DAVY KNOWLES
A roundup of arts events taking place around the state, through Aug. 23:
MUSIC
• Heavy rain shortened last year’s Morristown Jazz and Blues Festival, but for this summer’s ninth annual edition of the free festival, scheduled for Aug. 17, the two acts that were not able to perform — Davy Knowles, and the Bernard Allison Group — will back back, heading the bill. As usual, the event, which takes place on Morristown Green, will feature a wide range of world-class performers, with jazz in the early afternoon, high-energy R&B in the late afternoon, and blues at night. The Antoinette Montague Experience will perform at noon, followed by guitarist Frank Vignola’s trio, featuring guitarist Vinny Raniolo and bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, at 2 p.m.; Rob Paparozzi’s Juke Joint, including a 50th anniversary tribute to Woodstock, at 4 p.m.; Allison at 6 p.m.; and Knowles at 8 p.m.
• The annual Asbury Park Surf Music Festival has morphed into Hi-Tide Summer Holiday (named after its organizer, the Hi-Tide record label), and will take place Aug. 16-18 at Asbury Lanes and other Asbury Park locations. There will be exotic cocktails, pool parties, vendors, seminars and more, with the main attraction being concerts featuring the likes of The 5.6.7.8.’s, The Neanderthals, Eddie Angel (of Los Straitjackets), Deke Dickerson, The Boss Martians and Black Flamingos. Visit hitidesummerholiday.com for the complete schedule.
• Aug. 15-17 marks the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival, and Glen Burtnik will present a “Woodstock Edition” of his all-star Summer of Love show, featuring music from throughout the late ’60s and a psychedelic light show, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. Burtnik will also bring the show to Sound Waves at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. (see video below)
CARLOS SANTANA
• And, speaking of Woodstock … one of the festival’s breakout stars, Santana, will return to the concert site for a show with The Doobie Brothers at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. The double bill also comes to the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m.; and the BB&T Pavilion in Camden, Aug.24 at 7 p.m.
• And, continuing the Woodstock thing, the great jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan will present a tribute to Jimi Hendrix in a free show in the Somers Point Beach Concert Series at William Morrow Beach, Aug. 23 at 7 p.m., with the Hawkins Road Coconutz Supergroup presenting a tribute to Crosby, Stills & Nash and Santana in an opening set.
• Aerosmith is bringing a touring edition of its Las Vegas residency show, titled “Aerosmith: Deuces Are Wild — East Coast Run,” to just three venues this summer, and one will be Event Center at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City. The band will perform there Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. and Aug. 18 at 7 p.m.
Queen’s “A Night at the Opera” album.
• The Classic Albums Live band will perform Queen’s A Night at the Opera album in its entirety, plus other songs, at BergenPAC in Englewood, Aug. 15 at 8 p.m. Based in Toronto, Classic Albums Live covers albums by bands ranging from The Beatles to Radiohead on its tours. Released in 1975, A Night at the Opera was a huge hit, featuring “Bohemian Rhapsody” as well as songs such as “You’re My Best Friend,” “39” and “I’m in Love With My Car.”
• The Zombies — who had hits such as “She’s Not There,” “Time of the Season” and “Tell Her No” in the ’60s, and was honored with long-overdue induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year — will perform at the Ocean City Music Pier, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m.
• Billy Ray Cyrus — who has made an unlikely return to pop prominence this year with “Old Town Road (Remix),” his megahit collaboration with Lil Nas X — will perform at the Event Center at Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, Aug. 20 at 8 p.m. Cyrus has not been in the pop Top 10 since “Achy Breaky Heart” was a hit in 1992.
MUSIC/FILM
• The rock band Thee Volatiles will perform before a free screening of the 2018 superhero movie “Aquaman,” Aug. 17 on Church Street in Montclair. The band will start at 7 p.m. and the movie will begin at sundown.
Cast members of “Alice in Wonderland.”
DANCE
• Axelrod Contemporary Ballet Theater will premiere a new version of “Alice in Wonderland” Aug. 18, 21 and 25 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal. ACBT artistic director Gabriel Chajnik choreographed and directed the ballet, basing it on passages from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” and Carroll’s poems. The production features an original score by David Winkler, a live chamber orchestra conducted by Jason Tramm, a children’s choir, digital projections, and whimsical costumes by Jose Solis (see photo).
THEATER
• New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch will present “Memoirs of a Forgotten Man” — D.W. Gregory’s new thriller, set in the Soviet Union during the Stalin Era — with previews beginning Aug. 15, the official opening night on Aug. 17, and the last show on Sept. 15.
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