Jaimoe will perform with Friends of the Brothers at BergenPAC in Englewood, April 19.
Here is a roundup of major arts events taking place around New Jersey, through April 24.
MUSIC
• Allman Brothers Band drummer Jaimoe — the group’s only still-living original member — will make a guest appearance at a concert by Friends of the Brothers, April 19 at 8 p.m. at BergenPAC in Englewood. This group, which plays Allman Brothers Band music, has strong connections to the band itself, particularly when it comes to its three guitarist-singers: Junior Mack fronted Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band for more than a decade, Andy Aledort played extensively with Dickey Betts, and Alan Paul, who is primarily a music journalist, wrote the definitive Allman Brothers Band biography, “One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band.” Friends of the Brothers are also sometimes joined by singer Lamar Williams Jr., son of the Allman Brothers Band bassist.
Some of the proceeds from the show will benefit The Big House in Macon, Georgia. This is an Allman Brothers Band museum housed in the same building where various band members lived in the early ’70s.
Jaimoe performed with Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and other former Allman Brothers Band members — as The Brothers — at Madison Square Garden, April 15 -16.
Check out a video, below, of Friends of the Brothers performing “Statesboro Blues” with Jaimoe, last year.
BONNIE RAITT
• Bonnie Raitt — whose received the latest three of her 13 Grammy Awards for her 2022 album Just Like That … — will perform at The Event Center at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, April 19 at 8 p.m.
Larry John McNally will open; Raitt released her own version of McNally’s “Nobody’s Girl” on her 1989 comeback album, Nick of Time. The Eagles also recorded one of his songs, “I Love to Watch a Woman Dance,” on their 2007 album, Long Road Out of Eden.
• Emmy-winning, Grammy-nominated composer Jake Runestad’s immersive residency at The John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University, April 23-25, will include both student-only and open-to-the-public events.
A free public event, April 23 at 2 p.m. at Leshowitz Recital Hall, will serve as an introduction to Runestad’s music and, in particular, his emphasis on “speaking to social issues and authentic human experiences.”
Ticketed public events will include three concerts at Montclair State’s Alexander Kasser Theater featuring music by him and others: a symphony orchestra concert, April 23 at 7:30 p.m.; a choral concert, April 25 at 11:30 a.m.; and a wind symphony concert, April 25 at 7:30 p.m.
• NJArts.net is co-sponsoring “Music Against Hunger,” a benefit for the Toni’s Kitchen food ministry in Montclair, April 19 at 7:45 p.m. at Tierney’s Tavern in Montclair. Performers will include Doug Hall & Friends, Big Mamou, The Reticents and LoveBomb.
• Tom Jones, who is still singing as well as ever at 84, will bring his aptly named Defy Explanation Tour to The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Jones’ debut album, Along Came Jones, and his first hit single, “It’s Not Unusual.”
ENDEA OWENS
• Endea Owens, who plays bass in The Late Show Band on television’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” will bring her own dynamic funk-soul-jazz band, Endea Owens & the Cookout, to The South Orange Performing Arts Center, April 18 at 7:30 p.m. They will be joined by guest vocalist Shenel Johns.
• Two-time Grammy winning jazz fusion group The Yellowjackets will perform at The Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel, April 24 at 7 p.m. Current members include co-founder Russell Ferrante on keyboards; Will Kennedy on drums; Bob Mintzer on saxophone; and Dane Alderson on bass.
The group’s latest album, Fasten Up, came out in February. You can listen to its single, “Comin’ Home Baby,” below.
For a chance to win two tickets, send an email to njartscontest@gmail.com with “Yellowjackets” in the subject line, by noon April 21.
VISUAL ARTS
• The second annual Garden State Art Weekend will take place from April 24 to April 27, with dozens of museums, galleries and other venues participating throughout the state.
Last year, NJArts.net’s Tris McCall wrote, regarding event founder Christine Romanell, that most of the participating organizations “would be offering programming that weekend anyway. But by bundling all of those disparate activities into a single event — something like a Manufacturers Village open house taking place all over the state, rather than one city block — she is giving definition to the scene, reminding everybody just how much we’ve got going on, and drawing connections between arts institutions that aren’t always associated.”
New Jersey Ballet will perform at NJPAC in Newark, April 24-25.
DANCE
• New Jersey Ballet will present a show titled “Legacy and Vision,” April 24-25 at 7:30 p.m. at The Victoria Theater at NJPAC in Newark. The program will include Twyla Tharp’s “Nine Sinatra Songs” — a portrait of seven couples, set to Sinatra songs including “All the Way,” “That’s Life” and “Strangers in the Night” — and the world premiere of Harrison Ball’s “New Ancient Strings.” The latter is set to music by the Malian kora players Toumani Diabaté and Ballaké Sissoko, and features costumes by Zac Posen.
Ball has said he sees the piece as an “opportunity to introduce new instrumentation to American ballet, to explore a new choreographic approach, and, most importantly, to create something with profound meaning — rather than merely glorifying the music and performance.”
For a chance to win two tickets, send an email to njartscontest@gmail.com with “ballet24” or “ballet25” in the subject line, depending on which show you would like to attend, by noon April 21.
THEATER
• Music Mountain Theatre in Lambertville will present the political comedy “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” from April 18 to May 4.
The play, written by Selina Fillinger, ran on Broadway in 2022. In her Variety review, Marilyn Stasio called it a “delicious feminist farce about the all-female staff that keeps the country out of war and other sticky situations while babysitting the dullard who holds the highest office in our beleaguered land.”
• As part of Princeton’s 100th anniversary celebration of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel “The Great Gatsby” (Fitzgerald attended Princeton University), Raconteur Radio will present a radio play version of the novel at The Princeton Public Library, with period costumes, vintage commercials, Golden Age radio equipment and more, April 22 at 7 p.m. Advance registration is required.
FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT
• The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey will presented abridged, family-friendly versions of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Romeo & Juliet” at its F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre at Drew University in Madison, April 19 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
REVIEWS
“Sarah Canfield: The Circuit Unseen” at BrassWorks Gallery, Montclair. (Through April 26)
“Take the Lead” at Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn. (Through April 27)
“¡VOS!” at Two River Theater, Red Bank. (Through April 27)
“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)
“James Prosek: At Work” at Morris Museum, Morris Township. (Through June 8)
“Tatyana Kazakova: In Spite of Our Fears” at Grover House Gallery, Caldwell. (Through June 27)
“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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