An advertisement for a 2014 Rent Party concert, featuring James Maddock.
Since 2009, a concert series known as Rent Party has been raising money for local hunger charities with shows in South Orange and Maplewood. It also has its own theme song, written by Deena and Jon Fried of The Cucumbers — a band that was part of the indie-rock explosion in Hoboken in the ’80s and ’90s — and series organizer Chris Dickson.
“Rent Party” the song is, appropriately enough, a party song. Below is The Cucumbers’ upbeat, feel-good studio recording of it, featuring mentions of some of the other Rent Party performers (including The Swales and The Thousand Pities) and volunteers. The footage comes from a variety of Rent Party events.
For information on upcoming shows in the series, visit rentpartylive.com.
New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday in 2014. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, from September 2014 to September 2015 — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. To see the entire list, click here.
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
2 comments
Jay, thanks for helping to spread the Rent Party gospel! And I look forward to meeting you at our new venue …