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Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...5/12/22


By Danny Coleman

originally published: 05/12/2022

Rock On! This Week

“Do you know why I like playing Jazz? Because it will take me as far as my mind will let it.”   Rio Clemente

Yes, Rio, the expansion of one’s mind and experiences can come in many forms, be it music, theater, visual arts, history or any other perceived Zen which allows an individual to broaden their horizons. It is not often enough when all of these things come together but beginning May 12 those willing to venture near Warren County, NJ will have the opportunity to attend the first “Celebrate the Arts” festival benefitting The Rutherfurd Hall Foundation.

Recently, Sarah Brelvi, one of the festival organizers and several of the scheduled performers discussed the foundation, the building’s history, the importance of the arts and culture and their involvement in the first of what is going to become an annual event.

“We completed all this basically in the last six months,” said an excited Brelvi. “This will be the first year for the Rutherfurd Hall Foundation Arts Festival and it’s a brand-new festival coming into the northwestern New Jersey area. This was the idea of and birthed actually by Deidre Bryant Worth who is a trustee of the Rutherfurd Hall Foundation. So, as we were coming out of COVID and looking for ways on how we could engage the community in the foundation, we decided that the best way would be to have an arts festival and the purpose of the festival is threefold; we want to engage the community, we're looking to constantly, continually draw attention to Rutherfurd Hall; which is located in Allamuchy, New Jersey in Warren County. Rutherfurd Hall was originally a family home owned by the Rutherfurds who would come from New York City to enjoy the country and all of the different sportsman activities that would be able to take place; If you go back to the Gilded Age, this would be like a cottage. So, it's a 104-year-old mansion, a Tudor Style country type home and it’s now been for the last 10 years a cultural arts center and museum and when I say a cultural center, it's an arts center but it's not necessarily just art. We're bringing art to it this year but It's really a cultural center where many types of programs and events take place throughout the year. The purpose of the Hall Foundation is to feature the mansion and the property and to showcase all of the arts and right now we're raising funds for various capital improvements. We're raising funds to air condition the first floor of the mansion; as you can imagine, it was not air conditioned 104 years ago



 
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People can be passionate about many things but those who immerse themselves in the arts; well, to some it is a labor of love and Sarah, as well as her family fall into that category.

“I've been a trustee for the past eight years and I've always served in a leadership position and this year I have the honor of serving as the President of the Foundation. I've lived in Allamuchy with my family for the past 33 years and Rutherfurd Hall mansion has always been present. When the time came, the Rutherford's bequeathed the mansion to the Sisters of Charity and nuns lived in Rutherford Hall; it was then called Villa Madonna and we would have the opportunity to visit with the nuns, see the mansion and engage in some of the programs they had but when they moved from the Hall it was acquired by the Allamuchy Board of Education and it's now open to the public; a gem, we call Rutherfurd Hall a gem, a hidden gem. I've always been involved in culture and arts and many types of performing arts, our children actually are thespians and grew up in the performing arts. So, it's important to myself and my husband, Doctor Brelvi, that we perpetuate arts in our community. We perpetuate culture and we’re doing so through the physical building of the mansion, the property and the land; there's a whole park, Allamuchy State Park that surrounds the mansion; so why not get involved? Why not take my skills; I'm a retired professional fundraiser, and why not take my skills and my love of the Community and arts and bring it to Rutherfurd Hall?”

Many times, especially where the government is involved, there are delays and rules to follow and when putting on an event such as this and organizers can sometimes encounter unwanted “Roadblocks” requiring some tenacious efforts in order to get things moving. Sarah says, there were some detours but overall they have overcome any obstacles.

“That's It, it has taken a lot of tenacity and honestly, there have been roadblocks that we've had and we've been able to successfully maneuver around some of them and through some of them. Nothing major, but there are always these hidden roadblocks and I believe what you're saying is it's the understanding or the lack of understanding; I don't mean it to be negative or judgmental that people do not have a love for sharing the arts from their heart. Sincerely, it’s a love of art and culture and when you have that and that is intertwined within your personality, you can't shut it off.” 

“We are looking to showcase and highlight local artists and these are all local artists from New Jersey, or a really close proximity of Pennsylvania and the festival runs from May 12th when we kick it off with an arts festival gala; I was working with our team yesterday and we're about ready to shut off ticket sales to the gala because we're almost at our peak which is excellent news and we've had some wonderful and very engaging supportive sponsors and what's important is that these are new sponsors to Rutherfurd Hall. We have the John Johnson Auto Group, which is John Johnson who grew up in Allamuchy, went to preschool with the nuns at Rutherfurd Hall, attended Sunday services in the chapel as he grew up as many families did in Allamuchy and is a very successful business person and his intent is to support his local community. John Johnson has been our greatest. Supporter in so many ways philanthropically and through his business to the community and we have gained other sponsors which you know you have to cultivate new relationships consistently and continually and the arts festival has opened that door for us. So, we're really very grateful to have those relationships come to Rutherfurd Hall.”

When putting an event like this together there are choices to be made for the entertainment and in this case the foundation has chosen local creatives to set the tone for the opening weekend.

