturday

(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- The Lizzie Rose Music Room presents Jax Hollow on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 7:30pm. In a city teeming with some of the world's most talented entertainers, Nashville's Jax Hollow has emerged as a rare triple threat—a nuanced and hard-hitting songwriter, a powerhouse vocalist, and a world-class guitarist. She's a true embodiment of the Music City Trifecta.



Human

Human Wheels (Mellencamp Tribute Band) to Perform at Drew University

(MADISON, NJ) -- Human Wheels, the premier John Mellencamp tribute band, will perform at the Concert Hall at Drew University on Saturday, September 13, 2025 at 8:00pm.



Lyceum

Lyceum Hall Center for the Arts presents Aria Nouveau

(BURLINGTON, NJ) -- On Saturday, August 2, 2025, the City of Burlington, Mayor Barry Conaway, and Lyceum Hall Center for the Arts' co-artistic directors, Barbara Fisher and Patty Howard will welcome Aria Nouveau. This is a classical crossover performance featuring vocalists Laura Auer (soprano) and John Riesen (tenor). Showtime is 11:30am.




 

Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month,
click here for info