Can New Jersey’s New Festival Surpass Coachella or SXSW? It thinks so.
New Jersey Gov. Philip D. Murphy, along with the first lady, Tammy Murphy, had a vision: a new performance festival in their home state that could rival South by Southwest in Texas or Bonnaroo in Tennessee. And they had a plan to discern it.
“Austin and Nashville are great cities,” the governor said, referring to two famous arts centers associated with notable festivals. “But when you consider the cultural priorities of the states they govern, you say, ‘Wait a minute.’ You are cheated if you let yourself be carried away by the coolness.
A festival in New Jersey, they reasoned, would take place in a state whose values align with issues like gun safety and reproductive rights, a boast hard to come by in the South. But what the organizers are really touting with the event, which is being produced for the first time this summer, is the mix of homegrown talent and national acts (Halsey, Santana, Jazmine Sullivan) performing in three different cities, from the largest city in the state to the coast.
The North to Shore festival will roam from Atlantic City to Asbury Park to Newark all month long. The inaugural run will feature more than 220 acts – including music, comedy, dance and film – at 115 venues. “When you combine all the talent we have in New Jersey with the fact that our values are on the right side of history, we thought, there’s no reason why we couldn’t give this a try,” Murphy said.
In May, the festival doubled in size, partly thanks to the commitment to local talent. Grants of up to $5,000 were distributed to 58 New Jersey artists.
“What I love about it is that it’s a combination of the biggest names in entertainment and comedy and film,” said John Schreiber, president and chief executive of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, which produces the festival, “but it’s also an opportunity to raise the volume of the local people I call the local heroes – the artists, the creators, the presenters, the producers – who work in these cities 365 days a year.
An example of this kind of artistic convergence is “You Got VERRRSED: NJ Poets vs. New York Poets,” which will take place in Newark on June 24, the day after. Marisa Montea Grammy Award winner, performs there.
In each host city, the locations go beyond the familiar. For example, Newark is hosting “Jersey Club 101,” a combination dance class and party, on June 24 at Ariya Plaza Hall, a local dance club known for hosting private events and the occasional concert.
On June 9, a brewery, The Seed: A Living Beer Project, in Atlantic City is hosting a multidisciplinary event, “From Earth to Cup,” featuring live music, pottery and craft beer samples. The following afternoon, at Sovereign Avenue Field, a popular skate park, local hardcore and punk bands play free shows at the ‘Back Sov Bullies Concert’.
While Asbury Park’s famous rock club, the Stone Ponywill see his share of the action – with Eric B. & Rakim, Brian Fallon, Demi Lovato and the B-52s all on the schedule – stages on the lesser known Watermarkdown the street, will also run a lot and can expect more traffic than usual.
Alexander Simone and his seven-piece band, the Whodat? Live Crew, will play there on June 14. Mr Simone, 34, who is from the area and the grandson of Nina Simone, won a grant to take part in North to Shore with the band, which leans towards funk and R&B, after being nominated by local fans. The recognition confirmed something he already knew: “I’m definitely one of the best-known bands in this community,” he said.
Now he hopes that more attention will be paid to his music in other parts of the country. “Artists come this way, to Jersey, and bring people the way South by Southwest brings people to Texas,” he said. “They come to see what we have to offer in this area.”
Billboards along the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike promote the festival. Mr Schreiber said he expects more than 350,000 people to attend. The total windfall for New Jersey’s economy, he added, could be $100 million. “We are betting that the economic impact in all three of these communities will far outweigh the investments we have to make,” said Mr. Murphy.
Natalie Merchant, accompanied by New York City’s Orchestra of St. Luke’sperforms June 25 in Newark. “I think it’s really ambitious and impressive,” she said of the idea behind the festival.
But her decision to participate didn’t have much to do with performing in a liberal-leaning state, Ms. Merchant said. “I tend not to punish my fans in states with political conditions like abortion restrictions.” Instead, “I talk about it on stage.”
The North to Shore festival takes place June 4-11 in Atlantic City, June 14-18 in Asbury Park, and June 21-25 in Newark.