“Well, actually, Peter Maier was a gift that landed right in our lap,” explained Sarah. “The owner of our local radio station. WRNJ is friends with many people in the community; his name is Norm Worth and he was actually having lunch with an Allamuchy resident and farmer, Ray Bohacz and Ray is a personal friend and had worked with Peter Maier at one time when Peter was in the auto industry. So, when Norm started to tell Ray about this, he said, “Oh, let me see if Peter would be interested in showcasing his artwork and so a group of us went out to Bethlehem to where he lives in Pennsylvania and to his studio. That was absolutely amazing to be with the artist; his paints, his brushes, his pieces, his work clothes and just engage in it and soak up what it is to be an artist. We're very honored to have his work, which will be displayed and all of the artwork will be displayed throughout the whole festival which runs from May 12th to the 22nd but on May 14th we have an open house where there's no charge to come into Rutherfurd Hall and view all the artwork. All of the artwork is available for sale and a percentage will come to the foundation.”



 
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“We do want to be sure that we're ensuring to the public that we're making this accessible and affordable to everyone. The fee to attend each one of the performances is $25 for adults and $20 for seniors and children and those are performances by the New Jersey Tap Ensemble, Allison Bolshoi; who has performed at Carnegie Hall as an opera singer and Rio Clemente who has performed at Rutherfurd Hall many times. We also have a historian, Joan Salvas and she's Rutherfurd Hall’s resident historian and she'll be lecturing on the history of Rutherfurd Hall. Oh! We encourage ballroom dancing; we're going to have demonstrations with participation and prior to that an open house wine bar. People can come in that evening and hear Bach, Beethoven and Mozart music performed on an 18th Century Fortepiano; are you familiar with the Fortepiano? It is one of the original pianos from the 18th Century and it resonates; the tones can be very loud. When I say loud, I mean very enriched tones that will emulate from the piano. Then we conclude with something that's also brand new to the Northwestern New Jersey area; it’s a film festival. We have short films that have been approved to be shown and these are all by New Jersey filmmakers, the films are about New Jersey or by New Jersey film makers.

Rock On! This Week

Another one of the performers is the aforementioned Alison Bolshoi, a local Contralto who has graced some of our nations finest stages and beyond and for Alison, it is her first experience at this venue

“They invited me to come in with other opera singers and put on a classical concert and I was very happy to say yes,” said Bolshoi with a slight laugh. I'm not familiar with them, and frankly I've been looking for a venue just like this and it was really a meeting of the minds; I've been trying to start a classical opera series out here and it's very difficult to get something like that going and having a venue that suits the music is something you really want and this is gorgeous and I didn't even know it was there. I must have driven by it 100 times in the four years that we've lived out here, it looked to me just like a school and instead it's this gorgeous mansion on the water and it has a lovely theater that seats 100 people, which is a really nice number for getting something going; it has a grand piano and it's just very elegant and perfect for a classical background.”

Bolshoi is no stranger to performing and as she tells it; her love of the stage began at a very early age.

“Well, I've always been performing, I was one of those children that spoke very, very early as a baby; I was tap dancing and singing at 18 months old in a theater troupe with my parents. I've just always been on the stage and everyone thought I was going to do musical theater until college when a professor heard me singing in the hallway of one of my universities I attended and said; “What are you doing singing musical theatre? You're an opera singer!”  So, I started studying with him and then right out of college was hired at Bianchi and Margherita’s nightclub in The Village in New York. I sang there for years and then Senator Paul Simon from Illinois heard me singing there one night and said, “What are you doing singing in a nightclub?” He sent me to the Chicago Lyric for an audition; I auditioned and didn't get the job, but that's OK, because I realized that I should be taking myself more seriously. I've had a really great career and if anything, it has gotten stronger in the last few years except for COVID, of course. I just sang at Carnegie Hall several weeks ago, I sang at Carnegie in 2018. In 2019 and I'll be at Dallas Opera in the fall making my debut there and everything is just sort of rolling downhill with my career. I'm sort of crazy that in addition to my own performance career, I have a full-time teaching business as well as wanting to bring classical music out to the country. So, you know, my family is always like; “Really, you're going take on something else?” I really enjoy it and there's a need for classical music out here. There are a lot of people out here who follow classical music and who don't necessarily want to drive into the city every time they want to hear something. So; if we have a series out here, it's going to be most welcome, I can see that already. When you think of classical or opera you think of grand stages and the costumes and everything like that and yet we can also do opera in concert form where you're performing duets or trios or Arias and if the people are familiar with the music, or even if they're not, you're still listening to beautiful melodies and if the performer is good, they are delivering the meaning of the Aria without having to have the whole backdrop of the sets, the costumes and the full story.” 

When most think of opera singers, the impression is that they are fluent in a foreign language, given that the selections they perform are always in a foreign language but not so says Alison.

“Opera singers often do not speak the languages that they sing in; I sing in, I think it's eight languages at this point. My job is to sing in another language so that a native speaker of that country believes that I'm from that country. Most opera singers do have that gift; we are chameleons with language and we can just as easily sing in Czech or German or French or Italian. I sing in those languages, plus Greek, Ancient Greek, Spanish; there are no operas in Spanish, but there is classical art songs and I also sing in Korean; we strive to be as believable in each language as possible. I do speak some German, nothing crazy but I can get by and I can pretty much get by in Italy and France as well but it's not my native tongue and I didn't learn it from the perspective of speaking it. I learned it from the perspective that I will translate every word of this Aria and I will know idiomatically what I'm stressing, what are my most important words for conveying the feeling that this character is expressing.”

