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Earthquake’s Father’s Day Comedy Day Show at NJPAC, June 21, will feature, clockwise from top left, Mr. Bishop, D’Lai, Kier “Junior” Spates, Donnell Rawlings, Earthquake and TK Kirkland.
Here is a roundup of major arts events taking place around New Jersey, through June 25.
FESTIVALS
• The fourth annual North to Shore Festival — produced by NJPAC, and co-sponsored by The New Jersey Economic Development Authority — has been extended to July 19, with most of the shows in Newark and Asbury Park, though there are also three at the new ParkStage venue in Freehold. As usual, the bookings are very eclectic, and the size of the shows will range from huge to tiny.
ZARNA GARG
Here are some of the shows scheduled through June 25:
June 17: Janelle Monáe at Prudential Hall at NJPAC, Newark.
June 17: Lila Iké at House of Independents, Asbury Park.
June 18: Secondhand Serenade, Every Avenue at House of Independents, Asbury Park.
June 18: René Vaca at Prudential Hall at NJPAC, Newark.
June 18: Eric D’Alessandro at Victoria Theater at NJPAC, Newark.
June 18: Surfing for Daisy at Stone Pony, Asbury Park.
June 19: October London, Lalah Hathaway, Eric Benét at Prudential Hall at NJPAC, Newark.
June 19: Yellowcard, New Found Glory, Plain White T’s at Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park.
June 19: Sublime, Pepper, The Movement, Codefendants at ParkStage at East Freehold Showgrounds.
June 20: Bernie Williams & His Band of Friends at Stone Pony, Asbury Park.
June 20: Zarna Garg at Prudential Hall at NJPAC, Newark.
June 20: Gary Gulman at Victoria Theater at NJPAC, Newark.
June 21: “Earthquake’s Father’s Day Comedy Show” with Mr. Bishop, D’Lai, Kier “Junior” Spates, TK Kirkland, Donnell Rawlings, Sheryl Underwood (host) at Prudential Hall at NJPAC, Newark.
June 21: Marc Maron at Victoria Theater at NJPAC, Newark.
June 21: Kurt Vile & the Violators, The Sadies at Stone Pony, Asbury Park.
June 25: Jimmy Eat World, The Wonder Years, Girls Against Boys at Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park.
June 25: Jesse & Joy at Prudential Hall at NJPAC, Newark.
June 25: David Cross at House of Independents, Asbury Park.
June 25: Felix Hernandez’ Rhythm Revue Dance Party, Horizon Sounds of the City at Chambers Plaza, NJPAC, Newark.
Michael and Kevin Bacon.
• The Princeton Festival, which started on June 5 and continues through June 21, is offering a variety of pop, classical, dance and family events in a tented pavilion at Morven Museum & Garden, and other venues.
Here are the remaining events. Everything is at Morven Museum & Garden, unless otherwise noted.
June 18: Time for Three (singer-violinists Nick Kendall and Charles Yang, singer-bassist Ranaan Meyer)
June 19: Juneteenth Community Celebration
June 19: Rochelle Ellis, talk on “Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement”
June 19: “Great Ladies of Jazz” featuring Capathia Jenkins and Aisha de Haas singing the songs of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and others, with Lucas Waldin conducting The Princeton Symphony Orchestra
June 20: The Bacon Brothers (Michael and Kevin Bacon)
June 21: “America at 250!” family event, with storytelling, educational talks and more
June 21: “American Fanfare” with singer with Julie Benko and Rossen Milanov conducting the Princeton Symphony Orchestra
ERIC CHURCH
• The sixth annual Barefoot Country Music Fest — New Jersey’s biggest annual country event — will take place June 18-21, on three stages on the beach in Wildwood, with headliners including including Miranda Lambert (June 18), Kelsea Ballerini (June 19), Post Malone (June 20) and Eric Church (June 21).
Other performers will include Shaboozey, Tucker Wetmore, Cole Swindell, Ty Myers, Chase Rice, The Fray, Tracy Lawrence, Chase Matthew, Hank Azaria & the EZ Street Band (performing a Bruce Springsteen tribute) and Williams Honor.
MUSIC
• Max Richter — the German-born, Grammy- and Oscar-nominated keyboardist and composer whose music has been used in movies and TV series such as “Hamnet,” “Ad Astra,” “Mary Queen of Scots,” “Taboo” and “The Leftovers” — will perform with The American Contemporary Music Ensemble at Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark, June 22 at 7:30 p.m.
