Annual Maplewood summer concert series returns to Springfield Avenue Gazebo

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — For the third consecutive year, the Springfield Avenue Gazebo will be home to a summer concert series that runs for five consecutive Friday nights beginning July 29. All concerts will begin at 7 p.m. at the Springfield Avenue Gazebo, which is located next to the Hilton Branch Library at 1688 Springfield Ave. in Maplewood.

In an attempt to reach a wider and more diverse audience, this year’s lineup features a mix of rock, reggae, classic R&B and some straight ahead blues. The otherwise live music series will conclude on Aug. 26 with a showing of the 2014 feature film remake of “Annie,” starring Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, beginning at 8 p.m., after sunset.

“We hope more people will come across town to attend the performances,” Mayor Vic DeLuca said in a press release. “The gazebo is a great setting and plenty of people don’t even know it’s there.”

According to Office of Cultural Affairs Manager Andrew Fishman, the artists scheduled to appear are distinctly different from those who’ve been to the gazebo in the past. “You’re more likely to see some of these performers at clubs in Williamsburg, Manhattan or Asbury Park than the suburbs of Jersey on a Friday night,” Fishman said in the release.

The schedule is as follows:

• July 29: Universal Rebel performing music that is “Bob Marley meets Common and Phish”;
• Aug. 5: M-Pack Music, a high-energy neo-soul, jazz, blues and funk from Clarence “M-Pack” Conover and his trio;
• Aug. 12: homegrown talent Ricky Persaud Jr. with rock, reggae and R&B;
• Aug. 19: smokin’ hot blues with a Rockabilly swagger from New York-based performer Kyle Lacy and his band; and
• Aug. 26, an hour later at 8 p.m.: a screening of the 2014 movie “Annie.”

The summer concert series at the Springfield Avenue Gazebo is presented by the township of Maplewood Office of Cultural Affairs in cooperation with the Springfield Avenue Partnership and with support from CKO Kickboxing of Maplewood and The Wine Barrel.

For more information, contact Andrew Fishman at culturalaffairs@twp.maplewood.nj.us or at 973-640-0399.

  Maplewood Recreation, Springfield Avenue Partnership