So, when she takes the stage at 8 p.m. on Saturday May 14; will she be performing one of her favorite Arias?                                                                                                                                                                            

“ I love to sing the character Fricka in Wagner's “Ring Cycle.” Fricka is the goddess of marriage and she is married to Wotan and she is berating him for having slept around with the Earth goddess Erda and creating Bruunhilde, so she is berating him for not being faithful (laughs); it's German at 90 miles an hour and it's something I'm just particularly good at and Wagner is my favorite composer. I actually just yesterday decided to put Fricka on the program for Rutherfurd Hall. It is a very unusual thing to hear Wagner at an oratorio concert but I think it's also important to introduce it as just like any other Aria and given some time people will go, oh my God; what was that? That was so unusual. Then they get interested in looking it up; what is Wagner and what does he write like? Will I like any of these operas if I went to see one in its entirety? So that's the idea, to just keep opening people's consciousness to other composers and to more classical music.”



 
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Rock On! This Week

We’ve already read a bit about renowned artist Peter Maier; he elaborated on how he came to be part of this event and his art.

“The Hot Rod farmer, Ray Bohacz; he has a place over near there, I think it's in Hackettstown, it’s a 100-acre farm and he writes for the Farm Bureau and he's got a podcast that goes to 80 countries. So, Ray is pretty well known in the farm industry and he met me through another New Jersey fellow, Rob Ida the famous custom car builder and because I was a senior designer for Cadillac, Pontiac and Chevrolet Motor division he came over here to do a podcast on what Rob and I are doing car wise and we just hit it off and he told Diedre Bryant Worth about my stuff and two days later they were over here. They took a long shot and said; “Hey, we can't afford your work but we know who you are, you've got an international reputation; can we come over?” I said, sure; I'm a Vietnam veteran and I've helped a lot of organizations.”

“My paintings are scanned, not photographed, so there's no pixelation and they have a special process that they've made where they can print my paintings on metal or on the back of plexi,” he continued. “I can do a life-sized car painting which is five or six by 17 or 18 feet and scan it and it won't pixelate or I can make it 10 inches. So, just pick a size and this allows people who can't afford an original to buy that; I thought it would be a good idea for them and they did do so too so, that's how I got involved.”

Maier’s work isn’t limited to cars, he has a deep history with and has also done countless portraits of music icons

“Well, it's a deep history with Mort Cooperman, Mort Cooperman is former owner of the famous Lone Star Cafe in Greenwich Village. We were introduced by a museum director oh, twenty years ago and Mort and I, if we don't talk every day, we talk every other day; for the last 20 years and he fell in love with my work and he's promoting it like crazy. Before he opened the Lone Star, he was a top advertising executive on Madison Avenue; he was one of the guys who came up with the phrase “You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy’s” and that's Mort; he's a real character. He knows everybody from Willie Nelson to Johnny Cash; everybody who was anybody in country music played at the Lone Star, plus people like Liberace and non-country singers like James Brown. He introduced me to many and one I kind of didn't know, a group called The Band. I wasn’t familiar because when I was in Vietnam, they didn't play a lot of that stuff for us but when I got home my wife Jan; we got married in 1969. Jan would say, “I want to buy some albums.” So, I used to go on a Saturday or Sunday to Hudson's Department Store and maybe buy 10 albums; they were like three bucks back then for 33 records. I’d come home and she’d always say, “I want The Band. Well, I finally found it and I liked their music and one day Mort calls me up and says, “Listen, I’ve got an idea for a TV program and I’ve got some celebrities in mind. You're gonna be the car guy, and they're gonna ask you why you thought such and such was done on a particular car and you're going to give your answers whether they're right or wrong and it'll create a buzz.” So, he picked two celebrities and the first one didn't want to do it and the second one was Levon Helm of The Band. So, we met Levon up in Woodstock at his place and we talked it over and it was a go but it never really made it to TV. Everybody liked it but you know these TV executives, they’ve got their own ideas. We didn't like their ideas so we said, eh, let’s can it and then believe it or not, a year later, Levon passed away. So, that's how I met these guys and did a whole bunch of celebrity portraits. We had a big museum show in Ohio and another one called “Legends.”  I did Jagger, I did Keith Richards and a big painting of Keith called, “Under My Thumb” and you’ll see why; it will be in in the Rutherford show. I did Janis and Hendrix, I did Willie and Springsteen and I'll probably do a bunch more as the time goes on and then I will put them up on the market.”

Maier’s art is unusual in that he doesn’t work with standard paints or surfaces.

“I'm the only one in the world who uses experimental automotive paint given to me originally by DuPont which is now Axalta Coatings; they purchased DuPont's entire paint division. I paint on aluminum, so whether I do a car or a person or an animal or an inanimate object I work with automotive paint strictly that are waterborne experimental and they've given me about $350,000 worth of paint; I can open five body shops. I only use eight colors and I mix them in very thin layers, no colors are pre-mixed. So, let's say I want green, I'll put yellow down in a thin layer, and then I'll put a thin layer of blue over it and boom, you've got green. So, this builds up; I can go 75 to 100 layers and they won't muddy out. When the painting is complete, we put three coats of automotive premier clear on it, we wet sand that and then we put one more flow coat on it and it produces a 3D effect. They're so deep you can't believe the paintings; they do not look like paintings. You’ve got to see them in person because they're so big.”

Big? Peter says that he can create in “Any size;” so, what will he be exhibiting at the festival?

