Bill Brandenburg, pictured, and Al Schaefer present the Woodbridge Arts program Music on Main Street all summer long outdoors throughout Woodbridge, as well as the rest of the year at Avenel Performing Arts Center. The Woodbridge Summer Concert Series kicks off June 7 at Merrill Park with Woodbridge Summerfest featuring Revolver, The Powertones, Morrocan Sheepherders, BStreet Band, The Blue Meanies, and Back to the Garden, plus food trucks, a beer garden and kid’s activities. PHOTO COURTESY OF MUSIC ON MAIN STREET
Since 2008, Bill Brandenburg has booked and managed, along with his musical co-conspirator, Al Schaefer, several music series in Woodbridge Township at the behest of Mayor John McCormac. In that time, the Music on Main Street series presented ticketed shows in a number of local venues before settling into The Avenel Performing Arts Center in 2022 where the series has presented notable acts, including Jimmy Webb, Karla Bonoff, Graham Parker, Rhett Miller, Stanley Jordan, Richie Furay and Vienna Teng.
In summertime, the fun shifts to free outdoor concerts in where Bill curates Tuesday Tributes, Country Sundays and the eclectic Woodbridge Wednesdays, where world-class, award-winning acts in multiple genres from around the world are presented. A few notable acts for that series have included David Bromberg, Richard Thompson, Raul Malo of the Mavericks, Amy Helm, Alex Cuba and Martin Barre of Jethro Tull.
From 2011 to 2016, Bill also curated The Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair, where notable acts such as Raul Midon, Roger McGuinn, Al Stewart, David Johansen, Iris Dement and Christian McBride are a few examples of world-class acts that were presented by the all-volunteer, non-profit organization.
The free Woodbridge Summer Concert Series kicks off June 7 at Merrill Park with Woodbridge Summerfest featuring Revolver, The Powertones, Morrocan Sheepherders, BStreet Band, The Blue Meanies, and Back to the Garden, plus food trucks, a beer garden and kid’s activities.
As summer turns to fall, Music on Main Street will return to Avenel Performing Arts Center for another season of great ticketed shows. Info about all of the Music on Main Street shows can be found at woodbridgeartsnj.org/.
The following is a chat with Bill about how and why he and Al enrich their community with live music:
Were you involved in music before 2008?
I've been a music enthusiast since I was a kid. Seeing The Beatles on Ed Sullivan was so exciting that it put me on a path of seeking out other sources of that kind of excitement. At first, I started looking for the next new exciting thing and eventually turned my gaze backwards to discover things that came earlier like Ella Fitzgerald and Robert Johnson. The quest in both directions continues to this day.
In 2008, two friends who didn't know each other, both commented that I should have a website because I see so many amazing artists that most people have never heard of and it would help other people discover those acts. I thought maybe the universe was speaking to me and with the help of my youngest sister, Christine, built a web site and started reviewing and posting pics of shows I attended. People at Joe's Pub in NYC saw my work and put me on their media list so i could get comped to review shows there. Eventually B.B. King's and Highline Ballroom put me on their media lists as well, so I was going to more shows than ever.
How and why did you connect with Woodbridge?
I was born and raised in Iselin, which is part of Woodbridge Township, and I still reside there. I was casually acquainted with Mayor McCormac, as he went to high school with my sister and our fathers were both in the Knights of Columbus. In 2008, I saw an article in The Home News Tribune that the town was considering developing an arts center, so I emailed Town Hall with a link to my concert reviews and said I'd be happy to be involved with any expansion of arts activities in the township.
They invited me to the next Arts Committee meeting where I mentioned that you didn't need an Arts Center to start doing concerts. You just needed a place -- a church or a rental hall -- that would let you do concerts, and you could begin building an audience right away. After a meeting or two, they put me in charge of organizing a five-concert ‘experiment’ to see how everything would work and if people would come.
We arranged to rent the Methodist Church on Main Street and in Spring of 2009, we presented Aztec Two-Step, Graham Parker, Jeffrey Gaines and a few other singer-songwriters, and the shows went over really well. After those first five shows, Mayor McCormac decided to keep going and do five more in the fall, and Music on Main Street was born. The following year, we added the free Woodbridge Wednesday summer series -- the town had already been doing Oldies Mondays for a bunch of years -- and over the next few years all the other nights of free summer concerts were added.
How, when and why did you partner with Al Schaefer?
