LITTLE SILVER: A HOOTENANNY IN CHURCH

Among the five acts scheduled to perform at Little Silver’s Embury United Methodist Church this Sunday, the Last Whipporwill Bluegrass Band, above brings traditional bluegrass “as God and Monroe intended it.”

Like the jazz-and-blues house parties held on the last Friday of each month at the Red Bank Woman’s Club — and the regularly scheduled classical recitals at the White Street home of the Monmouth Conservatory — the libraries, community centers and places of worship on the Greater Red Bank Green have a long tradition of connecting music lovers with specialized sounds in a way that’s intriguingly under the radar, and off the beaten path.

This Sunday afternoon, another of the area’s “best kept secrets” raises its voice once more, as Little Silver’s Embury United Methodist Church plays host to a Bluegrass Stage Show and Jam that’s engaging, illuminating — and even interactive, should such things strike your fancy.

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February 16, 2017 - 6:15 am |

RED BANK: THE GILL-MAN JUMPS IN

Everybody in the truck: Vince Gill joins the Time Jumpers for a tour that rolls into the Count Basie Theatre Wednesday.

A member in good standing of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Vince Gill has apparently been having the time of his life, playing fast and loose with the hat-bound strictures of the Nashville template in the years since he racked up 20 Grammy awards and peddled platters in excess of 24 million copies.

Always pushing that envelope in collaborations that have paired him with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Gladys Knight, Dire Straits and Alice Cooper, the former frontman of Pure Prairie League revisited his band-member roots upon parting ways with the Music Row record biz in 2012. When the serial CMA Entertainer of the Year takes to the stage of the Count Basie Theatre this Wednesday, November 19, he’ll be one of the guys (and gal) in a gloriously democratic organization known as thee Time Jumpers.

RED BANK: COUNTRY FEST IN THE RED

They danced, but they didn’t eat much, at the country music festival last month. (Photos by Peter Lindner. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The music was a hit, but the cash registers rang out a sad song at the Red Bank Rockin’ Country Music Festival last month.

The two-day event in Marine Park drew only 10,000 to 12,000 paying customers, compared to a similar number who typically show up for the single-afternoon International Flavour Festival in the White Street parking lot in April, Red Bank RiverCenter executive director Jim Scavone tells redbankgreen.

RED BANK: COUNTRY FANS KICK UP DUST

Scenes from the first-ever Red Bank Rockin’ Country Music Festival, a two-day food-and-tunes event that raised funds for the Red Bank Public Library Foundation, the Red Bank Volunteer Fire Department, Red Bank Charter School Library and event host Red Bank RiverCenter. (Photos by Peter Lindner. Click to enlarge)

June 30, 2014 - 6:28 am |

RED BANK: COUNTRY ROCKS RIVERFRONT

Headliner Maggie Rose rocked Marine Park on a deliciously cool night one of the first-ever Red Bank Rockin’ Country Music Festival Saturday.

The event continues from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, with a forecast of sunny skies and temperatures peaking in the high 70s. Admission is $5 for anyone over 10 years old. Here’s the full entertainment schedule. (Click to enlarge)

June 29, 2014 - 10:39 am |

RED BANK: A WEEKEND IN THE COUNTRY

Maggie Rose headlines the first-ever Red Bank Rockin’ Country Music Festival, which kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday in Marine Park and continues Sunday. Hosted by Red Bank RiverCenter, the event will spotlight the culinary creations of borough restaurants. Profits will benefit the Red Bank Public Library Foundation, the Red Bank Volunteer Fire Department, Red Bank Charter School Library, and RiverCenter. Admission is $5 for anyone over 10 years old. Here’s the full entertainment schedule. (Click to enlarge)

June 27, 2014 - 2:53 pm |

COUNTRY MUSIC FEST COMING TO RED BANK

The mainstage-and-second-stage setup of RiverFest and other events at Marine Park will be replaced by two equal-sized stages for the Red Bank Country Music Festival, featuring Maggie Rose, below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Get out the pointy leather boots and brush up on yer twang: Red Bank’s goin’ country in June.

A new event called the Red Bank Country Music Festival will set up camp in Marine Park for two days in late June, taking over a slot on an outdoor events calendar filled last year by Sippin’ on the River.

While Sippin’ won’t be back this year, its pioneering wet-your-whistle spirit will live on, as the country-themed food-and-music event will feature wine and beer sales, only the second such event in recent history to allow alcohol consumption in a borough park.