 “We have “Pisces,” which is a double fish, a beautiful Angelfish shot from underwater in water; it's kind of interesting, one’s going in one direction and one’s going the other direction. I call it “Pisces” and it has beautiful colors, very rich colors. Diedre has that on their site and they’ve sent postcards all over the place and they're affordable. The biggest one is like all 70 by 60 wide, it's a pretty big print and they're about 12 grand but when you see it, you'll understand why. Keith Richards is another one, it's called, “Under my Thumb” and you'll see why.”

Rock On! This Week

To discover more about The Rutherfurd Hall Foundation’s Celebrate the Arts Festival, please visit https://rutherfurdhall.org/about/rutherfurd-hall-foundation/ . To find out more about Alison Bolshoi, go to https://alisonbolshoi.com/ and for Peter Maier, please see https://www.petermaierart.com/about.

That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!



This week's event listings


Al's Airport Inn
636 Bear Tavern Road West Trenton
(609) 883-5252
Sat. (12 p.m.) Acoustic Brunch (5 p.m.) Chuck Schwing
Sun. (12 p.m.) Sunday Acoustic Brunch (6 p.m.) DJ Bobby Jones
Mon. 5 p.m. Rob Silvers
Tues. 7 p.m. Fast Ant
Wed. 7 p.m. Kindred Spirit Duo
Aristaeus Brewing
2475C Big Oak Road Langhorne, PA
(215) 757-2337
Thurs. 7 p.m. Trivia
Fri. 7 p.m. Ryan Sab
Sat. 3 p.m. Jonathn Ashe
Sun. 10 a.m. “Sunday Funday Brunch” (2 p.m.) Faraway Guys
Arm & Hammer Park
1 Thunder Road Trenton
(609) 394-3300
Thurs. 6 p.m. “Field of Dreams” (Dancers / Live Band)
Artworks Trenton  
19 Everett Alley Trenton 
(609) 394-9436  
Sun. 4 p.m. Keeping Vigil
Bill's Olde Tavern 
2694 Nottingham Way Hamilton 
(609) 586-0192 
Fri. 7 p.m. Sara and The Sound
Sat. 7 p.m. Blind Lemon Pie
Mon. 7 p.m. Trivia Night
Tues./Wed. 8 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ "Super" Dave Curtis
Ages 21+ 
Blend Bar & Bistro    
911 Highway 33 Hamilton 
(609) 245-8887 
Thurs. 4 p.m. Hamilton Area YMCA Guest Bartender Event w/ Hal & Chris English, Rich & Suzanne Fornaro, Jeff Hurley, Christina Spinell
Blue Bottle Cafe
101 East Broad Street Hopewell
(609) 333-1710
Wed. 6 p.m. Brian Elliot
Boro Bean
9 East Broad Street Hopewell
(609) 466-6681
Sat. 11 a.m. John Abbott
Bowman's Tavern 
1600 River Road New Hope, PA 
(215) 862-2972 
Thurs. 6:30 p.m. Matt Gordeuk Trio
Fri. (5:30 p.m.) Bennett Lee (8 p.m.) Bob Egan
Sat. 7 p.m. Andrea Carlson
Sun. (12 p.m.) Larry Tamanini (6 p.m.) Lorenzo
Wed. 6 p.m. Andy Prescott
Bristol Riverside Theater
2501 Bath Road Bristol, PA
(215) 785-0100
Sat. 2 p.m. FREE Spring Concerts in the Park feat. Tri-County Band
Broken Goblet Brewing
2500 State Road Bensalem, PA
(267) 812-5653
Thurs. 7:30 p.m. Bad Cop/Bad Cop, Homeless Gospel Choir, Midfield. $12 (advance), ages 18+, doors open at 7 p.m.
Fri. 3 p.m. “Friday The Firkinteenth #43” (8:30 p.m.) Flannel
Sun. 3 p.m. Music Bingo
Tues. 7 p.m. Luck of the Draw Weekly Dart Tournament
Wed. 7 p.m. Quizzo Hosted by Righteous Jolly
Burlington County Library
5 Pioneer Boulevard West Hampton 
(609) 267-9660 
Thurs./Fri. 5 p.m. Burlington County “Short Film Festival”  
Candlelight Lounge 
24 Passaic Street Trenton 
(609) 695-9612 
Thurs. 6 p.m. Thursday Night Blues Jam Hosted by The Mojo Gypsies. $5
Sat. 3 p.m. Lars Haake. $20
Chesterfield Porch Fest
Takes place all over Chesterfield, NJ
Sat. 1 p.m. Dread Pilot Roberts, Successful Failures, Chet & Ari, 4AM, Finster, Brixton Riot
Clubhouse at Mountain View  (The Patio)
850 Bear Tavern Road Ewing
(609) 538-0808
Fri. 6:30 p.m. Radio Fiction
COARadio.com 
125 South Main Street Hightstown 
(609) 241-7103
Fri. 7 p.m. "Danny Coleman's Got The Blues"
Sat. 3 p.m. “Rock On Radio Indie Hour”
Sun. 7 p.m. "Rock On Radio" feat. Redbird Flying Solo, May Erlewine
Color Me Mine (Princeton Shopping Center)
301 Harrison Street Princeton 
(609) 581-9500
Fri. 6:30 p.m. Kids Night Out! – Paint Pouring! $35 (Includes painting, crafts, games. This is a drop-off event)
Cooper's Riverview                                                                     
50 Riverview Plaza Trenton
(609) 393-7300
Thurs.(7 p.m.) TailSpin (9 p.m.) Club Night w/ DJ G3M. Ages 21+
Fri. (5 p.m.) "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere Happy Hour" (8 p.m.) Shorty Long
Sat. 9 p.m. Club Night w/ Euphoria Party
Sun. 11 a.m. "Latin Jazz and Mother's Day Brunch" w/ Victor Tarassov 
Tues. 7 p.m. Karaoke
Wed. (7 p.m.) Blues Jam on the Deck  (8 p.m.) Disco “Hustle” Night w/ "Guest" DJs. $5
All Events Ages 21+
Cream Ridge Winery 
145 Route 539 Cream Ridge
