Live music has no rival; and despite the extreme heat, (hotter than the Sonoran Desert during this T-Ball administration), tunes were on the menu during a recent Jersey July weekend.
Two enrapturing events transpired in Essex and Union Counties, which had all in attendance, grooving in the Garden State.
Sunday ~ The Maplewoodstock Music and Art Festival was founded in 2004, when a dozen friends, neighbors, and musicians received permission from the Township of Maplewood, to gather in the park and play some tunes.
The festival is managed and funded by the Maplewoodstock Volunteer Committee through ads, sponsorships, and sales. They are composed of approximately 10 local friends volunteering for 11 months a year, (they take August off because of “sheer exhaustion”), to bring this event to life.
Their mission is to provide a free festival of music and arts, for the community. This includes support and opportunities to local and regional bands, artisans, and kitchens to present themselves to the community.
All were invited to dance, eat, wear funky outfits, partake of a beverage, smile, hug, commune, laugh, get sunburnt, and enjoy the best weekend of the year.
The event took place July 12th and 13th, and it did not disappoint.
The Pear Tree Project attended day two of this delight.
Highlights included Roe Knows Best – a pop-punk band, indelibly New Jersey in sound, style, and attitude. The lyrical themes of Roe Knows Best songs spoke about love, anxiety, and loneliness.
Another highlight, (and my personal favorite of the day), was The Hip Snacks – a Denver-based six-piece powerhouse of explosive soul music.
The Snacks’ signature blend of piercing vocals, dominant rhythms, and blistering solos could not help but make you boogie.
Other offerings included reggae, R&B, disco, punk and yacht rock – this festivus was for the best of us!
Saturday ~ Mayor Raymond A. Giacobbe, the Rahway City Council, Rahway Special Improvement District, and the Union County Performing Arts Center, in partnership with Atelier Rosal, began the Mayor’s Music Series in 2023. The annual event features a diverse range of local artists and big-name musicians of all genres. It showcases the city’s growing arts community and brings residents and guests together for an array of musical entertainment, throughout the summer.
The Mayor’s Music Series runs from May to October, with weekly performances taking place from June to September. Additional special performances will take place on select dates at Train Station Plaza, the Rahway Recreation Center, and E. Cherry Street.
On Saturday, July 12, The Pear Tree Project enjoyed a snippet of the Mayor’s Music Series by watching Vintage Property, at the Rahway District Arts Park.
Although we arrived late to the party, it was still going strong. Vintage Property had set up drums, microphones, and amps, along the bright white fence, below the flower power purple, yellow, and pink mural.
Vintage Property rocked the courtyard until the sun disappeared into the darkening sky.
The tunes of Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, and other artists drifted along the evening breeze.
Vintage Property not only provided musical entertainment, they lingered afterward and engaged with attendees.
So, whether it is a congregation of 10 in Union County, or 10,000 in Essex, the refrain is still the same – the opiate of the people will forever sustain. There is no replacement and certainly no bridge brighter than the songs within our collective hearts, and the melody of souls who assemble to serenade the summer winds.
Did You Know? While what we think of as music festivals have only been around for a little more than 100 hundred years, the practice actually goes back much further. In fact, we can pinpoint the exact year and place the first recorded music festival was held – 582 BC. The Pythian Games were a set of athletic and musical competitions held in ancient Greece, in honor of the god Apollo. They were one of the four Panhellenic Games, second in importance only to the Olympic Games. They were held every four years at Delphi, near Apollo’s sanctuary, and included athletic and artistic events.
LOVED this Blog—–and what a perfect and very rare July summer Day to read It——I envy the good music you shared with fellow music lovers and loved the History of when the festivals began in Greece—–I once read —Where words fail music speaks and I feel so manty Art forms provide that gift to our souls———Thanks again Lis