The Experience Hendrix Tour will come to Morristown, Red Bank and Atlantic City.
Here is a roundup of major arts events taking place around New Jersey, through April 3.
MUSIC
• “Experience Hendrix,” the series of all-star Jimi Hendrix tributes that has taken the form of various tours and one-off shows for the last 30 years, will come to The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, April 1 at 7:30 p.m.; The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, April 2 at 7:30 p.m.; and Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, April 4 at 9 p.m.
According to experiencehendrix.com, performers in all three cities will include Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Zakk Wylde, Eric Johnson, Devon Allman, Samantha Fish, Noah Hunt (from The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band), Mato Nanji (from Indigenous), Henri Brown, Ally Venable, Kevin McCormick (from The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band), Dylan Triplett, Tony Beard, Sam Bryant and Orlando Wright.
• Jim McCarty of British Invasion band The Yardbirds (who opened for The Beatles in 1964 and 1965), Simon Kirke (who played drums for Bad Company, Free and Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band) and saxophonist Phil Kenzie (who played on The Beatles’ Let It Be album and several Beatles members’ solo albums) will be among the guests at this year’s edition of the annual Fest for Beatles Fans, taking place at The Hyatt Regency in Jersey City, March 28-30.
Other guests will include songwriter Gary Burr (who played guitar and sung in Ringo Starr’s band The Roundheads, and written songs with him); Colin Hanton of the pre-Beatles band The Quarrymen; and Eddie Deezen, who co-starred in the 1978 Beatles-related movie “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” And the bands Liverpool, The Weeklings, Cellophane Flowers, The Black Ties, The Taxmen and Andrew Weiss & Friends will play Beatles music and more.
The Fest will also offer memorabilia vendors, film screenings, art and photography exhibits, auctions, fan contests, panel discussions, and opportunities for attendees to perform Beatles music in impromptu jam sessions.
SENSES FAIL
• The Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival, taking place March 29 at The Atlantic City Convention Center, will feature dozens of beer and food vendors, as well as music on two stages, in two sessions (noon to 4 p.m., and 7 to 11 p.m.
For the early drinkers, performers will include Senses Fail, Hidden in Plain View, Flycatcher, Max Davey, Wave Break, and Good Look, Sigourney.
For the late session, the lineup is Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Catbite, Mesh, Separatr, Backyard Superheros, and Stateside.
• The Singer-Songwriter Cape May conference, which took place annually for many years but has been inactive since 2020, will return this year, March 28-29, with showcase performances at 15 Cape May venues, as well panel discussions, clinics, workshops, mentoring sessions and keynote addresses by Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie, and singer-songwriter Laura Stevenson.
• With a stated goal to “skillfully recreate the magic of the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band’s co-billed concerts during the period of 1969 to 1973,” Live Dead & Brothers will perform at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, April 3 at 8 p.m. Performers will include bassist Berry Duane Oakley (son of original Allman Brother Band bassist Berry Oakley, and a member of The Allman Betts Band), guitarist Mark Karan (who has played with RatDog, The Other Ones, Planet Drum and other Dead-related bands), keyboardist Scott Guberman (of Phil Lesh & Friends) and drummer Pete Lavezzoli (of Oteil & Friends), with guest slide guitarist Steve Kimock (whose many Dead-related affiliations include The Other Ones, RadDog, and Phil Lesh & Friends).
• New Jersey Symphony will perform at Prudential Hall at NJPAC, April 3 at 1:30 p.m. and April 4-5 at 8 p.m.; and The State Theatre in New Brunswick, April 6 at 3 p.m The orchestra’s music director, Xian Zhang, will conduct, and featured performers will include Steven Banks, saxophone; Felicia Moore, soprano; Kelley O’Connor, mezzo-soprano; Issachah Savage, tenor; Reginald Smith Jr., baritone; and The Montclair State University Chorale (Heather J. Buchanan, director).