(609) 259-9797
Sun. 1:30 p.m. Redbird
Cross Pollination Gallery
2 North Union Street Lambertville
(609) 213-6734
Fri. 5 p.m. "Friday Happy Hour." (Talk art, wine and musicians who bring instruments)
Curran’s Irish Inn
1909 Bristol Pike Bensalem, PA
(215) 245-1800
Thurs. 7 p.m. Music Bingo
Sat. 9 p.m. EarCandy
Tues. 7:30 p.m.  Quizzo
Dacey's Pub
215 West Philadelphia Avenue Morrisville, PA
(215) 295-4838
Fri. 6 p.m. Acoustic Music Night
Wed. 8 p.m. Quizzo                                                                                                                                                       
Dadz Bar and Grill
744 Main Street Lumberton
(609)267-4344
Thurs. 7 p.m. Open Mic Night Hosted by Nytrous
Sun. 4 p.m. Oldies with DJ Deuce
Tues. 7 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Edgar Anderson
Wed. 7 p.m./9 p.m. Poker Night
Decades
2465 South Broad Street Hamilton
(609) 439-0007
Fri. 9 p.m. “Friday Night Dance Party” w/ DJ Ran D
Sat. 8:30 p.m. “Brothers Saloon Reunion” w/ DJ Greg Blair
Tues. 8 p.m. Karaoke Hosted by DJ Wildman Manny
Dempster's Pub
437 Pine Street Mount Holly 
(609) 261-0500    
Sat. 8 p.m. Random Notes
Eddington House Bensalem
2813 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, PA
(215) 639-1220
Wed. 7 p.m. Music Bingo
Flying Pig Tavern & Tap
167 US-Route 130 North Bordentown
(609) 899-7447
Thurs. 9 p.m. DJ Ran D
Gleason's Bar
6700 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA
(215) 943-4781
Thurs. 7 p.m. Music Bingo / “Ladies Night”
Fri. (6 p.m.) "Happy Hour" (9 p.m.) Never Enough
Sat. 5 p.m. Aaron Quarterman
Sun. 5 p.m. Joe Devlin
Green Parrot Restaurant Pub, & Patio
240 North Sycamore Street Newtown Township, PA
(215) 504-7277
Fri. 9 p.m. Virus
Sat. 8 p.m. Jeff Selby
Hamilton Elks  
1580 Kuser Road Hamilton
(609) 585-8610   
Sat. 7 p.m. Tiltin’ Catz
Hamilton Tap & Grill
557 US Route 130 North Hamilton
(609) 905-0925
Thurs. 7 p.m. Music Bingo w/ DJ Nebbs
Fri. 8 p.m. Jack Furlong & Paul Kerrsen
Havana New Hope 
105 S. Main Street New Hope, PA. 
(215) 862-9897
Thurs. 7 p.m. Funk & Blues Jam Hosted by The Slidewinder Blues Band
Fri. (8 p.m.) Van Halen Tribute w/ “Romeo Delight.” $20  (11 p.m.) DJ Dance Party
Sat. (8:30 p.m.) Cherry Crush (11:59 p.m.) DJ Dance Party
Sun. 6 p.m. Vince Martell’s Rock Gold Trio w/ Peg Pearl. $20
Mon. (9 p.m.) "Lipstick Mondays Drag Show" Hosted by Cyannie Lopez (11 p.m.) Karaoke w/ Dwayne
Wed. 7 p.m. Jumper Duo
Hopewell Theater  
5 South Greenwood Avenue Hopewell 
(609) 466-1964
Thurs. 7 p.m. “Blow Yo Horn” Film and Panel Discussion
Fri. 8 p.m. Ana Egge
Hopewell United Methodist Church
20 Blackwell Avenue Hopewell
(609) 466-0471
Sat. (5 p.m.) Hopewell Hayride Presents: “A Live Game Show” Hosted by Ron MacCloskey. (6 p.m.) Hopewell Hayride (Old Time Country & Bluegrass). Hosted by Frank Bruno feat. Al Kessel & Never Too Late Band, Travis Wetzel, Ann Brown, Mark Miklos. $15 (Suggested donation adults)
Hopewell Valley Vineyards 
46 Yard Avenue Pennington 
(609) 737-4465 
Fri. 4 p.m. "Music & Merlot" feat. (5:30 p.m.) Catmoondaddy
Sat. (1 p.m.) Acoustic DuoVer (5:30 p.m.) "Music & Merlot" feat. My Hut Music w/ DJ Darius
Sun. 1:30 p.m. "Jazzy Sundays" feat.  Jeff Lyle Friedman
Hurricane Jacks Bar and Grill 
7759 New Falls Road Levittown, PA 
(267) 914-4517 
Thurs. 7:30 p.m. Music Bingo w/ DJ John W.
Fri. 6 p.m.Happy Hour w/ Johnny Betz 
Mon. 7 p.m. Motown Mondays w/ DJ Slow Ice
Tues. 7 p.m. Acoustic Tuesdays w/ Cara Cartney
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic w/ Laura Fiacco
Il Portico Restorante Italiano
273 West Route 130 South Burlington
(609) 239-1000
Fri. / Sat. 6:30 p.m. Live Music (TBA)
Iron Plow Vineyards 
26750 Mount Pleasant Road Columbus 
(732) 306-9111
Fri. 6:30 p.m. Spoondrift
Sat. 6:30 p.m. Bob O & Beth
Sun. 2 p.m. Bob & Dave
Iron Plow Vineyards Tasting Room
61 High Street Mt. Holly
(732) 306-9111
Fri. 6:30 p.m. Wayne Palmer & Friends
Ivy Tavern 
3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton 
(609) 888-1435 
Thurs. 9 p.m. Open Mic
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Asylum Choir
Sun. 6 p.m. Karaoke Latinos
All shows 21+   
John & Peter's 
96 S. Main Street New Hope, Pa 
(215) 862-5981
Mon. 9 p.m. Open Mic (Sign-ups start at 8:30 p.m.)
Wed. 9 p.m. The Invitational 
All shows 21+
Killarney's Publick House 
1644 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road Hamilton
(609) 586-1166
Thurs. 6 p.m.  “Sip & Clip” $65 (Includes small bites and one glass of wine)
Fri. (6 p.m.) Keith and Joey (9 p.m.) DJ Jimmy G
Sat. 9 p.m. DJ Jimmy G
