SANJAY SUCHAK
The Dave Matthews Band (from left, Buddy Strong, Tim Reynolds, Stefan Lessard, Carter Beauford, Dave Matthews, Rashawn Ross and Jeff Coffin) will perform in Holmdel, July 18; and Camden, July 21-22.
Here is a roundup of arts events taking place around the state, through July 20.
MUSIC
• In 2020, The Dave Matthews Band finished first in the fan vote for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and didn’t get inducted. And they haven’t been selected for induction since then, either. “If there was anything better than getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it would be if the fans overwhelmingly voted for you to get in, and you still weren’t let in,” Matthews said with a laugh, in a recent interview.
The band — in which frontman Matthews is joined by fellow co-founders Stefan Lessard (bass) and Carter Beauford (drums) plus trumpeter Rashawn Ross, saxophonist Jeff Coffin, guitarist Tim Reynolds and keyboardist Buddy Strong — released a new album, Walk Around the Moon, in May, and will perform at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, July 18 at 7:30 p.m., and the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, July 21-22 at 7:30 p.m.
• Major Attaway, best known for playing the Genie in “Aladdin” on Broadway from 2016 to 2020, will present a show titled “The Genie’s Jukebox” to kick off this year’s outdoor Brookside Cabaret series on the patio of the F.M. Kirby Carriage House Restaurant at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. His shows will take place July 19-22, with seating for dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. and the music at 7.
AUSTIN LORD
PETER FRAMPTON
• Peter Frampton, who presented farewell shows in 2019 and 2022, is returning to the road with his Never Say Never Tour, which comes to the Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, July 16 at 7 p.m. Frampton, 73, announced his farewell because of health problems; he suffers from inclusion body myositis, a progressive muscle disorder, and now sits while performing, instead of standing. But in a press release that came out when the tour was announced, he said he is feeling good enough to tour again.
“At the end of every Finale Tour show I did say, ‘Never Say Never’ and I am always full of hope for the impossible,” he said. “I’m very pleased to let you know that I am feeling strong and my fingers are still roaming the fretboard. Every note I play now has more meaning and soul. I love playing live and this fighter wants to stay in the ring for as long as he can. I’m so happy to be able to see you all one more time this summer.”
• Singer-songwriter Joe D’Urso will celebrate the release of a new album, Thurman — named, yes, after the legendary New York Yankees catcher Thurman Munson — with a free show, July 16 at 4 p.m., at the Transparent Clinch Gallery in Asbury Park.
• A free concert featuring Peter Noone and his group Herman’s Hermits — which had been scheduled for the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel on June 8 but was postponed because of dangerous air conditions due to the Canadian wildfires — will take place July 13 at 7:30 p.m. The show, which is being presented by the Garden State Arts Foundation, will also feature Jay Siegel’s Tokens and The Soundtrack of Our Lives, with veteran DJ Bruce “Cousin Brucie” Morrow hosting; Tommy Roe, who had been scheduled to perform on June 8, will not be able to participate.
Hermit’s Hermits, fronted by Noone, had a bunch of big hits in the ’60s, including “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” “I’m Henry VIII, I Am,” “I’m Into Something Good” and “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat.”
TODD SHEAFFER
• Singer-songwriter Todd Sheaffer, well known to music fans in New Jersey and beyond as the frontman of both From Good Homes and Railroad Earth, will perform in a private space at the Spanish Pavillion restaurant in Harrison, July 16 at 3 p.m. The show was organized by GabeGate, which also presents occasional house concerts in Vernon.
• The Two River Theater in Red Bank started its annual Summer Jazz Café series on July 7-8 with Tatiana Eva-Maria, and continues with harmonica master Hendrik Meurkens, July 14-15; the Nicole Zuraitis Quintet, July 21-22; and Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, July 28-29. The shows are at 8 p.m.
• The Summer Jazz Room program at the Shea Center for Performing Arts at William Paterson University in Wayne begins July 17 at 7:30 with five Jazz Room faculty members — trombonist Tim Newman, saxophonist David Demsey, pianist Mike LeDonne, bassist Marcus McLaurine and drummer Jon DiFiore — playing the music of six jazz composers born in 1923 (i.e., 100 years ago this year): Milt Jackson, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, Thad Jones, Fats Navarro and Sam Rivers.
The Summer Jazz Room was launched 30 years ago, and the show will be titled “30 Does 100: The 30th Anniversary Summer Jazz Room Faculty Play the Music of Centennial Jazz Greats.”
WILL CRUTCHFIELD
• The New York-based Teatro Nuovo opera company will make its New Jersey debut at the Kasser Theater at Montclair State University, with productions of Donizetti’s Poliuto, July 15 at 7:30 p.m., and Ricci’s Crispino e la Comare, July 16 at 3 p.m. Click HERE for an interview with Teatro Nuovo founder and artistic director Will Crutchfield, previewing both shows.
• The high-energy New England-based jump-blues band Roomful of Blues will perform at Ross Farm in Basking Ridge, July 15 at 7:30 p.m. The group’s first incarnation was in 1967, and they have had countless different lineups and earned five Grammy nominations, since then.
FILM
• After a screening of the Disco Era classic “Saturday Night Fever” — featuring John Travolta and buoyed by a soundtrack dominated by great Bee Gees songs — at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway, July 20 at 7 p.m., a disco dance party will take place on the theater’s stage, with costumes encouraged, prizes for the best dancers, complimentary popcorn, and more.
WORDS
• Alan Paul, who lives in Maplewood, will sign copies of his new book “Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the ’70s” at the Words bookstore in Maplewood, July 20 at 7:30 p.m. In the book, Paul takes a close look at the band’s hugely popular 1973 album Brothers and Sisters — featuring “Ramblin’ Man,” “Jessica,” “Southbound” and other songs — as well as all the behind-the-scenes turmoil that the band went through that year, and in the early- to mid-’70s time period.
REVIEWS
“Spring Awakening” at Vanguard Theater, Montclair. (Through July 16)
“Komar and Melamid: A Lesson in History” at Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick. (Through July 16)
“NJ & Me: Imperfect Together”at Drawing Rooms, Jersey City. Works by Alan Ostroski, Anne Percoco, Anne Trauben, Dorie Dahlberg, Doug Madill, Eileen Ferara, Edward Fausty, James Pustorino, Jean-Paul Picard, Jessica Rohrer, John T. Meehan III, Kevin McCaffrey, Lauren H. Adams, Sue Ellen Leys, Tim Daly, Tim Heins. (Through July 29)
“Shipwrecked! An Entertainment – The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (as Told by Himself),” outdoor show presented by Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at Saint Elizabeth University in Morristown. (Through July 30)
“Each One Teach One: Preserving Legacy in Perpetuity” at Morris Museum, Morris Township. (Through Aug. 27)
“Where There’s Smoke” by Lance Weiler at ArtYard, Frenchtown. (Through Oct. 1)
“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)
“George Inness: Visionary Landscapes” at Montclair Art Museum. (Through June 30)
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