(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- Asbury Park Music Foundation and Lakehouse Music Academy will present two major music events in Asbury Park May 17-18, 2024. All proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Asbury Park Music Foundation and Music Saved My Life program.

Up first is the inaugural Where Music Lives Awards Show is a Rocking Evening with Low Cut Connie at Asbury Lanes on Friday, May 17, 2024. Doors at 5:00pm, showtime is 6:00pm. Tickets are $75 and available for purchase online.

Low Cut Connie’s impressive career includes endorsements from Barack Obama and Elton John, a performance on Late Night with Seth Meyers and a spot on the Rolling Stone Top 100 Albums of the Decade list. The band released the critically acclaimed LP ART DEALERS in Fall 2023, with a full-length companion film coming in 2024. “ART DEALERS may be the band's masterpiece to date,” reports Nashville Scene, while “Low Cut Connie can renew your faith in rock,” states the Boston Herald.

Also at the Where Music Lives Award Show, Asbury Park Music Foundation will honor several long-standing supporters of music education: New Jersey Senator Vin Gopal, The Spring Lake Five, Jeryl and Steve Oristaglio of the Oristaglio Family Foundation and Dorian Parreott, APMF Board Member, musician and band leader. An outstanding student band from Lakehouse - Kings & Queens - will open the show.

“Asbury Park Music Foundation and Lakehouse are working together to present an amazing weekend of music, and we can’t wait to kick things off with Low Cut Connie,” notes Tom Donovan, executive director of Asbury Park Music Foundation. “To come together and experience all of these fantastic artists in one weekend, while raising money for our music education program in Asbury, is going to be truly unforgettable.”

The next day, Lakehouse Music Academy is turning it up to 11 for the 2nd Annual Lakehouse Block Party on Saturday, May 18, 2024. Doors are at 11:30am, show runs from noon to 7:00pm. Tickets $20 in advance /$25 at the door. Tickets are available for purchase online.

Asbury Park Music Foundation and Lakehouse Music Academy will officially name “the Jillian Ludwig Stage” at the Block Party, where Jillian performed last year.

Jillian’s parents, Jessica and Matt Ludwig, share, “We are honored that Asbury Park Music Foundation and Lakehouse Music Academy plan to name ‘the Jillian Ludwig Stage’ at the Block Party on Saturday, May 18. Lakehouse, and the Asbury Park music scene, were Jillian’s home away from home, and we are incredibly touched by this gesture.”

After last year's wildly successful debut, the Lakehouse Block Party is going even bigger with a stacked bill of big names, rising stars and every style imaginable - from hip-hop royalty to Jersey rock icons to emerging indie acts. The biggest party on Lake Avenue will showcase The Parlor Mob, Glen Burtnik, Steve Forbert, Alexander Simone & Whodat? Live Crew, Hooper, Jake Thistle, Dentist, Kevian Kraemer, Kuf Notz & Christine Elise, Sam Cook-Parrott (of Radiator Hospital), Marissa Paternoster and Chill Smith with an appearance by hip-hop legend Eric B. of Eric B. and Rakim.

In addition to the incredible lineup, attendees can look forward to a beer garden from Asbury Park Brewery, libations by Asbury Park Distilling Co., local food trucks, Lakehouse Recording Studio’s sidewalk recording studio to record your own demo, hands-on equipment demos from Russo Music and an interactive booth from Moto Records. The rain date is Sunday, May 19.

“The overwhelming turnout and support we experienced at our 10-year anniversary block party was magic…and a whole lot of fun,” says Jon Leidersdorff, owner of Lakehouse Music Academy. “These sponsors and music fans came out in a big way to support the music education programs for our Asbury Park kids. We truly have a special community here. May 18th we’re hosting another incredible lineup of both local and national acts on Lake Avenue so that we can all keep investing in our Asbury Park youth.”

Current sponsors include: Asbury Audio, AP Sunset, Asbury Park Brewery, Asbury Park Distillery, Lakeland Bank, New Jersey Natural Gas, Rent Jersey Shore, RiverWalk Center, Sackman, Carol Stillwell/Stillwell-Hansen and Vidya.

To become a sponsor go to: https://givebutter.com/APMF2024Sponsorships

Asbury Park Music Foundation is a nonprofit that offers life-changing music education, amplifies the local music scene and unites communities through music. Its two major areas of programming are music education - known as Music Saved My Life - and free community concerts that include Music Mondays in Springwood Park and AP Live along the Asbury Park Boardwalk. The nonprofit partners with Lakehouse Music Academy, which celebrates 11 years of providing real-world music education to students of all ages and levels. From private lessons to songwriting programs to chances to perform live at legendary local venues, Lakehouse Music Academy has sparked a passion for music in more than 1,000 students over the past decade.