KEVIN MAZUR, Getty Images for The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones (from left, Ron Wood, Mick Jagger, Steve Jordan and Keith Richards) will perform in East Rutherford, May 23 and 26.
Here is a roundup of arts events taking place around New Jersey, through May 23.
MUSIC
• The Rolling Stones, who last performed in New Jersey in 2019, will return for shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, May 23 and 26 at 8 p.m.
Jon Batiste will open on May 23; the band Lawrence, on May 26.
The Stones released a new album, Hackney Diamonds, in October, and launched their Hackney Diamonds Tour late last month. It’s a hits-dominated tour, of course, though the band has been playing the Hackney Diamonds tracks “Angry,” “Mess It Up” and “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” as well. You can watch their May 11 performance of “Angry” — at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada — below.
• Also at MetLife Stadium this week … country superstar and controversy magnet Morgan Wallen headlines two shows, May 17-18 at 5:30 p.m., with Parker McCollum, Nate Smith and Lauren Watkins opening.
Wallen’s latest single — “I Had Some Help,” a duet with Post Malone — was released last week and is already a major hit. And the latest example of him making the news for the wrong reasons came on April 7, when he allegedly threw a chair off the roof of a Nashville bar. (No one was hurt, but Wallen was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct).
SHERVIN LAINEZ
Low Cut Connie’s Adam Weiner.
• The first Where Music Lives Awards show and fundraiser presented by the Asbury Park Music Foundation, taking place May 17 at 6 p.m. at Asbury Lanes, will feature a set of music by the hard-driving rock band Low Cut Connie and award presentations to State Sen. Vin Gopal, the Spring Lake 5 (a charity 5-mile run race), Jeryl and Steve Oristaglio of the Oristaglio Family Foundation, and Dorian Parreott (an APMF board member, musician and former music teacher at Asbury Park High School).
The Asbury Park Music Foundation, which supports local music-education programs, will also present a fundraising Lakehouse Music Block Party at the Lakehouse Music Academy, May 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. with music by The Parlor Mob, Glen Burtnik, Steve Forbert, Alexander Simone & Whodat? Live Crew, Hooper, Jake Thistle, Dentist, Kevian Kraemer, Küf Knotz & Christine Elise, Sam Cook-Parrott, NOUN (featuring Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females) and Chill Smith, and an appearance by legendary hip-hop artist Eric B. (of Eric B. & Rakim fame).
• The New York-based, all-female salsa band Lulada Club will be among the performers at the free, spring edition of the biannual Hoboken Arts & Music Festival, which will take place on Washington Street from Observer Highway to Seventh Street in downtown Hoboken, May 19, with the entertainment beginning at noon. According to Lulada Club’s website, Andrea Chavarro, its Colombian-American leader, “embarked (in 2022) on a mission to address the void of female ensembles within the live music scene in New York City.” The site says the group plays “vintage tropical rhythms encompassing salsa, bolero, and cha-cha-cha” and “pays homage to the icons while offering a fresh perspective through their original tunes.”
Other performers will include DJ Dugspin, Little Hag, The Ebony Hillbillies, Zydeco Revelators, Dream Boys and The Brooklyners. More than 250 vendors — offering artwork, crafts, food and more — will line Washington Street, and children’s entertainment will be offered.
SAM KASSIREER
JOSH RITTER
• Singer-songwriter Josh Ritter will bring his Works in Progress + Songs You Know Tour to The Outpost in the Burbs at the First Congregational Church in Montclair, May 17 at 7:30 p.m., with Heather Maloney opening.
Ritter has said about this tour, “I’ve realized that a necessary part of working on records is finding the material that hangs together. I write A LOT of songs, and not all of them play nicely with the others. The most useful (and fun) way to find a song’s heart is to periodically play some shows where I’m able to get it all out there and see how I feel about them. I’m really looking forward to these shows for the chance to get all these songs, and some that are old friends, out on the table for a good time.”
• “Jersey Fest,” billed as “A Celebration of the Garden State and the People Who Make It Great,” takes place at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, May 18 at 7 p.m., with five Jersey acts — The Vaughns, Jackson Pines, Reese Van Riper, Surfing for Daisy and Natalie Farrell — plus Jersey beers and spirits at the bar, and food available from Jersey restaurants.
• Pat Guadagno — who previously has led all-star celebrations of the music of Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Tom Waits and John Prine at various New Jersey venues — will do the same for Warren Zevon with “Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Music of Warren Zevon,” taking place at The Vogel at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, May 23 at 7:30 p.m. Among those joining him will be original E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez, Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie, and singer-songwriter Jake Thistle.
Zevon died about 20 years ago. “Enjoy Every Sandwich” is taken from something he said on “Late Show With David Letterman” in 2002, when he was battling the form of cancer known as mesothelioma that later took his life. Letterman asked Zevon what he had learned from the experience and he responded, “how much you’re supposed to enjoy every sandwich.”
The Nicholas Music Center in New Brunswick will present a concert titled “NBCO in Blue,” May 17.
• In conjunction with The New Brunswick Jazz Project, The New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra will present a concert titled “NBCO in Blue,” May 17 at 7:30 p.m. at The Nicholas Music Center at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. The program will explore “the classical side of jazz,” with works including George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” Chick Corea’s “Spain,” Mary Lou Williams’ “Zodiac Suite,” and Duke Ellington’s “Fantasy (for String Quartet).”
WORDS
• Playwright Winnie Holzman’s “Choice” — which has been described as “a comedy about a woman’s right to choose” — is currently running at The McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, and May 21 at 7 p.m., The Princeton Public Library will present an event titled “The Power of Choice” at which Holzman others involved with the production (director Sarah Rasmussen, actors Caitlin Kinnunen and Kate Mulligan) and Princeton University professor of theater Stacy Wolf will discuss the play’s inspiration and the ideas and themes behind it.
FAMILY
• In conjunction which the concerts it is presenting through May 19, which will include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” New Jersey Symphony will present a family concert titled “Discover Beethoven’s ‘Eroica,’ ” May 18 at 2 p.m. at Prudential Hall at NJPAC. According to the Symphony’s website, in addition to a performance of “Eroica,” the event will offer “insider tips and listening cues, along with fun facts (and) a pre-concert instrument petting zoo and a performance by the Youth Orchestra String Ensemble.”
REVIEWS
“Tick, Tick… Boom!,” presented by George Street Playhouse at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. (Through May 19)
“Canned Goods,” presented by American Theater Group at Sieminski Theater, Basking Ridge. (Through May 19)
“The Two Hander” at New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch. (Through May 19)
“Show Up, Kids!” at Mile Square Theatre, Hoboken. (Through May 19)
“It Feels Like Home: Genius Loci Jersey City” at ArtWall, Jersey City. Works by Eileen Ferrara, Donna Kessinger, Jennifer Krause Chapeau, John Xavier Nouel, Lucy Rovetto, Deb Sinha. (Through June 3)
“George Segal: Themes and Variations“ at Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick. (Through July 31)
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