(UNION, NJ) -- American Theater Group (ATG), in partnership with the New Jersey Creative Arts Collaborative (NJCAC) and the new Union Arts Center will present Juneteenth: A Celebration of Liberation at the DMK Stage at the Union Arts Center (1980 Morris Avenue) in Union on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at 7:00pm. It will be an inspirational evening of music, dance, poetry, and more.
The event will feature Grammy-nominated artist Junior Mack, along with tap dancer extraordinaire Jeffry Foote, vocalist Sandra Ward and poet Doriane Swain. Preshow entertainment at 6:30pm will be provided by the 201 Experience, a revolutionary arts movement which brings together singers, actors, dancers, poets, rappers and visual artists to create a raw, passionate all-inclusive experience. The event will be hosted by ATG Co-Vice President Diane L. Parker.
“We are pleased to present what promises to be an exhilarating evening of outstanding entertainment from both new and established artists,” noted ATG Producing Artistic Director Jim Vagias. “This will be a wonderful opportunity for the community to experience top performers and local talent and come together in a beautiful new facility to celebrate Juneteenth.”
Tickets are priced at $15 and are available for purchase online. The Union Arts Center is located within the new, state-of-the-art Public Library. The Arts Center includes the DMK Black Box Theater, the Union Art Gallery curated by Les Malamut, Union TV studios, classrooms, and The Center Café.
A self-taught blues-rock musician and soulful vocalist, Junior Mack has been playing guitar since 1968. Influenced by countless blues, rock and gospel musicians and singers, he’s combined years of listening and learning into one unique style. Aside from his own band (The Junior Mack Band) and solo efforts, he is a founding member of the Grammy Nominated Heritage Blues Orchestra. His style of music has been enthusiastically received by audiences within the United States, Europe and as far away as India. Junior has sat in or worked with numerous artists including The Allman Brothers Band, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, The Marshall Tucker Band, Honeyboy Edwards and Cyndi Lauper among others. Junior was a 2011 inductee into the New York Blues Hall of Fame.
The New Jersey Creative Arts Collaborative (NJCAC) is a non-profit organization whose goal is to inform, inspire and illuminate artists of color by sharing and broadening cultural awareness through the creation of original content and partnership opportunities.
American Theater Group (ATG), founded in 2012, produces new and classic works primarily by American playwrights with an emphasis on the development of new works and the reimagining of undeservedly neglected older ones. It also provides quality arts-in-education initiatives, including its New Works/New Voices playwriting program for high school tudents and its PlayLab program for BIPOC and queer playwrights.
