James Maddock performs in Montclair, March 4.
Here is a roundup of arts events taking place around the state, through March 10.
MUSIC
• Most of the 2022 Light of Day WinterFest events will take place next week, in Asbury Park (with the main show in Red Bank), but there are a few early shows this weekend.
The Outpost in the Burbs hosts a Songwriters in the Round-style show March 4 at 8 p.m. at the First Congregational Church in Montclair, featuring James Maddock, Guy Davis, Joe D’Urso, Danielia Cotton, Williams Honor and Blue Americana (a duo featuring Asbury Jukes guitarist Glenn Alexander and singer Oria Aspen).
Young performers will be featured in a “Next Generation” show at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, March 6 at noon.
And “Cover Me: Best of NJ’s Tribute Bands,” March 6 at 1 p.m. at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, will feature Best of The Eagles (The Eagles tribute), Bob Burger & The Waiting (Tom Petty tribute), Line Drive, Sharon Lasher’s Heatwave! (Linda Ronstadt tribute), Bell Bottom Blues (Eric Clapton tribute) and Almost U2 Unplugged.
• Maurice Ravel’s Boléro and Suite from Ma mère l’Oye will both be played by the New Jersey Symphony at its concerts at Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark, March 4 at 8 p.m.; and the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, March 6 at 3 p.m. Symphony music director Xian Zhang will conduct, and the program will also include Carl Nielsen’s Flute Concerto (featuring Bart Feller on flute) and Camille Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 (featuring Jonathan Spitz on cello).
• Kiefer Sutherland is best known as an actor, of course, but has devoted a lot of time to his music over the last six years, releasing three albums and also touring. He’ll perform at The Vogel at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. Marc Copely and Rocco DeLucca will also perform.
• The Asbury Park Museum is currently hosting a historical pop-up exhibition, “One Voice Is Not Enough: Asbury Park’s Musical Diversity,” at Asbury Park’s the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel. And a benefit for the museum, March 6 at the hotel’s ballroom, will feature perfectly fitting live music. Stormin’ Norman Seldin’s “Cavalcade of Stars” will spotlight his 11-piece band (including him and Ryan Gregg on “dueling pianos” plus a five-piece horn section and singer-guitarists Chuck Lambert and Pam McCoy) with guest performances by Larry Chance (of Larry Chance & the Earls fame), Stiletto & the Saxman (Joey and Doreen Arminio), Johnny Petillo (of The Duprees and Danny & the Juniors), Patsy Siciliano and his group PS4, Joel Katz and more. Attendees will be seated at tables in the ballroom. Following an opportunity to meet the performers and see the exhibition, which explores the Asbury Park music scene from the late 1800s to the 1970s, the show will begin at 2 p.m.
RANDY BRECKER
• Trumpeter Randy Brecker, who has performed with artists ranging from Aretha Franklin to Jaco Pastorius in his long career — as well as contributing to classic albums including Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run and Paul Simon’s Graceland, and co-leading the popular Brecker Brothers Band with his late brother, saxophonist Michael Brecker — will perform with the William Paterson University’s Jazz Orchestra at the Wayne university’s Shea Center for the Performing Arts, March 6 at 4 p.m. The concert will feature new arrangements of two Brecker-written songs by WP students, and new arrangements of material from Rocks, Brecker’s 2019 album featuring the Hamburg Radio Jazz Orchestra.
Brecker will also meet ticketholders and answer questions in the Shea Recital Hall at 3 p.m.
• The Jersey-based internet radio station BlowUpRadio.com will present a webathon titled Giving a Second Chance: A Benefit for National Foundation for Transplants, March 4 and 5, with live performances by Catherine Wacha, The Wag, Jerry Lardieri (of The Brixton Riot), Diego Allessandro, Tony Tedesco, The Fisherman & the Sea, Christian Beach, Jason Didner and others, and sales of a compilation album featuring songs by webathon artists and many more.
• March 10 marks the 119th anniversary of the birth of the legendary 1920s jazz performer and composer Bix Beiderbecke. And on that day at 7:30 p.m., cornetist Mike Davis will present his annual Beiderbecke tribute at the Bickford Theatre of the Morris Museum in Morris Township.
FAMILY
• Flip Circus will feature clowns, acrobats, jugglers, daredevils and more in a big top tent outside the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, with shows daily from March 4 to March 21.
A poster for the documentary “The Automat.”
FILM
• The Lighthouse International Film Festival presents “The Automat” and the short film “One All the Way” at the Surf City Firehouse, March 4 at 6:30 p.m. The former is a documentary about the self-serve Horn & Hardart fast food restaurants in New York and Philadelphia, featuring reminiscences by Mel Brooks, Elliott Gould, the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Colin Powell, the late Carl Reiner and others (see trailer below). The latter is about three New Jersey friends’ love for the Paterson-born delicacy, the Texas Weiner. Tickets will include a Texas Weiner “all the way” and two sides.
OTHER
• The first 2022 edition of the quarterly JC Fridays festival (others will take place on June 3, Sept. 9 and Dec. 2) takes place March 4, with free events at galleries, nightclubs and other Jersey City locations. March 4 offerings include The Kennedy Dancers’ Latin Dance Celebration, a tango dance class at the Impress Ballroom, a comedy showcase at the JSQ Lounge, a reading of the new play “Horseshoe Empire” presented by Speranza Theatre Company at The Apple Tree House. See the complete list at jcfridays.com/jc-fridays-events.
REVIEWS
“Meteor Shower” at Centenary Stage Company, Hackettstown. (Through March 6)
“Painting in Excess: Kyiv’s Art Revival, 1985-1993” at Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick. (Through March 13)
“Bruce Springsteen Live!” at Grammy Museum Experience Prudential Center, Newark. (Through March 20)
“In Time and In Tide” by Armisey Smith and “Red Portraits” by Caren King Choi at Gallery Aferro, Newark. (Through April 1)
“Tenacity & Resilience: The Art of Jerry Pinkney” at Montclair Art Museum. (Through June 26)
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