MATINEE SHOW ADDED! Douglas Taurel (“Nurse Jackie,” “Blue Bloods”) is the creator and star of the Off-Broadway Award-nominated solo play, “The American Soldier,” based on true events and documentary letters written by veterans and their family members from the American Revolution through current-day Afghanistan. It honors the experiences of veterans and their families and explores the internal struggles they face when returning home from combat. “The American Soldier” has been nominated for the Amnesty International Award for theatre excellence , received 4 stars internationally, and has been featured in The Huffington Post, The Washington Post and Time Out.
There will also be a FREE evening performance of this show at 8PM. Click here for more information.
This program was made possible thanks to The Board of County Commissioners and Monmouth County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) COVID-19 Community Recovery Grant Program.
In 1988, Cowboy Junkies proved that there was an audience waiting for something quiet, beautiful and reflective. The Trinity Session was like a whisper that cut through the noise — and it was compelling. It stood out in the midst of the flash and bombast that came to define the late 80’s. The now classic recording combined folk, blues and rock in a way that had never been heard before and went on to sell more than a million copies.
Formed in Toronto in 1985 with siblings Michael Timmins on guitar, Margo Timmins on vocals, Peter Timmins on drums, and Michael’s lifelong friend Alan Anton on bass, the band has sparkled over the course of 26 albums. “I’ve known Alan longer than I’ve known Pete,” says Michael. “We were friends before Pete was born.”
Unlike most long-lasting groups, Cowboy Junkies have never had a break up or taken a sanity-saving hiatus. There’s an appreciation of each other that keeps them constantly working. “It’s that intimacy and understanding of what each one of us brings to the table,” says Michael.
Formed in 2007 by Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew, The Boxmasters have recorded an impressive and diverse catalogue of music that touches on their love of a wide array of influences, but most importantly, the rock and roll of the 1960’s. Listening to The Boxmasters, one can hear obvious odes to the Beatles, Byrds and Beach Boys, but also important to The Boxmasters are The Mothers of Invention, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine and Big Star. Since forming The Boxmasters, several long-time friends have contributed to the sound of the band, but the core of The Boxmasters has always been Andrew and Thornton. As primary songwriters, the sound of the Boxmasters has been an evolution as the duo constantly strive to find new inspiration, new sounds and new ways of expressing what is in their hearts and on their minds. But at the core, there is a backbeat, a lyric with meaning and music played with emotion.
As a touring band, The Boxmasters have cultivated a rabid cult fanbase across the United States and Canada. Opening for the likes of ZZ Top, Steve Miller, George Thorogood and Kid Rock The Boxmasters have proven to win over large audiences. As a headliner, frequent stops in Kansas City at “Knuckleheads”, Springfield, Illinois at “Boondocks” and “Merrimack Hall” in Huntsville, Alabama have shown dedicated yet still growing audiences. Two appearances at Levon Helm’s “Midnight Ramble” in Woodstock, New York were highlight performances for the band, as well as the “Ramble at The Ryman” that Levon hosted in 2008. The Boxmasters performed on “The Grand Ole Opry” in 2015, another in a growing resume of must-play venues.
Arlo Guthrie is returning to the stage for a series of appearances after his retirement from musical performances. As the oldest son of Woody Guthrie and Marjorie Guthrie, Arlo made his first appearance onstage at age 13 and built a renowned career touring North American for six decades. In October 2020, Guthrie announced his retirement from the road amid the onslaught of the Coronavirus pandemic. Two years later, he’s had enough of retirement and launched a new company Gut3 Productions with his wife Marti Ladd to present the new “In Conversation with Arlo Guthrie” four-part series.
“These engagements won’t be musical events,” said Guthrie. “We’ll be setting this as an interview with talking, joking, telling stories…as well as answering questions from the audience. We’ll have some fun, and we’ll talk about serious subjects, as well”.
What’s Left Of Me features Arlo in conversation with Bob Santelli, Executive Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music and includes rarely seen video footage along with an audience Q&A. Unscripted, unrehearsed, and under no illusions but his own, Arlo Guthrie returns to venerable venues as a man who has seen it all, and lived to tell the story after 60 years on the road.
Mr. Santelli, a contributor to Rolling Stone magazine, is co-author with Nora Guthrie of Woody Guthrie – Songs and Art, Words of Wisdom, which will be available for purchase.
About Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Guthrie was born on July 10, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York; the son of legendary folk artist Woody Guthrie and Marjorie Mazia Guthrie. Arlo grew up surrounded by renowned folk musicians: Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, Cisco Houston, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, and the Weavers. Since the age of 13, Arlo became absorbed in the music that was shaping the world. By the age of 20, he was touring overseas.
A natural-born storyteller and accomplished musician, Arlo attracted and surprised audiences all over the world with his unique folk style. Arlo’s career soared with his debut of “The Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” at the Newport Folk Festival in 1967. Later that year, he was nominated for a GRAMMY Award in the “Best Folk Performance” category for the studio version of the song on his debut album, Alice’s Restaurant. The album went Gold (1969) and then Platinum (1986), and was adapted into a film by director Arthur Penn and released a few days after Arlo performed at the original Woodstock Festival in 1969.
Arlo has released 32 acclaimed albums, has appeared in notable TV shows and movies throughout the decades, and led a lauded six-decade-long touring career performing on the world’s most distinguished stages.
