Top 10 NJ Arts Events of Week: Maplewoodstock, Anglesea Blues Festival, John Eddie, more

by JAY LUSTIG
maplewoodstock 2025 schedule

Ozomatli will perform on the second day of the July 12-13 Maplewoodstock Festival.

Here is a roundup of major arts events taking place around New Jersey, through July 17.

MUSIC

Ozomatli — the Los Angeles-based band that combines elements of Latin music with hip-hop, funk, reggae and more — and the Boston-based pop-funk band Couch will co-headline this year’s edition of the free, annual Maplewoodstock festival, taking place at Memorial Park in Maplewood on July 12-13. The Big Takeover, featuring Jamaica-born singer-songwriter NeeNee Rushie, is also booked as a “featured act” on Day 1.

Tony-winning actor Norbert Leo Butz (“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “Catch Me If You Can”) will also perform a set of music on Day 2. According to the festival’s website, in addition to being an actor, Butz “is also a singer/songwriter, combining elements of rock, soul, and folk with confessional lyrics.”

This will be the 20th festival in the event’s 22 years.

The Annie Minogue Band, Sarah Hodd, Gina Royale, Ballistic Berry and others will also perform. And, as usual, food vendors, a beer garden and a kids’ zone will also be offered. A new addition this year will be the “20 Under 20” art exhibit, featuring works by 20 local artists younger than 20.

SAMSON SCHMITT

The Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Harbor Park in Weehawken will present a free, outdoor tribute to the great guitarist Django Reinhardt, July 16 at 7 p.m., with Samson Schmitt and Francko Mehrstein on guitar, Ludovic Beier on accordion and accordina, Pierre Blanchard on violin, Antonio Licusati on bass, Alexis Cole on vocals, and Anthony Hervey on trumpet. Lawn chairs or blankets are recommended.

The Anglesea Blues Festival will take place from July 11 to July 13 in North Wildwood, in conjunction with The New Jersey State Barbecue Championship, with music on a free outdoor stage on Olde New Jersey Avenue, as well as in nearby bars and restaurants. Performers will include The Michael Allman Band and The Outcrops (both on July 11); The SlideWinder Blues Band, The Billy Walton Band, Four on the Floor and Bluestime (all on July 12); and Zydeco-a-Go-Go and Slim & the Percolators (both on July 13).

Light Opera of New Jersey‘s sold-out performances of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance” at The Sieminski Theater in Basking Ridge, July 12-13, will be preceded by a concert performance of the 1879 comic opera, July 11 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Basking Ridge.

• John Eddie and His Dirty Ol’ Band will celebrate Eddie’s 66th birthday with a 6:30 p.m July 12 concert at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, with Jeffrey Gaines, Asbury Jukes keyboardist Jeff Kazee and Christine Martucci all performing on their own, and with Eddie as well.

The free Jazz in the Park series at Riverside Gardens Park in Red Bank will begin July 10, with The Grace Fox Big Band. Future shows will include The Sutcliffe/Jackson Quintet, July 17; Eddie Allen’s Sãlongo, July 24; Winard Harper & Jeli Posse, July 31; Generations of Jazz featuring Leonieke Scheuble, Aug. 8; and The Julius Tolentino Quintet, Aug. 14. All shows will be at 7 p.m.

The series is presented by the Jazz Arts Project organization in cooperation with The Red Bank Department of Parks and Recreation.

A scene from 2010’s “How to Train Your Dragon.”

FILM/MUSIC

New Jersey Symphony, conducted by Lawrence Loh, will play John Powell’s Oscar-nominated score live at screenings of the 2010 animated film “How to Train Your Dragon,” July 11 at 7 p.m. at The Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown; July 12 at 2 p.m. at The State Theatre in New Brunswick; and July 13 at 2 p.m. at Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark.

FAMILY

WQXR, NJPAC and The New Jersey Symphony will team up to present a Classical Kids Fair at Chambers Plaza at NJPAC in Newark, July 13 from noon to 3 p.m., with performances, workshops and arts and crafts activities.

Performers will include The New Jersey Symphony Chamber Players, Nimbus Dance, The Paterson Music Project, and Keys 2 Success. Also, New Jersey Symphony, New Jersey Symphony Youth Orchestra and Keys 2 Success will co-host an “instrument discovery zone” at which children can try out different musical instruments.

Recommended ages are 4-10. There is no admission charge, though reservation are encouraged.

The Vanguard Theater Company will present a family-oriented Montclair Theater Festival at Glenfield Park, July 12 from 1 to 6 p.m., with performances of “Shrek the Musical” and a one-hour version of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; workshops; children’s activities; food trucks; vendors, and more.

OTHER

The New York-based French language and culture organization L’Alliance, which has a Montclair campus, has organized a Montclair Bastille Day Weekend, with a screening of Martin Provost’s 2023 film “Bonnard: Pierre et Marthe,” July 11 at 7 p.m. at The Clairidge; a town-wide French Shopping Day and scavenger hunt, July 12; “Outdoor Story Time” with Rosalind Elland-Goldsmith reading her “Martine sur la Côte d’Azur (Martine Visits the Côte d’Azur),” July 12 at 10 a.m. at Watchung Booksellers; and a garden party with food, music and more, July 12 from 5 to 9 p.m. at Van Vleck House & Gardens.

REVIEWS

“Andrea Chung: The Ocean Doesn’t Recognize Tears” at Project for Empty Space, Newark. (Through Aug. 17)

“Pulp: The Fluid and The Concrete” at Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton. Paper-making works. (Through Aug. 31)

“Indigenous Identities: Here, Now & Always” at Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick. (Through Dec. 21)

“Morven Revealed: Untold Stories From New Jersey’s Most Historic Home” at Morven Museum & Garden, Princeton. (Through March 1)
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