WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – Distinguished New Jersey Songwriters Joe Rapolla and Joe D’Urso are back this year hosting the celebrated Songwriters by the Sea series at the Lauren K. Woods Theatre on March 19 at 8 p.m. They will be joined by Grammy-nominated songwriter Eric Bazilian, founding member of the rock band Hooters and first ever country duo to hail from Asbury Park, Williams Honor.
Songwriters by the Sea, a series co-hosted by Joe D’Urso and Joe Rapolla, began as intimate, casual coffeehouse jam sessions in and around Asbury Park and has since evolved into a regional and even national show attracting the participation of many of the most revered singers and songwriters on the scene today — from Joe Grushecky and Garland Jeffreys to Glen Burtnik, Marshall Crenshaw and Alison Moorer. Last year’s sold out SBTS show at Monmouth University hosted Willie Nile and Anthony D’Amato.
Along the way, D’Urso (frontman of the band Stone Caravan and board member of WHY Hunger and Light Of Day) and Rapolla (a veteran music industry exec who’s gained an international following as a solo performer and fronting his band the Perfect Square) have fine-tuned the concept of a circle of artists, trading favorite songs and illuminating backstories behind their most personal works, into a vehicle that brings out the best in the assembled talent.
Whether the venue is a club, a historic theater or a campus performing arts center, Songwriters by the Sea has been known to turn any space into an intimate house party atmosphere; a gathering of friends and a place where something akin to magic often takes hold.
This year’s line-up features American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer Eric M. Bazilian, best known for being a founding member of the rock band The Hooters and for writing “One of Us,” made famous by Joan Osborne in 1995. Also joining Rapolla and D’Urso is singer-songwriting duo Williams Honor. Featuring producer and multi-instrumentalist Gordon Brown and performer powerhouse Reagan Richards, the two previously have worked and toured with many national acts before coming together to form the Jersey Shore’s first ever country duo. They’re about to release their first single to country radio “Send It To Me” from their debut album.
Monmouth University Blue Hawk Records’ artists Daniel Amato and Brittany Cannarozzi will open the show.
Tickets for Songwriters by the Sea are priced at $30, and can be reserved through the Monmouth University Box Office at 732-263-6889, or online at www.monmouth.edu/arts. Included with the ticket price is a pre-show hospitality reception at 7 p.m. and post-show reception sponsored by the Monmouth University Leon Hess Business School and Business Council.
Tickets for other upcoming events at Monmouth University — including Laurence Juber (April 1) and Jimmy LaFave/Amy Helm (April 23) in Pollak Theatre — are also on sale now.