Two Central Jersey Institutions Partner for a June Music Festival Music in the Somerset Hills (MISH) of Bernardsville and The Ross Farm of Basking Ridge have a common calling – to foster community through music. On Saturday, June 18, the two central New Jersey institutions will join forces to present a Summer Solstice Music Festival featuring three diverse musical acts. The purpose is to celebrate not only the changing of the seasons, but also the end of isolation after a long winter and an even longer pandemic. Set on a bucolic farm amidst fields and a historic farmhouse, live entertainment will include Americana and 60’s rock performed by “Just Married,” and heartland rock, Memphis soul, and modern pop performed by “Nick Ryan and the Mess.” For the mainstage event, the Somerset Hills Chorus, along with members of Downtown Voices out of lower Manhattan, will captivate audiences with Carl Orff’s thrilling choral masterpiece, “Carmina Burana,” led by conductor and MISH Artistic Director, Stephen Sands. The event is geared towards music lovers of all ages, especially families looking for local outdoor entertainment. Picnics are encouraged and students are admitted free of charge. Throughout the day there will be family activities, food trucks […]

Doors 6:30 p.m./Music 7 p.m. Suggested donation $25/adults, $5 student Tickets/Donate Suggested donation $25/adults, $5 student - please enter your desired donation on the order form and indicate how many tickets you are requesting. We are thrilled to add a second band to our opening night! Hollis Brown will take the stage at 7 p.m., followed by Doc Robinson for an awesome two-bands-one-night concert! Loose lineups, tight arrangements, and an impeccable aptitude for simple, punchy pop hooks have defined Doc Robinson’s recent, robust catalog of “backyard BBQ breakup music.” In 2016, Nick D’Andrea and Jon Elliott emptied their backpack full of soulful influences and stitched the band together as a melding of their two favorite artists (Smokey Robinson + Dr. Dog), enlisting a rotation of Columbus’s finest R&B players as All-Star bedrock. After four records in two years, as well as a long stint supporting Ohio upstarts CAAMP, Doc shifts into a new era for the young, accomplished band after D’Andrea’s amicable exit to pursue his talents solo. Now, Elliott slips into the Smokey role, guiding the band into a new era, where the loss of D’Andrea is softened by the treasure trove of feel-good hits left in the pair’s […]

Doors 5 p.m./Music 6 p.m. Tickets/Donate American Songwriter describes Eilen Jewell as one of America’s most intriguing, creative and idiosyncratic voices. The Boise, Idaho songwriter leads a tight quartet that blends influences of surf-noir, early blues, classic country, folk, and 1960s era rock ‘n’ roll. For well over a decade, they’ve toured relentlessly for legions of fans from Boston to Boise and Madrid to Melbourne, playing large festivals, theaters, rock clubs, and coffeehouses. The group has shared stages with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Loretta Lynn, Mavis Staples, Wanda Jackson, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, and Blind Boys of Alabama. Eilen’s fans have marveled at her warmth and onstage humor alongside her beautiful songs and fiery performances. In addition to six of her own full-length albums, Jewell has released two albums with her country-gospel side project, the Sacred Shakers; a tribute album to Loretta Lynn titled Butcher Holler; and a recent album of rare blues covers, Down Hearted Blues. The Los Angeles Daily News said, “Sometimes as darkly damaged as Lucinda Williams, at others as defiant and teasing as prime Peggy Lee and always authentically Americana in the Gillian Welch tradition…She’s mighty good.” Bring your lawn chairs or blankets to spread […]

Doors 6 p.m./Music 7 p.m. Suggested donation $25 for adults, $5 for students Tickets/Donate No stranger to change or the exploration that comes with it, Carrie Welling has been navigating life’s twists, turns, demons, and discoveries from a young age. A self-described ‘military brat’, Welling’s struggle to feel rooted in any one place carved a unharmonious path of heartbreak, doubt, and insecurity that defined her 20s and early 30s… a journey that lead to her soul-defining rebirth as an international touring artist with a place to call home in Nashville, TN. Her bold, sultry voice, reminiscent of Sheryl Crow’s grit, Natalie Maines’ twang, and Stevie Nicks’ heart, is upstaged only by the genuine love and connection this natural performer has with her fans both on and off stage. But embracing confidence has not always been easy for this singer-songwriter, who speaks candidly about her battle to be good to herself, and to quiet the inner voice nagging her to be “perfect”. Through the process of creating her latest work, a collection of songs that encapsulate Carrie’s determination to embrace self-love, self-care, and leave the past behind, she’s found a place of peace and healing, recognizing that authenticity and vulnerability is […]

