“The Godfather” (co-starring, from left, James Caan, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and John Cazale) will screen with live music by New Jersey Symphony in Newark, Aug. 16, and Red Bank, Aug. 18.
The landmark 1972 movie “The Godfather” will screen at Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m.; and The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Aug. 18 at 3 p.m. At both shows, Nino Rota’s Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated score will be played, live, by New Jersey Symphony, conducted by Nicholas Hersh, who currently serves as music director of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra in Modesto, California.
(NOTE: This is an R-rated movie. And since it is nearly three hours long, it will include an intermission)
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Here is a roundup of other arts events taking place around New Jersey, through Aug. 22.
MUSIC
• Remember Jones and a 17-piece band will perform Tom Jones’ 1969 Live in Las Vegas album in its entirety and other Tom Jones songs at The Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel, Aug. 22-24 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 25 at 3 p.m.
“Tom Jones has always inspired me,” said Remember Jones — who previously has presented tribute shows devoted to songs by artists such as Queen, Amy Winehouse and Meat Loaf — in a press release. “The showmanship and versatility of what he’s able to do with his voice has always been something I’m drawn to. We are bringing back all the arrangements from his Las Vegas residency in 1969, including many of our own twists and turns.”
Live in Las Vegas — featuring “It’s Not Unusual,” “Delilah,” “Twist and Shout” and other songs — was recorded at The Flamingo Hotel in the summer of 1969, and released later that year. It rose to No. 3 on Billboard magazine’s albums chart.
DAVID BRYAN
• Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan will appear with a group of musicians billed as David Bryan & Friends, Aug. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, with The Matt O’Ree Band opening, and photographer Mark Weiss exhibiting some of his early Bon Jovi shots.
“We’re going to do a bunch of Bon Jovi songs, some fun cover songs,” Bryan told The Asbury Park Press. “I’ve got some special guests up my sleeve.”
In addition to playing in Bon Jovi, Bryan has written songs from the musicals “Memphis,” “Diana” and “The Toxic Avenger,” and won a Tony for his contributions to “Memphis.”
• Following a similar 50th anniversary tribute concert to Big Star’s #1 Record album in 2022, an all-star group of musicians — including the only surviving original member of the Memphis-based group, drummer Jody Stephens — will present a 50th anniversary tribute to Big Star’s Radio City album at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. The show will include Radio City in its entirety as well as other songs.
Other performers will include Mike Mills of R.E.M., Jon Auer of The Posies, Pat Sansone of Wilco, and Chris Stamey of The dB’s.
Big Star had little commercial success with its three ’70s albums but became legendary after it broke up, and has been extremely influential on many indie-rock musicians from the ’80s on. Radio City songs included “September Gurls” (later covered by The Bangles), “Way Out West” and “Daisy Glaze.”
CARL STUDNA
MICHAEL HEDGES, 1953-1997
• Guitarist and composer Michael Hedges — who died in a car accident in 1997, at the age of 43 — will be honored in a concert titled “Remembering Michael Hedges,” Aug. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre at Drew University in Madison. Performers will include Michael Manring, Preston Reed, Michael Gulezian, Michael Kelsey, Trevor Gordon Hall, Calum Graham, and Peter Ciluzzi.
Proceeds will help fund the upcoming documentary, “Oracle: The Life & Music of Michael Hedges.”
• John Lloyd Young, best known for originating the role of Frankie Valli in “Jersey Boys” on Broadway and then playing Valli in the film version, will perform at The Bell Theater at Bell Works in Holmdel, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. Young also recorded classic pop and R&B songs for his 2012 album My Turn … and has performed at cabaret venues including Café Carlyle in New York.
• Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom of the rockabilly group Stray Cats (“Stray Cat Strut,” “Rock This Town,” “She’s Sexy + 17”) don’t tour together very often, but are on the road this summer, and coming to Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. Their last studio album, 2019’s 40, celebrated the 40th anniversary of the formation of the group, in Massapequa, New York.
• The main day of this year’s Montclair Jazz Festival, presented by the Montclair-based educational organization Jazz House Kids, will be Sept. 14. But there are many events leading up to that day, including a free “Uptown Showcase” at The Kasser Theater at Montclair State University, Aug. 17. At noon, student ensembles from Jazz House Kids’ Summer Workshop will be featured. And at a separate show, starting at 5:30 p.m., performers will include Christian McBride & Friends (featuring drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts and pianist Cyrus Chestnut) and The Julian Lee Quartet.
Advance registration is recommended; visit montclairjazzfestival.org/uptown-showcase.
The music will also be streamed at jazzhousekids.org and youtube.com/@jazzhousekids.
• The Hi-Tide Recordings record label will present this year’s edition of the annual Hi-Tide Summer Holiday festival (launched in 2014 and originally known as Asbury Park Surf Music Festival), Aug. 16-18, with surf-rock music as well as tropical-inspired food and drinks, dancing, pool parties and more at Asbury Lanes and the nearby Asbury Hotel. The lineup will include The Hula Girls, The McCharmlys, The Courettes, Marcel Bontempi & the Sound Minds, Bloodshot Bill & Televisionaries, Black Flamingos, The Babalooneys, Charlie & the Tropicales, Slowey & the Boats, and The Swingin’ Palms.
KATIE HENRY
• There will be no Crawfish Fest in New Jersey this summer, though a return is planned for May 30-June 1, 2025. But the Crawfish Fest will present a Jambalaya Fundraiser for The Frankford Township Fire Department, Aug. 17 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Skylands Stadium in Augusta. Blues singer-songwriter (and Crawfish Fest alumna) Katie Henry will perform, and chicken and sausage jambalaya will be served.
The jambalaya must be ordered in advance at crawfishfest.com/the-jambalaya-tour.
Jambalaya will also be available that night at the stadium, at the 6:35 p.m. minor league baseball game between the Sussex County Miners and the New England Knockouts (from Brockton, Massachusetts).
THEATER
• The Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven will present “Head Over Heels,” a musical featuring songs by the all-female new wave pop-rock band The Go-Go’s and from Go-Go’s singer Belinda Carlisle’s solo career — including “We Got the Beat,” “Vacation,” “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” — Aug. 20-25 and 27-31 and Sept. 1. “Head Over Heels” ran on Broadway in 2018.
NICKI GERMAINE
A 1974 photo of Bruce Springsteen from the book “Springsteen: Liberty Hall.”
OTHER
• Nicki Germaine will sign copies of her book “Springsteen: Liberty Hall,” Aug. 17 at 2 p.m. at The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music ‘s Outpost at the Convention Hall building in Asbury Park. Published last year, this book collects Germaine’s remarkable March 1974 photos of Springsteen and The E Street Band (though they were not yet called that, at the time) onstage and backstage, during a four-night, seven-show stand at Liberty Hall in Houston.
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Click HERE for a list of free shows taking place throughout New Jersey.
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REVIEWS
“Set in Motion: Kinetic Worlds from the Studio of Richard Whitten” at Morris Museum, Morris Township. (Through Sept. 1)
“Portrait as Statement” at Halsey Arts, Newark. (Through Sept. 6)
“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories From New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton. (Through March 2)
“Bony Ramirez: Cattleya” at Newark Museum of Art. (Through March 9)
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