In addition to his soundtrack work, Richter has released nine studio albums — including 2015’s Sleep, which featured Acme Contemporary Music Ensemble, and, most recently, 2024’s In a Landscape.
• ParkStage — a new, large outdoor venue at The East Freehold Showgrounds — had a soft opening on June 3, with a free show by The Cliffs and The Sensational Soul Cruisers, but will begin ticketed shows this weekend, with the following schedule:
June 19, 5:30 p.m.: Sublime, Pepper, The Movement, Codefendants. (SOLD OUT)
June 20, 6 p.m.: Dark Star Orchestra (Grateful Dead tribute)
June 21, 4 p.m.: Umphrey’s McGee, moe., Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Lotus
LONGMA
GUY DAVIS
• Blues singer-songwriter Guy Davis will headline a benefit for the Classic American Tales storytelling series and Animal Outreach of Cape May, June 24 at 5:30 p.m. at The Cape May Point Arts & Science Center.
• Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer — who was nominated for a Tony in 2024 in the Featured Actress in a Musical category, for “Spamalot,” and who has also appeared in Broadway shows such as “Beetlejuice,” “Something Rotten!” and “Hairspray” — will sing and tell stories in the Broadway at the Barn series at The Holmdel Theatre Company‘s Duncan Smith Theater, June 20 at 8 p.m.
• Early this year, Wynton Marsalis announced that he would end his 21-year run as the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in July 2027, though he will continue to serve as an advisor through June 2028, and continue to play trumpet with The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, at least occasionally. So the current shows by Marsalis and the 15-piece orchestra represent something of a farewell tour. They will perform at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, June 25 at 7:30 p.m.
• George Street Playhouse will present Alli Mauzey and Dee Roscioli — whose Broadway credits include playing Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in “Wicked” — in a show titled “Good Witch Bad Witch: The Broadway Witches” at The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, June 25 at 3 and 7:30 p.m. In it, they will perform songs from “Wicked,” as well as other show tunes and pop hits.
The show “A Taste of Ireland” will be presented in Hackettstown and Englewood.
MULTIPLE GENRES
• “A Taste of Ireland,” a family-friendly celebration of Irish music and dance featuring former cast members of shows such as “Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance,” will be presented at The Sitnik Theatre at The Lackland Performing Arts Center in Hackettstown, June 25 at 7:30 p.m.; and BergenPAC in Englewood, June 27 at 7:30 p.m.
(For a chance to win two tickets to the Hackettstown show, send an email with the word “Taste” in the subject line to njartscontest@gmail.com by 4 p.m. June 19.)
• “Giralda: An Evening of Pure Imagination,” a fundraiser for Morris Arts, will take place June 20 from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at The Annunciation Center at Saint Elizabeth University in Morristown.
From 3 to 6 p.m., there will be a cocktail reception, an art exhibition and a silent auction, with music by classical guitarist George Attisano, the duo of guitarists Lenin Pazmiño & Carlos Chong, and the Jersey-based blues band Blues People. At 6 p.m., New Jersey Symphony, conducted by Kyle Ritenauer, will perform music by Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Duke Ellington and others. And during the course of the Symphony performance, Serena Bocchino will create a painting inspired by the music.
• As part of the the Voices International Theatre and Arts Festival, Carolyn Dorfman Dance and poet Rashad Wright will team up for a show titled “The Fire & the Rhythm,” June 24 at 7:30 p.m. at The Nimbus Arts Center in Jersey City. The festival’s website describes the piece as “a living tapestry of movement and poetry. This isn’t just a performance; it’s a visceral journey from survival to renewal.
“From the depths of the Middle Passage to the harrowing echoes of the Holocaust, human history is etched with the weight of exile. But where there is shadow, there is also an unyielding light. In a world seeking connection, we dive deep into African and Jewish narratives to bridge the gaps between us. We aren’t just ‘remembering’ — we are reclaiming.”
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REVIEWS
“Things I Remember,” works by Leandro Comrie at Guttenberg Arts. (Through June 20)
“Alexandra Schoenberg: Shifting Perspectives” at Hillside Square Gallery, Montclair. (Through June 26)
“Willem de Kooning: The Breakthrough Years, 1945–50” at Princeton University Art Museum. (Through July 26)
“Allan Rohan Crite: Neighborhood” at Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick. (Through July 31)
“Henri Matisse: Beyond Color” at Morris Museum, Morris Township. (Through Aug. 9)
“In Conversation: Will Wilson” at Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, Summit. (Through Aug. 23)
“Salvador Jiménez-Flores: Raíces & Resistencias” at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton. (Through Aug. 1, 2027)
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