The program will include Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Polonaise from Eugene Onegin; Billy Childs’ saxophone concerto Diaspora (inspired by Maya Angelou and other poets); and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, “Choral.”
ADRIENNE BAILON-HOUGHTON
THEATER
• A new musical, “Take the Lead,” will make its world premiere at The Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn from March 29 to April 27. It is based on the 2006 movie of the same name, which starred Antonio Banderas as a former professional dancer who teaches ballroom dancing at a South Bronx high school. Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, a former member of the pop groups 3LW and The Cheetah Girls and a former co-host of the talk show “The Real,” will co-star.
WORDS
• The Washington Park Association of Hudson County will present its first Hudson County Poetry Festival, March 29 from 4 to 9 p.m. at Washington Park Gazebo at Webster Avenue and Paterson Plank Road in Jersey City. Yetvart S. Majian, WPA’s poet-in-residence, will host.
The event will be free and feature local art exhibitors as well as readings by local university faculty and students, and poets connected to poetry hubs such as the WAYE Reading Series in Jersey City Heights, The SMUSH Gallery in Jersey City, The Hoboken Historical Museum, Prototype 237 in Paterson, Jersey City Writers, Green Space Studios and The Poetry Unfold in Union City, and more.
“In times like ours, when many are grappling with the shifts in our society, poetry is more vital than ever,” said Majian in a press release. “Our aim is to elevate awareness about the many poetic spaces we have in Hudson County, cultivated by some of the most wonderful human beings I know.”
He also said: “My vision for this residency has always been to highlight the good work being done by many on our side of the river, empower local poets and to make the rich tapestry of poetry more accessible in our challenging times. Launching the Hudson County Poetry Festival, loosely modeled after the NYC Poetry Festival on Governors Island, is a leap toward that end.”
WHITNEY BROWN
Carolyn Dorfman Dance dancers perform “The Attitude of Doing.”
DANCE
• Carolyn Dorfman Dance will present a benefit fundraiser titled “DanceFriendzy2!,” April 2 at 6:30 p.m. at The Maplewood Country Club, with performances by CDD dancers (of company favorites “Keystone,” “Klezmer Sketch,” “The Attitude of Doing” and “WAVES”) plus six “Spotlight Friendz” — Alissa Alter, Adam Caper, Marylou Cabrera, Glenn Cabrera, Deonte Griffin-Quick and Rebecca Yang. There will also be an opportunity for all attendees to show what they can do on the dance floor, to the music of DJ Prince Hakim.
“Our company has been bringing dance to K-12 schools, colleges/universities, community organizations, senior citizens and organizations supporting people with disabilities and audiences in and outside of New Jersey for more than 40 years,” said Carolyn Dorfman, the company’s founder and artistic director. “This is a special evening where you can support your and our friends, dedicated arts educators, and our company.”
Tickets will include cocktails and a buffet dinner
OTHER
• The New Jersey Hall of Fame will present a James Gandolfini Legacy Day, honoring the “Sopranos” actor who died in 2013 at the age of 51, March 30 at 1 p.m., with a program honoring his life and career, a screening of the documentary “James Gandolfini: Tribute to a Friend,” and more. The event will take place at the Hall’s center at the America Dream mall in East Rutherford.
Gandolfini, who grew up in Park Ridge (Bergen County), was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame posthumously, in 2014.
REVIEWS
“Christine Romanell: Navigating Infinity” at Hillside Square Gallery, Montclair. (Through April 3)
“King James,” presented by George Street Playhouse at New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. (Through April 6)
“Legacy of Light” at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton. (Through April 6)
“Sarah Canfield: The Circuit Unseen” at BrassWorks Gallery, Montclair. (Through April 26)
“Safe Passage in Conversation with Her Flowers: Disruption of Old Narratives: Heather Williams” at Karl and Helen Burger Gallery at Kean University, Union. (Through May 9)
“Nanette Carter: A Question of Balance” at Montclair Art Museum. (Through July 6)
“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories From New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton. (Through March 1)
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