After booking those first five concerts, Al became aware of these activities and also reached out to Town Hall. He lives in the Port Reading section of Woodbridge and has been involved in the arts his entire career. He was -- and is still -- working at The Shea Center at William Paterson University in Wayne. They invited him to join the committee and naturally hooked us up because we were the ‘music guys.’ It was a great match because as much as I knew about the music, he knew about contracts, riders, backline and all the nuts and bolts of running an arts program. He does some of the booking and manages the website and emails. Anything in the Grateful Dead or jam world is more often than not his work, as well as a bit of the classic rock bookings.
British folk-rock legend Richard Thompson is pictured with wife and band mate Zara Phillips at Woodbridge Wednesdays show during the pandemic in 2020. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROB WASILEWSKI
Out of all the shows you’ve presented, which have you enjoyed most and why?
That's almost impossible to answer as very few shows have failed to live up to my expectations -- and my expectations are very high. I will say that the most pleasant surprise was during the pandemic. Almost all shows everywhere were cancelled in 2020, but Mayor McCormac decided to proceed with our outdoor summer shows by moving to the larger field behind Woodbridge High School and drawing boxes on the ground so people could socially distance.
I had quite a few cancelations from acts around the country and overseas because travel was restricted and hotels were closed. Richard Thompson, who was living in Montclair, attended one of the early shows, with his now wife, Zara Phillips, and I asked if he'd like to fill in the following week for a cancellation I had just received. Our budget would normally not support an act like him but because he lived close and had no other shows booked that pandemic summer, he agreed to play for what our budget would support. He's one of my favorite artists, and we could never afford him under normal circumstances so that was a thrill of a lifetime.
What are the most can’t-miss shows you’re presenting this summer and why?
It's funny that I just posted on Facebook last week that I get asked a version of that question at least a couple of times every year. My answer is always the same. If someone asks what's the one show I should not miss, I always answer ‘the next one.’ If someone likes a particular genre over all others then, of course, pick the genre that you prefer. But if you're looking for world-class talent and open to new things, then every show has so much to offer, and I can't suggest skipping the next show for a show further down the schedule.
When do you present again at Avenel Arts Center and with whom?
The free summer shows generally run from June through September. Then Music on Main Street gets the first weekend of each month from October to May to move indoors at Avenel PAC and present ticketed -- not free -- shows. This Fall, we have Eric Andersen, Adam Ezra Group, Willie Nile solo, The Cowsills Acoustic Trio, Corey Glover of Living Colour and some others. Al and I still curate and promote the shows, but we have APAC support for box office, ushers, building staff and more.
APAC has its own programming, which is usually quite different from Music on Main Street shows. Mostly comedy, dinner theater and Off-Broadway kind of things.
What do you like most about Avenel Arts Center and why?
A few things: It's less than 2 miles from my house, they had the good judgement to install top of the line sound/lighting equipment, a beautiful 7-foot Baldwin piano, and at 195 seats, there is not a bad seat in the house. Also, an in-house restaurant currently being renovated makes artist hospitality much easier.
Do you present anywhere else besides Woodbridge or plan to?
From 2011 to 2016, I booked both Music on Main Street and The Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair, all while still working full time. Very draining! I finally stepped away from The Outpost and then retired from my regular job. My current plans are to continue booking in Woodbridge for as long as they'll have me and I am able but can't imagine going anywhere else at this point.
Is your family from Brandenburg, Germany?
I've always known that I was 7/8 Irish because seven of my great grandparents were from Ireland, and I assumed the 8th was from Germany. But genetic testing recently revealed that the 8th great grandparent was from Scotland but had Swedish and partially German parents, making me about 1 percent German. But that one German ancestor is where the name came down.
Are you a fan of the Brandenburg Concertos?
My wife and I had the Allegro section of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 performed as we exited the church at our wedding almost 45 years ago. I'm somewhat well-versed in classical music but my wife, Judy, is much more knowledgeable. Her late brother was a conductor and composer.
Pictured is the schedule for Woodbridge Wednesdays throughout the summer at Parker Press Park. PHOTO COURTESEY OF MUSIC ON MAIN STREET
Is there anything I didn’t ask on which you would like to comment?
The Wednesday series is as good as it is, in my opinion. because Mayor McCormac allows us to focus on quality over popularity. The tribute bands on Tuesdays draw bigger crowds because there are more people prefer to hear familiar songs. But we've built a dedicated audience of music enthusiasts, most of whom come regardless of genre or familiarity, based on very high-quality acts and by embracing diversity and inclusion which makes the series stronger.
Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at [email protected].
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