Doors 6:30 p.m./Music 7 p.m./Screening of Fable of a Song/8:30 p.m. Suggested donation, $25/adults, $5/students Tickets/Donate The Young Fables (TYF) are the promising Modern Traditional Country™ duo comprised of SHURE Microphone endorsed vocalist Laurel Wright and Gretsch endorsed guitarist Wesley Lunsford. The team is maybe best known for having been selected by Shania Twain to appear on USA’s showcase television series Real Country. The act hails from Maryville, TN and has already collected impressive accolades including the Grand Prize at the Texaco Country Showdown which landed Laurel on the Ryman Auditorium stage at age 16. TYF first engaged and organically expanded their grassroots following while on the road supporting their first two studio albums Two in 2017 and Old Songs in 2019. They've appeared with such notable acts as Lauren Alaina, Rascal Flatts, Josh Turner, Sara Evans, Chris Janson, Randy Houser, Delta Rae, Liz Longley and Chris Lane. Capturing the ears of three of the industry's most revered names, Keith Urban said they "had me immediately," Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta praised "a flawless vocal” and Sheryl Crow tweeted, “Just heard The Young Fables in the Nashville Airport. Laurel’s as good as any country singer out there!” The nationally syndicated […]

Doors 6:30 p.m./Music 7 p.m. Suggested donation $25/adults, $5/students Tickets/Donate TEOA (The End of America) is James Downes, Trevor Leonard, and Brendon Thomas: a band of friends who met on the road and found a kindred spirit in one another. The Philadelphia/Connecticut/New Hampshire based trio credit their name to Kerouac’s On The Road, travelling “across the groaning continent” in search of inspiration and reaching “the end of America, no more land, and now there was nowhere to go but back.” TEOA’s sound weaves three distinct lead vocals into captivating harmonies over a solid foundation of folk, rock, and Americana. Songwriting Magazine UK writes, “(TEOA’s) classic songwriting and tight harmonies provide a perfect antidote and an example of what’s possible through collaboration and unity.” TEOA has been recognized for “live performances that highlight their songwriting, harmonies and stage banter,” according to Stitched in Sound. A Soulful Sound writes, “Anyone who has seen TEOA can attest to their powerful harmonies and stage presence.” Their latest album, Night is Alive, was self-released on November 12, 2021. This collection of songs was written and recorded virtually during the first year of the pandemic. No Depression magazine ranked Night Is Alive as Best Alt Country […]

Suggested donation $25/adults, $5 student - please enter your desired donation on the order form and indicate how many tickets you are requesting. Tickets/Donate Christian Lopez isn’t merely riding the wave of Americana, the West Virginian native is bending it to its knees. As the son of a music teacher, he was learning piano and guitar by the time he was in kindergarten, and he recorded his debut album, produced by Americana super-producer Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton), when he was just 18. But on his new album The Other Side, Lopez transcends all of those hot-shot titles to emerge a well-rounded and experienced artist. A collection of 12 eclectic songs that veer from sprightly indie-rock to brutally vulnerable ballads, The Other Side, produced by Robert Adam Stevenson, is the sound of a man who knows precisely who he is. Now 25, he's excised the trappings of a youth run wild and all but killed the ego that can undermine the evolution of an artist. "This album is a product of the strength I had to walk away from everything I knew," Lopez says. "I had to start fresh on my own." A musician's musician, Lopez plays every instrument […]

Doors 6 p.m./Music 7 p.m. Tickets/Donate “There’s a young lady came onstage with me, I forget where I was, but she’s playing an alto saxophone, and man, she was amazing.” Those are the words of Buddy Guy in a recent issue of American Blues Scene, describing an impromptu performance with Vanessa Collier on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. If you haven’t been fortunate enough to meet Vanessa and witness one of her head-turning, fiery, and passionate performances, you should definitely make sure you do. As a master musician and multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa Collier, weaves funk, soul, rock, and blues into every powerful performance and she is downright impressive. With soulful vocals, searing saxophone, and witty songwriting, Vanessa is blazing a trail, racking up an impressive arsenal of honours, and has already singled herself out as an artist of distinction and one we would all do well to watch. It’s not simply the accolades she has accumulated so far, although they’ve been many -- two Blues Music Awards for “Horn Player of the Year”, seven Blues Music Award Nominations (BMAs), a Blues Blast Award nomination, the Jammingest Pro Award bestowed by the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, First Place for lyrics […]