(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) proudly opens its 20th Anniversary Season with an unforgettable evening of music featuring Brent Birckhead Jazz on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at White Eagle Hall. The performance will be followed by a free reception celebrating two decades of artistic excellence, cultural exchange, and community engagement. Showtime is 7:30pm.
An award-winning artist praised by The New York Times as "one of the most riveting young improvisers in New York," Brent Birckhead has built a career defined by fearless creativity and deep reverence for musical legacy. A Baltimore native and graduate of Howard University, Birckhead seamlessly fuses traditional jazz roots with contemporary styles, performing with a vibrant energy that transcends genre boundaries. His work has been described as "an album you can play forever on a loop" (Downbeat Magazine) and "as enjoyable as a hot chocolate sipped on the terrace of a café on a winter afternoon" (Paris Move).
Throughout his career, Birckhead has performed and toured with world-renowned artists including Lauryn Hill, Nas, SWV, George Duke, and Eric Benet, among others. His two acclaimed albums, Birckhead (2019) and Cacao (2024), blend activism, introspection, and sonic experimentation, cementing his reputation as a visionary artist shaping the future of contemporary jazz.
"As we celebrate 20 years of Jersey City Theater Center, we are reminded that the arts have the power to transform hearts, minds, and communities," said Olga Levina, JCTC Executive Producer and Co-Founder. "Brent Birckhead embodies the spirit of creativity and courage that has defined JCTC since our founding. His music challenges boundaries and speaks to the universal human experience — much like JCTC's mission to spark dialogue, connection, and understanding through the arts."
Tickets are available for purchase online. White Eagle Hall is located at 337 Newark Avenue in Jersey City, New Jersey. For ADA accommodations, please contact 201-795-5386 or email [email protected].
The evening will conclude with a complimentary anniversary reception, inviting audiences, artists, and supporters to celebrate two decades of JCTC's commitment to elevating diverse voices and fostering cross-cultural understanding through the arts.
Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) arts organization committed to inspiring conversations about important issues of our times through the arts. Co-founded by Executive Producer Olga Levina, an immigrant from Belarus, Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) produces and presents universal yet locally relevant works, emphasizing social justice and human rights. Since 2006, JCTC has provided a platform for all artistic voices to be heard in Jersey City, with the aim of sparking meaningful cross-cultural dialogue that helps build a greater understanding, mutual respect and better communities in New Jersey.
Programming made possible by numerous supporters, including the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development, GRID Realty, Hudson County, the City of Jersey City, and the Office of Cultural Affairs/Jersey City Arts Trust Fund.
