“SPIRIT OF THE UPSTAGE CLUB” JAM SESSION ANNOUNCED
May 26th Event will feature Upstage Wall Art
May 16, 2019 (ASBURY PARK, NJ) – The Asbury Park Music Foundation (APMF) is holding an overnight jam session featuring musicians from the current music scene jamming in the style of the famous Upstage Club and in the presence of the actual wall art removed from the building. The “Spirit of the Upstage Club” event will be held on Sunday, May 26 at the APMF performance space (621 Lake Avenue) with music starting at 10pm and running throughout the night, similar to the hours of the Upstage Club which ran until 5am when it was open from 1968 to 1971. The same policies of ages 18+ after midnight and “no booze” will apply to this event.
The jam session is intended to bring together the musicians of the 2019 music scene with the historical wall art from 40 years prior to unite the spirit of yesterday with today. The history of the Upstage Club is detailed in the movie “Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption and Rock n’ Roll,” which will be in theatres worldwide on May 22 and 29. Advanced tickets to the movie are available at http://asburyparkmovietickets.com. A portion of the proceeds from the movie will be donated to APMF.
“We want the world to know that the Asbury Park music scene is thriving once again with hundreds of incredible musicians performing original music in dozens of venues along the Jersey Shore every night of the year,” said Jim Lenskold, Board Chairman of the Asbury Park Music Foundation. “There is musical magic in these wall pieces from those early days of Springsteen, Little Steven, Southside Johnny, members of the E Street Band and many others. This night will bridge the past and present, setting some of that historical magic free from the walls while adding some new magic back in.”
The original Upstage wall art was removed from the deteriorating building on Cookman Avenue in 2017 by a crew of volunteers for the Asbury Park Music Foundation, as a donation from the Ross family. The wall art will be displayed during this event and go up for auction to the public throughout 2019. Lenskold, who led the removal team as well as the preservation of the removed pieces, said “the auction of the wall art will be awarded based on a combination of the donation amount offered and the bidder’s commitment to keep the art close to Asbury Park with periodic public access. We want this Asbury Park history to remain as part of our community.”
The jam session will feature over 30 musicians from Asbury Park’s most active acts taking the stage for first-time, unique combinations to perform music of all styles throughout the evening. The public is welcome to attend the May 26 show for a $5 donation but space is limited. Doors open at 9:30pm and music starts at 10pm. A special preview of the Upstage Wall Art for the media and invited guests will run from 8pm to 9pm that evening. Additional events will be scheduled throughout the summer to showcase the wall art.
Information on the Upstage Wall Art and how to submit bids is available at https://asburyparkmusiclives.org/upstage-club-wall-art.
About the Movie “Asbury Park:
The film tells the story of the long troubled town of Asbury Park, and how the power of music can unite a divided community. A once storied seaside resort, Asbury Park erupted in flames during a summer of civil unrest, crippling the town for the next 45 years and reducing it to a state of urban blight. A town literally divided by a set of railroad tracks, the riot destroyed the fabled Westside jazz and blues scene, but from the flames of the burning city emerged the iconic Jersey sound.
“When we began production on the film, the Upstage was a perfect time capsule of 1970,” said film producer Tom Jones. “The day glow paint had stood watch as decades passed outside the walls of the Club. Inside time stood still…waiting to tell the story of what had happened there…the emergence of the Jersey sound. There are traces of magic dust mixed into that paint and it is thrilling to have these walls connected to the current music scene.”
Asbury Park returns Asbury sons Steven Van Zandt, Southside Johnny Lyon and Bruce Springsteen to the legendary Upstage, the psychedelic after hours club where they got their start, featuring never before seen interviews and performances. Shuttered for four and a half decades, the Upstage remains a perfect time capsule of the Club, which united both sides of the tracks in Asbury and acted as a crucible for young talent. Now, as Asbury Park enjoys its long-awaited renaissance, it is music, which has brought it back from the dead.
About Asbury Park Music Foundation
The Asbury Park Music Foundation provides music-based programs, events and resources that generate opportunities for our youth, artists and community to succeed and build on Asbury Park’s legacy as a thriving, music-rich city by the sea. Funds raised by APMF support youth music programs, including the Hip Hop Institute at the Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County, in-school music classes at Hope Academy, after-school music classes at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School and Asbury Park public schools, and scholarships for under-served youth to attend the Lakehouse Academy.
Additional information on the Foundation’s programs and events are available at www.asburyparkmusiclives.org or https://www.facebook.com/asburyparkmusiclives/.
Press Contact:
Jim Lenskold
Asbury Park Music Foundation