New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



Drifters, Coasters, Platters

Friday, January 10, 2025 @ 8:00pm



Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631

Thirty years ago, the entertainment manager at the Tropicana Hotel in Atlantic City had what he thought was a very good idea. It was a time of Boy Bands, Hair Bands & Hip Hop. He decided that he was going to take 3 of the most popular touring bands from early Rock & Roll (the Drifters, Coasters & Platters) and combine them into a package that could compete with the major acts that frequently played in the Tropicana’s massive showroom.  

The abovementioned groups had already been touring, successfully, for many years. with an established fan base. “Synergy” said, Bobby Ross (the Tropicana’s fabled entertainment director). “These groups represent synergy – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Place the 3 of them together and they represent the vast expanse that is the joy of early Rock & Roll. 

The Drifters created the pre-Motown, heavily choreographed slickness, of Urban Pop-Soul. The Coasters (soon to become the Cornell Gunter Coasters – named after their founding member) were the premier, and perhaps the only, group combining gritty R&B with night club comedy antics. The Platters – well so much music, even then, was about love and romance (especially that of the young & unrequited variety) and that is what the Platters were all about. 

The three-act package had played the country before, but Bobby Ross did something quite exceptional. He had their managers combine them into one, seamless show where their interplay put the focus on the big picture of the presentation rather than three separate concerts.  

Membership in the three groups has evolved over the years as time has passed but the Drifters, the Cornell Gunter Coasters and the Platters still stick with their original strategy of combining long term veterans with fresh new faces from time to time. So, even at this late date, after nearly fifty years as one of the top selling road shows in the country, half of the members from the three groups date back to having performed with original members on the original recordings. 

The senior most member of the three groups. Jerome Jackson, who worked with the Drifters going back to the days of Ben E. King (over thirty years ago) had this to say about the concept: “It works, we still get all of our old fans plus at each show we see a whole new fanbase of young people discovering our music for the first time. These groups have a tremendous historical legacy, which I am so proud to be a part of, and we aren’t doing anything to change it.” 




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



 

Advertise with New Jersey 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.


The

The Isley Brothers

Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 8:00pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Meshell

Meshell Ndegeocello - No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin

Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Matthews Theatre)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ 08540
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Tito

Tito Nieves

Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 8:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: music

Click here for full event listing

 

Peter

Peter Karp

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

Click here for full event listing

 

Sons

Sons of Cream

Saturday, February 15, 2025 @ 8:00pm
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 New Jersey Stage for $50-$100 per month,
click here for info


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

bergenPAC

bergenPAC presents Gloria Gaynor

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) presents Gloria Gaynor on Thursday, March 27, 2025 at 7:00pm. Gaynor's legendary career spans over 50 years, never losing momentum. The 2x GRAMMY® winner has achieved global stardom with hit songs in the charts in all five decades.



Annual

Annual Music Faculty Recital to be Presented at RVCC

(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- Raritan Valley Community College's Arts & Design department will present the annual Music Faculty Recital, Sunday, March 2, 2025 in the Welpe Theatre at the College's Branchburg campus. Showtime is 2:30pm.



MPAC

MPAC presents Tony and Emmy Award Winner Mandy Patinkin in Concert: Being Alive

(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Broadway's master songman, Mandy Patinkin, accompanied by Adam Ben-David on piano, will bring his newest theatre concert Mandy Patinkin in Concert: BEING ALIVE, to Mayo Performing Arts Center on Friday, March 14, 2025 at 8:00pm. This show presents the acclaimed actor / singer / storyteller in his most electrifying role: concert performer.



The

The Newton Theatre presents Home Again - A Tribute to Carole King

(NEWTON, NJ) -- Home Again is a tribute to the multi-award winning singer-songwriter Carole King. The tribute comes to The Newton Theatre on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 8:00pm.



Jonas

Jonas Brothers to Celebrate 20th Anniversary with JONASCON

(EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ) -- In celebration of their 20th anniversary, Jonas Brothers are pleased to announce JONASCON, a special one-day event taking place in their home state of New Jersey, on March 23, 2025.




 

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