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Lucy Kaplansky (with special guest Dave Vargo)

Saturday, April 18, 2026 @ 8:00pm



Jersey Shore Arts Center
66 South Main Street, Ocean Grove, NJ 07756

Lucy Kaplansky is an acclaimed singer-songwriter of rare talent, “a truly gifted performer with a bag full of enchanting songs” (The New Yorker) and “the troubadour laureate of modern city folk” (The Boston Globe). She has released nine critically acclaimed CDs, two of which were awarded Best Pop Album of the year by the Association for Independent Music. National Public Radio described her 2012 album Reunion as “a master class in making the personal universal,” and National Public Radio’s Scott Simon called her new album Last Days of Summer, released in June 2022, “Absolutely wonderful….utterly beautiful and affecting… Lucy sings songs from her life with resonance in ours.”

Lucy was part of folk supergroup Cry Cry Cry with Dar Williams and Richard Shindell (which The New Yorker dubbed “a collection of lovely harmonizing and pure emotion”). Their album was an astonishing success in stores and on radio resulting in a national tour of sold-out concerts, as well as a national sold-out reunion tour in 2018.

Her recording of Roxy Music's "More than This" has over 12 million streams on Spotify, and she has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, and Morning Edition as well as BBC Radio 2 and 4, and CBS Sunday Morning, and has sung harmony on albums by Suzanne Vega, Bryan Ferry, Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin. Her song “Guilty as Sin” was featured in the NBC television show Ed, and her vocals were featured in the Tom Cruise film The Firm.

Lucy continues to tour and receive airplay both nationally and internationally.  Her CD Ten Year Night is the #1 selling album of all time at Red House Records.  Lucy’s latest LP is The Lucy Story, unreleased & rare tracks 1976-2023.  The double album, released in early 2025, is comprised of mostly cover songs that were never released, a combination of album outtakes, live recordings and demos. Special guests include Richard Shindell, Dar Williams, Shawn Colvin, Tony Trischka, Andy Statman, Matt Glaser, Larry Campbell and Duke Levine.  The Lucy Story held the number one spot on the Folk Alliance International Folk Chart for the month of March, 2025!



New Jersey musician Dave Vargo wanted to play the guitar before he was even big enough to hold the instrument, so it’s no surprise that his life has been dedicated to its mastery. A graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Dave’s musical career has followed a windy path of notable experiences including solo recordings and performances, group collaborations, session work, performing with Phoebe Snow, Rupert Holmes and Vonda Shepard, as well as touring with musical sensation Whitney Houston. All have led to his current proclivity as a singer-songwriter who embraces a unique blend of the Americana, country, rock, and folk genres.




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EVENT PREVIEWS

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey proudly presents The Sound Studio Series, an immersive musical experience that places concertgoers at the very heart of the performance. Held in STNJ's intimate Studio space, limited to just 80 attendees, The Sound Studio Series features a dynamic mix of both classical and rock performances. Each concert concludes with an exclusive post-show meet-and-greet with the artists, offering fans a rare opportunity to connect directly with the performers. Tickets for the series are $20-$30.



Arden

Arden Children's Theatre presents "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales"

(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- This spring, Arden Children's Theatre invites families into a hilariously twisted world where classic fairy tales don't go quite as expected in its next production of the 2025/26 season, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (The Stinky Cheese Man). Based on the beloved book by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, adapted by John Glore, the production brings the book's fractured fairy tales to life for kids and adults alike. Directed by Steve Pacek, the production runs on the Arden’s Arcadia stage with previews starting April 8, opening night on April 18, with performances running through May 31.



Haddon

Haddon Township to Hold 4th Annual String Band Parade

(HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- The Camden County Board of Commissioners, along with Haddon Township, invites residents and visitors to the fourth annual String Band Parade down Haddon Ave, featuring the Philadelphia Mummers String Bands on Saturday, May 30, 2026 from 4:00pm to 6:00pm. (note: it was rescheduled from April 25th due to the weather)



Hitchcock

Hitchcock Meets Hilarious: Bergen County Players presents "The 39 Steps"

(ORADELL, NJ) -- Fresh off being named the top live music or theater venue by 201 Magazine's "Best of Bergen" readers, Bergen County Players (BCP) invites audiences to brace themselves for a whirlwind of espionage and outrageous comedy with the Tony Award-winning The 39 Steps, which runs weekends from May 2-31, 2026. Directed by BCP life member Steve Bell, this breakneck adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film classic blends film noir suspense with Monty Python-style absurdity.



Ritz

Ritz Theatre Company presents "Porgy and Bess"

(HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- The Ritz Theatre Company presents Porgy and Bess from May 1-24, 2026. Set in the 1930s in Catfish Row, a Black community in Charleston, South Carolina,the musical tells the story of Porgy, a kind but disabled beggar, and Bess, a woman trying to escape her violent lover Crown and the seductive pull of drugs offered by Sportin' Life. The production is directed by Darryl Thompson, Jr.












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