Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes will present a 6 p.m. show at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, New Year’s Eve.
Here is a roundup of arts events taking place around New Jersey, through Jan. 1.
MUSIC
• As they did last year, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes will give their annual New Year’s Eve concert at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank an early start, taking the stage at 6 p.m. and ending before 9 p.m. For fans who can’t be there, SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s E Street Radio channel (channel 20) will tape the show and then broadcast it at approximately 10 p.m.
Jukes keyboardist and occasional lead vocalist Jeff Kazee will also perform in the theater’s mezzanine lobby at 4:30 p.m., for 150 people. Tickets for “The Party Before the Party” will only be available for those attending the main concert; this separate ticket will include “early entry, private performance, collectable poster and complimentary cocktail,” according to the Basie website.
PITBULL
• Pitbull has spent much of the past few months on his Trilogy Tour with Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin, and the three will be back out on the road together in 2024, but he will be on his own for shows at The Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 31 at 10 p.m.
• Neil Berg & Friends — featuring Broadway veterans Jeannette Bayardelle, Rita Harvey, Richard Todd Adams and Danny Zolli — will present a 7:30 p.m. “New Year’s Eve Broadway Celebration” at The Inserra Theater at St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale.
• Opportunities to usher in the new year with jazz will include Dec. 31 shows by Karl Latham’s Friends and Family at Shanghai Jazz in Madison; REK’D 4 Jazz at The Matthis House in Toms River; Tyreek McDole at Brvsh Cul7ur3 in Teaneck; and The Carrie Jackson Quartet at Medley’s Bayou Restaurant in Teaneck.
MUSIC/DANCE
• The State Theatre in New Brunswick will offer its annual “Salute to Vienna” at 5 p.m. New Year’s Eve, with the Strauss Symphony of America, conducted by Gregory Vajda, performing the music of Johann Strauss II and others, with contributions from soprano Sera Gösch and tenor Brian Cheney, dancers from the Austrian ballet company Europaballett St. Pölten, and champion ballroom dancers.
• The New Jersey Festival Orchestra, conducted by David Wroe, will present a “Great American Songbook” program — with tenor Jeremy Brauner, Broadway veterans Paige Faure (“Miss Saigon,” “Bullets Over Broadway”) and Jill Paice (“An American in Paris,” “Matilda”), and dancers from the Dance Theatre of Harlem — New Year’s Eve at 7 p.m. at Westfield High School; and Jan. 1 at 2:30 p.m. at the Sieminski Theatre in Basking Ridge.
GLENN ALEXANDER
FIRST NIGHTS
• Asbury Jukes guitarist Glenn Alexander’s dynamic rock, R&B and blues band Shadowland, which features several other Jukes, will perform at The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, New Year’s Eve at 9:45 and 10 45 p.m., as part of First Night Morris. They will be preceded on the Mayo PAC stage by blues singer Eliza Neals, at 7 and 8:15 p.m.
Other attractions, at about 20 different venues, will include jazz artists Rio Clemente, Frank Vignola, Brynn Stanley and Ty Stephens; The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey; The Harmonium Choral Society; Latin-Caribbean-African percussionist Emedin Rivera; folksinger Spook Handy; The Morris Plains Community Band; comedians Joe Matarese and Daniel Tirado; square dancing with caller Mary Moody; hypnotist Stephen Christopher; and Dinoman’s dinosaur show. There also will be film screenings, visual art exhibits, children’s activities, and fireworks (at 9:15 and midnight), and shuttle buses will be available to bring patrons from venue to venue.
• First Night Ocean City, taking place at the Ocean City Music Pier and other locations, will offer a wide variety of attractions, including the Motor City Revue’s Motown show, Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac tribute band Gypsy, Ocean City POPS with Brass Transit, The Atlantic City Ballet, The Ocean City Theater Company’s production of “The Cat in the Hat,” The Sensational Soul Cruisers, Harlem Wizards basketball, magician Chad Juros, ventriloquist John Pizzi, ice skating and fireworks.
• First Night Ocean County takes place on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, Dec. 31 from 1 to 5:30 p.m., with a variety of family activities including Rizzo’s Wildlife Show, a “Frozen” sing-along, a magic show, character meet-and-greets, fireworks and more.
TOM COTTER
COMEDY
Here is a roundup of New Year’s Eve comedy shows taking place throughout the state:
• Tom Cotter, Kerri Louise at Catch a Rising Star, Princeton.
• Jesus Trejo at Stress Factory, New Brunswick.
• Jay Black at Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club, Point Pleasant Beach.
• Dov Davidoff at Bananas, Rutherford.
• Tara Cannistraci at American Hotel, Freehold.
• Jeff Norris, DeLorenzo, Suzanne Linfante at Scotty’s Pub and Comedy Cove, Springfield.
• Dave Smith, Robbie Bernstein, Chris Faga at Williams Center, Rutherford.
• James Camacho, Lucas Connolly, Dan Frigolette, Aditya Shankar, Aaron Rosen, Rich Kiamco (host) at Dorrian’s, Jersey City.
• Anthony DeVito at Pet Shop, Jersey City.
• Greg Stone, Lori Palminteri, Joesph Anthony at Borgata Comedy Club, Atlantic City.
• Gary G. Garcia, Mike Merk, Matt Bridgestone, Brian Steadman, Ray Vazquez (host), 8 p.m. at Resorts, Atlantic City.
• Ray Vazquez, Gary G. Garcia, Brian Steadman, Matt Bridgestone, Mike Merk (host), 10 p.m.at Resorts Casino, Atlantic City.
• Gary G. Garcia, Ray Vazquez, Matt Bridgestone, Mike Merk (host) at Kiss Kiss Nightclub at Tropicana, Atlantic City.
REVIEWS
“A Midwinter Night’s Dream” at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at Drew University, Madison. (Through Dec. 31)
“Fiddler on the Roof” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through Jan. 7)
“Spiral Q: The Parade” at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton. (Through Jan. 7)
“Local Voices: Memories, Stories and Portraits” at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton. (Through Jan. 7)
“From Flame to Flower: The Art of Paul J. Stankard” at Morris Museum, Morris Township. (Through Feb. 4)
“Night Forms” at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton. (Through April 7)
“George Inness: Visionary Landscapes” at Montclair Art Museum. (Through June 30)
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