Sun. 10 a.m. Sunday  Brunch 
Laurita Winery 
85 Archertown Road New Egypt 
(609) 752-0200
Fri. 7:30 p.m. “Kricket Comedy Night” Hosted by Eddie Gallagher, feat. Donna Otenna, Bonnie McFarlane. $25 (Online only), doors open at 7 p.m.
Locust Hall at Johnson's Farm
2691 Monmouth Road Jobstown
(609) 723-2630
Fri. 5 p.m. “Springfield’s Backyard Night” Benefitting Springfield Township Home and School Association feat. Poor Pluto, games and more
Sun. 4 p.m. “King Saison” Farm to Table Dinner
Logan Inn 
10 West Ferry Street New Hope, PA 
(215) 862-2300
Thurs. 6 p.m. Ryan Shubert
Fri. 8:30 p.m. Ian Lander
Sat. 8:30 p.m. Oliver Dangum
Sun. 11:30 a.m. Sunday Brunch feat. Bill Tally
Magikava
87a South Main Street New Hope, PA
(215) 862-2739
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic
McGuinn's Place 
1781 Brunswick Avenue Lawrence 
(609) 392-0599
Tues. 9 p.m. Karaoke 
Ages 21+ 
McStews Irish Sports Pub 
5316 New Falls Road Levittown, PA 
(215) 949-9570 
Sat. 8 p.m. “Far Beyond Giving: A tribute to Veterans” feat. We…Our war, Unscarred, New Horizon, Orion, OMAB. $10
Tues. 7:30 p.m. Trivia Night
Wed. 9 p.m. Karaoke w/ Paula and Sam
Mercer Oaks Golf Course
725 Village Road West West Windsor NJ
(609) 936-1383
Fri. 6 p.m. HHSW Class of ’76 45th Reunion. Music by DJ Chris Barlow. $65 (Includes dinner and cocktail hour open bar) 
Millhill Basement 
300 S. Broad Street Trenton 
(609) 989-1600 
Fri. 10 p.m. Useless, Gristmill, Shutup! Doors open at 9 p.m.
Music Mountain Theater
1483 Route 179 Lambertville
(609)397-3337
Fri. 8 p.m. "The Producers" $25
Sat. 8 p.m.  "The Producers" $25
Sun. 3 p.m.  "The Producers" $25
All Shows Require Masks for the Unvaccinated
Naked Brewing Company
212 Mill Street Bristol, PA
(267) 544-7129
Sat. 11 a.m. Weekend “Acoustic” Brunch (12 p.m.) Music by Fly On The Wall
Sun. 11 a.m. Weekend Brunch
Tues. 7 p.m. Trivia
New Hope Winery (The Pour House)
6123 Lower York Road New Hope, PA
(215) 794-2331
Sat. (5 p.m.) Jerry Monk (8 p.m.) “Eagles Tribute w/ “Eaglemania”
Newtown Brewing Company
103 Penns Trail Newtown, PA
(215) 944-8609
Thurs. 7:30 p.m. Trivia Night
Fri.  6 p.m. Mike Mele
Nick's Roast Beef
4501 Woodhaven Road West Philadelphia, PA
(215) 637-5151
Thurs. 7 p.m.  Trivia
Fri. 9 p.m. Shot of Southern
Sun. 4 p.m. Nothing 2 Prove
Nottingham Tavern 
9 Mercer Street Hamilton Square 
(609) 587-6623 
Thurs  9:30 pm. Karaoke w/ Super Dave Curtis
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Kindred Spirit
Old Town Pub 
135 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown 
(609) 291-9232
Thurs. 7 p.m. Quizzoholics Trivia 8 p.m. Cinco De Mayo w/ DJ Dan
Fri. 8 p.m. Monk & Monk
Sat. 8 p.m. The Williamsboy Duo
Palmer Square
40 Nassau Street Princeton
Sat.12 p.m.Underwater Airlines (6 p.m.) Some Assembly Required
Sun. 2 p.m. Jewish American Festival
Patriots Crossing 
1339 River Road Titusville 
(609) 737-2780
Sat. 8 p.m. Spanky’s Garage
Pete's Steak House 
523 Whitehorse Avenue Hamilton 
(609) 585-8008 
Fri. 9:30 p.m. AudioPilot
Piccolissimo Italian Grille
23203 Columbus Road Columbus
(609) 291-1033
Fri. 5:30 p.m. Rich
Sat. 5:30 p.m. Ed Wilson
Princeton Unitarian Church (Channing Hall)
50 Cherry Hill Road Princeton
Sat. 7 p.m. “Celtic Meets Classical” feat. Fiona Tyndall, Kathy Haynie and Guests. Benefitting The Red Cross Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund.  $20
Ralphie's
2295 2nd Street Pike Newtown, PA
(267) 491-5408
Sun. 3 p.m. Walking Dead
River House at Odette’s
274 South Rive Road New Hope, PA
(215) 682-2022
Thurs. 7 p.m. Gina Corso
Fri. 6 p.m. Paula Johns Duo
Sat. 6 p.m. Bob Egan
Sun. 10 a.m. Michael Andrew
Mon. 6 p.m. Russel Norkevich
Tues. 6 p.m. Lorenzo Branca
Wed. 6 p.m. Joe Wagner
Rossi's Bar & Grill 
2110 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road Hamilton 
(609) 890-2004 
Thurs. 5:30 p.m. Ernie White
Second Sin Brewing Company
1500 Grundy Lane Bristol, PA
(267) 812-5251
Thurs. 4 p.m.  “Marvel” Trivia
Shady Brook Farm
931 Stony Hill Road Yardley, PA
(215) 968-1670
Fri. (5:30 p.m.) "Summer unWINEd Concert Series" feat. WitzEnd (6:30 p.m.) Righteous Jolly w/ Ryan Gaughn
Wed. 7 p.m. Quizzo w/ Emily & Joe
Small World Coffee 
14 Witherspoon Street Princeton 
(609) 924-4377 x2
Sat. 6 p.m. Ross Newhouse
Sparky World-Famous Beer Garden
4333 New Falls Road Levittown, PA
(215) 943-2321
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Dana
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Jed’s Gold
Sun. 9 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Cara Cartney
Mon. 9 p.m. Game Night Hosted by Kid Dalton