About Bob Santelli
Bob Santelli is the author of more than a dozen books on American music, including, Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art, Words and Wisdom (w/co-author Nora Guthrie) and Greetings from E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Santelli is currently the Executive Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University and the Director of Popular Music at Oregon State University. He also was the Founding Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, the former CEO and Artistic Director of Experience Music Project in Seattle, and the Vice-President of Education and Public Programs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. A GRAMMY winner, Santelli co-produced with Smithsonian Folkways box sets and books on Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, and Pete Seeger. He also was one of the executive producers of the public television series In Performance at the White House during the Obama administration and created music education programs with First Lady Michelle Obama.
For this 50th anniversary celebration, Pilobolus questions its own “givens,” turns its traditions sideways, and brings its past into the future. As fresh and vibrant as ever, Pilobolus –that feisty arts organism– puts the “Oh!” in BIG FIVE OH!, and continues to morph its way thrillingly into audiences’ hearts and minds. The celebration includes signature works from vintage classics to their trend setting innovative work in shadow.
Douglas Taurel (“Nurse Jackie,” “Blue Bloods”) is the creator and star of the Off-Broadway Award-nominated solo play, “The American Soldier,” based on true events and documentary letters written by veterans and their family members from the American Revolution through current-day Afghanistan. It honors the experiences of veterans and their families and explores the internal struggles they face when returning home from combat. “The American Soldier” has been nominated for the Amnesty International Award for theatre excellence , received 4 stars internationally, and has been featured in The Huffington Post, The Washington Post and Time Out.
The journey of Los Lobos began in 1973, 50 years ago this year, when David Hidalgo (vocals, guitar, and pretty much anything with strings), Louie Perez (drums, vocals, guitar), Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitar), and Conrad Lozano (bass, vocals, guitarrón) earned their stripes playing revved-up versions of Mexican folk music in restaurants and at parties. The band evolved in the 1980s as it tapped into L.A.’s burgeoning punk and college rock scenes. They were soon sharing bills with bands like the Circle Jerks, Public Image Ltd. and the Blasters, whose saxophonist, Steve Berlin, would eventually leave the group to join Los Lobos in 1984.
Early on, Los Lobos enjoyed critical success, winning the Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance for “Anselma” from its 1983 EP …And a Time to Dance. A year later, the group released its full-length, major-label debut, How Will the Wolf Survive? Co-produced by Berlin and T Bone Burnett, the album was a college rock sensation that helped Los Lobos tie with Bruce Springsteen as Rolling Stone’s Artist of the Year.
A major turning point came in 1987 with the release of the Ritchie Valens biopic, La Bamba. The quintet’s cover of Valens’ signature song topped the charts in the U.S. and the U.K. Rather than capitalize on that massive commercial success, Los Lobos instead chose to record La Pistola y El Corazón, a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music that won the 1989 Grammy® for Best Mexican-American Performance.
That kind of sharp artistic turn has become Los Lobos’ trademark, serving to both fuel the band’s creativity and keep its fans engaged. In 1992, that willingness to defy expectations led them to record Kiko, an adventurous album produced by Mitchell Froom that’s considered by many to be one the band’s very best.
Since then, Los Lobos has continued to deliver daring and diverse albums such as Colossal Head (1996), Good Morning Aztlán (2002), The Town and the City (2006), Tin Can Trust (2010) and Gates of Gold (2015). On top of that, the band’s live shows never disappoint, as documented on the recent concert recordings Live at the Fillmore (2005) and Disconnected in New York City (2013). Through the years, they’ve managed to keep things interesting with unexpected side trips like an album of Disney songs in 2009, along with countless contributions to tribute albums and film soundtracks. One of those – “Mariachi Suite” from the 1995 film Desperado – earned the band a Grammy® for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Los Lobos’ love letter to the city of Los Angeles as their album Native Sons (2021), returned the band to the Grammy winner’s circle with Best Americana Album of 2022. In 2023, Los Lobos celebrates its 50th anniversary as a band, a rare and impressive feat, as the band continues its great legacy.
Los Lobos has sold millions of records, won prestigious awards and made fans around the world. But perhaps its most lasting impact will be how well its music embodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot. In it, styles like son jarocho, norteño, Tejano, folk, country, doo-wop, soul, R&B, rock ’n’ roll and punk all come together to create a new sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires.
Adapted from Alison Bechdel’s groundbreaking graphic novel, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.
Presented by the Department of Music and Theatre Arts, Fun Home features Director Sheri Anderson, Choreographer by Bob Boross, Musical Director of George Wurzbach and Assistant Director Annie Sacks.
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires.
Adapted from Alison Bechdel’s groundbreaking graphic novel, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.
Presented by the Department of Music and Theatre Arts, Fun Home features Director Sheri Anderson, Choreographer by Bob Boross, Musical Director of George Wurzbach and Assistant Director Annie Sacks.
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood playing at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality, and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires.
Adapted from Alison Bechdel’s groundbreaking graphic novel, Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.
Presented by the Department of Music and Theatre Arts, Fun Home features Director Sheri Anderson, Choreographer by Bob Boross, Musical Director of George Wurzbach and Assistant Director Annie Sacks.
