Jazz fans make their way inside their home away from home — Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts — this October 15, 2026 evening for an intimate performance by jazz vocalist Veronica Swift.
Born in 1994, Veronica Swift was raised in Charlottesville, VA by her musician parents. Her father, Hod O’Brien, was a noted jazz pianist and her mother, Stephanie Nakasian, was a jazz singer and educator. At the age of nine, Veronica recorded her first album, Veronica’s House of Jazz, and at the age of eleven, she completed her second recording, It’s Great to be Alive.
Following graduation from the University of Miami, Swift moved to New York City where she got a gig performing on Saturday nights at Birdland. Going on to work with such well-known artists as Chris Botti, Michael Feinstein, and Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Swift also released a series of albums as an adult including 2019’s Confessions, 2021’s This Bitter Earth, and her 2023 eponymous album, Veronica Swift.
Inside the Grunin Center auditorium, the lights dim and Executive and Artistic Director Heidi Sheridan welcomes the crowd and introduces Veronica Swift who takes the stage along with pianist Matt Baker, bassist Kris Monson, and drummer Aaron Seeber.
Opening with a jazzy rendition of “Home” from The Wiz, Swift croons with style, “When I think of home, I think of a place/Where there’s love overflowing,” before showing off her range and versatility as the arrangement slips into a bebop feel and she impresses with an extended scat-singing solo.
The crowd cheers and Swift exclaims, “Thank you!” as Aaron Seeber plays a samba beat and Swift and the trio launch into Samara Joy’s “No More Blues.” After scat-singing, Swift cries, “I have traveled ‘round the world in search of happiness/But all the happiness I’ve found was in my hometown,” on this bossa nova which also features a rhythmic Matt Baker piano solo and a percussive Aaron Seeber drum solo.
Swift introduces the members of her band prior to dedicating her next number, Benny Goodman’s “I’m Coming Virginia,” to her hometown of Charlottesville, VA, where, after imitating the sound of a trombone on a buzzy scat solo, she alternates scat-soloing with pianist Baker to avid applause.
Swift talks about missing the Virginia farm she grew up on as she steps into the lovely ballad, “This House,” where she croons with emotion, “This house is such a lovely place/Filled with memories warm and bright,” before floating notes with style and grace.
Swift recalls going on tour with her parents as a child and singing with them on stage starting at the age of nine. Dedicating her next number to her late father, Swift cries, “Wishing you were somehow near,” on a warm jazz arrangement of “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” from Phantom of the Opera.
After segueing into the ballad, “Thanks For You,” Swift and Co. shift into “We’ll Be Together Again” where Swift sings a cappella, “No tears/No fears/Remember there’s always tomorrow/So what if we have to part/We’ll be together again,” on this swing tune by Billie Holiday.
Announcing, “Here’s a song for all the people who find home all over the world,” Swift cries in a bluesy style, “Look down/Look down/That lonesome road/Before you travel on,” prior to picking up the tempo and delivering a bouncy version of Louis Armstrong’s “The Lonesome Road” which features piano, bass, and drum solos by Baker, Monson, and Seeber.
Monson moves his bass forward to accompany Swift on a duet version of Ella Fitzgerald’s “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” where the duo’s counterpoint improvisation brings cheers from the crowd.
Swift talks about moving to Los Angeles prior to performing a modern jazz version of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California.” After Swift chants, “Going to California with an aching in my heart,” Baker renders a cascading piano solo on this mystical arrangement inspired by Herbie Hancock.
Swift tells the audience about her rock band, DANE, prior to performing her original composition, “Room with a View,” where she has concertgoers clapping along as she scat sings on this upbeat tune.
Acknowledging, “This is a song about the struggle to find yourself in the world,” Swift gives a heartfelt performance vocalizing, “I miss the mountains/I miss the highs and lows/All the climbing, all the falling/All the while the wild wind blows,” on a gentle rock version of Next to Normal’s “I Miss the Mountains.”
To conclude tonight’s show, Swift performs “Home Blues” where she sings, “Home, that’s where the sunshine learns to shine/Home, a place where love was made divine,” on a bluesy arrangement of a George Gershwin theme which has fans cheering on their feet.
“Thank you so much, Toms River!” exclaims Swift as she exits the stage before returning for an encore of “Sing,” an optimistic Dresden Dolls song where she has the entire audience repeatedly chant, “Just sing,” as she improvises over them and they respond with yet another standing ovation.
To learn more about Veronica Swift, please go to veronicaswift.com. For information on upcoming performances at the Grunin Center — including The Chris Pinnella Big Band on November 6, Louis Armstrong Hot Five Centennial Celebration featuring Andrew Stephens on November 8, and Judy Collins’ Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: Farewell Concert on December 9 — please click on grunincenter.org.
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