Tues. 7 p.m. Johnny Betz
Steam Pub
606 2nd Street Pike Southampton, PA
(215) 942-6468
Sat. 10:30 p.m. Red Hotts
1675 at The Ridges
4666 East Bristol Road Trevose, PA
(215) 876-6868
Fri. 7 p.m. Tour de Force Trio
Sun. 6 p.m. Lucky 757 . $10
Taps Sports Bar
4021-4023 Veterans Highway Levittown, PA
(215) 486-7862
Fri. 9 p.m. Karaoke Hosted by Paula
Mon. 7 p.m. Open Mic Night Hosted by Bill Monach
Tara's Tavern
1 Cookstown-New Egypt Road, Wrightstown 
(609) 286-2300 
Fri. 9 p.m. Audio Outlaws
Sat. 9 p.m. Suburban Sensi
Tavern On The Lake  
101 Main Street Hightstown 
(609) 426-9345  
Fri. 9 p.m. Complicated Matter
Wed. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Temperance House 
5 South State Street Newtown, PA 
(215) 944-8050 
Thurs. 7 p.m. Open Session Blues Hosted by Steve Guyger
Fri. 7 p.m. Anders Hyatt
Tues. 8 p.m. Trivia w/ Righteous Jolly
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic Night w/ Cara Cartney
TGI Fridays
780 Route 130 South Hamilton 
(609) 581-6910  
Sat. 6 p.m. Lisa Bouchelle
TGI Fridays
3535 U.S. Route 1 North #275 Princeton
(609) 520-0378
Fri. 6 p.m. Bryan Bernard Hansen
Sun. 1 p.m. Matthew Cook
The Beer Garden at Snipes Farm
890 West Bridge Street Morrisville, PA
Sat. 5 p.m. A Tribute to The Stones and The Who w/ “The Mighty Manatees & Friends”
The Buck Hotel
1200 Buck Road Feasterville, PA
(215) 396-2002
Thurs. 7 p.m. Kirko
Fri. 7 p.m. Love Junk
Sat. 9 p.m. Bigg Romeo
Tues. 6 p.m. Danny Lynch
The Cool Cricket 
216 Burlington Street Fieldsboro 
(609) 291-9110 
Fri. 8 p.m. Karaoke
Sat. 9 p.m. Black Zeppelin
The Cure Insurance Center  
81 Hamilton Ave. Trenton   
(609) 656-3200   
Sun. 7 p.m. Laxmikant Pyarelal
The Dubliner
34 North Main Street New Hope, PA
(215) 693-1816
Fri. 7 p.m. Na Bodach
Sat. 7 p.m. Sean Fleming
Sun. 2 p.m. David Falcone
The Five Four Bar & Grill
8919 New Falls Road Levittown, PA
(215) 547-5525
Thurs. 8 p.m. Karaoke w/ Paula and Sam
Fri. 9 p.m. Hind Sight
Sat. 9 p.m. Supertrain
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Bill & Kathy
The HOB Tavern 
146 Second Street Bordentown 
(609) 291-7020 
Fri. 8 p.m. DJ Entertainment
Tues 7 p.m.  Music Bingo
The Ivy Inn 
248 Nassau Street Princeton 
(609) 921-8555 
Fri. 9 p.m. DJ Soto
Sat. 9 p.m. Strange Brew Crew
Tues. 8 p.m. Quizzo w/ Bob E Luv
Wed. 10 p.m. Total Request w/ DJ Rockin' Ron
The Morrisville Tavern
376 West Trenton Avenue Morrisville, PA
(215) 295-5310
Sat. 8 p.m. Dan Ward
Mon. 7 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Tim
Tues. 7 p.m. Open Mic
Wed. 7 p.m. Trivia Night
The Newtown Theatre
120 North State Street Newtown, PA
(215) 968-3859
Fri. 8 p.m. Friday Night Jazz w/ Todd Bashore
Sun. 4 p.m. “Peter and The Wolf” w/ The Newtown Chamber Ortchestra
The Pines Tavern 
6217 North Radcliffe Street Bristol, PA 
(215) 788-1659 
Sun. 1 p.m. Mike & Shanna
The Roost 
181 Rte. 539 Cream Ridge 
(609) 208-0050
Thurs. 6:30 p.m. Sean Cox & Joe Hoyer
Fri. 8 p.m. Kindred Spirit
Sat. 8 p.m. Diablo Sandwich Band
The Sycamore Grill 
255 North Sycamore Street Newtown, PA 
(215) 908-6326 
Fri. 8 p.m. Kickbax Acoustic Trio
Sat. 8 p.m. The Idlewoodsman
The Union Firehouse
18 Washington Street Mount Holly
(609) 288-6491
Fri. 8 p.m. Don’t Call Me Francis. $10, doors open at 7 p.m.
Sat. 8 p.m. Chris Harford and The Band of Changes. $10, doors open at 7 p.m.
Tir Na Nog 
1324 Hamilton Avenue Trenton 
(609) 392-2554
Sun. 3 p.m. "Irish Sessions" 
Tues. 8 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Jerry & John Monk
Trenton Social  
449 South Broad Street Trenton 
(609) 989-7777
Thurs. 5 p.m. "Happy Hour Throwback Thursday"
Sat. 9 p.m. Live Music (TBA)
Mon. 6 p.m. "Monday Night Karaoke" Hosted by Sweets
Tues. 8 p.m. Open Mic Night w/ Tobias & Lea (Sign-ups at 7:30 p.m.)
Under The Moon
23 North Union Street Lambertville
(609) 397-1710
Fri. 6 p.m. Chris Giakas
Sat. (12 p.m.) Ryan Sabalaske (6 p.m.) Tony Alosi
Union Coffee
49 North Union Street Lambertville
(609) 460-4637
Sun. 4 p.m. Java Jive w/ Bill Ihling
Vault Brewing Company
10 South Main Street Yardley, PA
(267) 573-4291
Fri. 7 p.m. Jill Salkin Duo
Sat. 7 p.m. Miche Braden Quartet
Water's Edge Gastropub and Lounge   
1067 Totem Road Bensalem, PA 
(267) 332-2095 
Thurs. 7 p.m. Cornhole "Blind Draw." $10  
Sun. 11 a.m. Queens of  Water’s Edge “Britney vs Beyonce” Drag Brunch
Working Dog Winery 
610 Windsor Perrineville Road Hightstown 
(609) 371-6000
Sat. 1 p.m. Vinny Rugnetta
Sun. 1 p.m. Rob Messina
WWFM 89.1 FM HD2 Radio
MCCC Old Trenton Road West Windsor
Jazzon2.org
Mon. 7 p.m. "Danny Coleman's Got The Blues"
 
 


Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled “Rock On Radio” airing Sunday evenings at 7:000pm EST on multiple internet radio outlets where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.

 

COLUMNS


Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...3/28/24

"I'm doing real good today; it's a beautiful day here in Nashville. I just took a little walk around the neighborhood, the flowers are blooming, it's a no coat day and it looks like we are heading into spring."




This Week in Music: Previews for Concerts Taking Place from March 26 to April 2, 2024




BlowUpRadio.com's New & Notable NJ Music 3/25/24




Makin Waves Song of the Week: "In Deep Lakes We Settle" by Spring Ahead, Fall Apart






 

MORE NEWS

(ATLANTIC CITY, NJ) -- Ocean Casino Resort presents Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo on Saturday, July 6, 2024 in Ovation Hall. In a pop culture world defined by its perpetual changes, the partnership of singer songwriter Pat Benatar and producer-musician Neil Giraldo has been a potent, steadfast union that has soared to the top of the charts and into fans' hearts on their own terms. Showtime is 8:00pm.


The Princeton Folk Music Society to Celebrate Pete Seeger's legacy with Professor Allan Winkler




State Theatre New Jersey presents One Night of Queen




Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...3/28/24





 
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UPCOMING SHOWS


Bruce Springsteen Archives presents "Music America: Iconic Objects from America's Music History" at LBJ Presidential Library

(AUSTIN, TX) - Since the nation's inception nearly two and a half centuries ago, music has informed, interpreted, and inspired our national identity. To celebrate and explore this remarkable heritage, the LBJ Presidential Library and the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University announce the premiere of the exhibition Music America: Iconic Objects from America's Music History. Opening at the LBJ Presidential Library on Saturday, February 17, during Presidents' Day weekend, the exhibition will be on display through August 11, 2024.


Arts Council of Princeton partnering with Stibol Music to provide Music Lessons and Programming




The Newton Theatre presents Foreigners Journey




Prudential Center presents Kane Brown






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