WOODBRIDGE ARTS Woodbridge, NJ
WOODBRIDGE ARTS Woodbridge, NJ
Music on Main Street
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Robby Hecht has been captivating audiences as a touring singer-songwriter for over two decades, combining quietly impactful songwriting reminiscent of Tom Waits or Jim Croce with the graceful vocal resonance of James Taylor. With a remarkable blend of insightful lyricism, memorable melodies, and a voice that carries both strength and tenderness, his music resonates with audiences from all walks of life
He garnered recognition as a songwriter’s songwriter early in his career, winning a number of revered performing songwriter contests and touring across the US and Europe. He's had more than 60 songs recorded by other artists including Nora Jane Struthers, The Steel Wheels, Kyshona and Amy Speace among others
Grace Pettis epitomizes the term singer/songwriter. As a singer, her voice is both powerful and beautiful, and she uses it like a fine arts painter to color and craft her songs. American Songwriter Magazine wrote “As a decorated songwriter, Pettis blurs the lines between country, Americana and folk. Her soulful delivery of calculated lyric lines helps her tell stories for all generations.” Her songs have been recorded by many esteemed artists, including Sara Hickman and Ruthie Foster.
Joe Crookson is a force of nature on stage. From touring with Gordon Lightfoot, headlining major US festivals, receiving Folk Alliance International “Album of the Year,” releasing NINE BECOMES ONE (2023) to being named Folk Alliance International Artist-in- Resident, Joe is on fire.
He’s played with Suzanne Vega, Dar Williams, David Francey, John McCutcheon, John Gorka, Judy Collins and 100’s more. His songs are are being made into award winning films. His rhythm is infectious. In concert, he is funny as hell one moment and transcendent the next.
“I was in a long-distance relationship with music for many years,” jokes songwriter Vienna Teng. “Now we’re finally moving back in together.”
Long-distance, perhaps, but long-running. In 2002, Vienna released her debut album Waking Hour, landing her on NPR’s Weekend Edition, The Late Show with David Letterman, and the top of Amazon’s music charts. Four more albums followed, most recently Aims in 2013, which became the first album to win four Independent Music Awards. She also composed the music for The Fourth Messenger by playwright Tanya Shaffer, which premiered in 2013 and was a featured production in the 2017 New York Musical Theater Festival. Together with Vienna’s captivating live performances and thoughtful online presence, her work has built a devoted following across generations and continents.
Still, other pursuits have always beckoned. A computer science major before she was a recording artist, Vienna is a nerd at heart, as comfortable in spreadsheets as the spotlight. She returned to academia in 2010 to study environmental sustainability, which led to a new career working on climate change, energy and waste issues. She also became a bonus parent to her partner’s two kids, and in early 2020 welcomed a newborn addition to the family - just in time for pandemic lockdown.
Opener Jean Rohe writes one-of-a-kind narrative songs, concerned as much with the interior lives of her narrators as with the wider world outside them. Jean recently won the 2022 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk songwriting contest with her deeply personal and timely song “Animal”. Her latest full-length record as a bandleader, Sisterly, produced by longtime collaborator Liam Robinson, won best Adult Contemporary Album at the Independent Music Awards in 2019.
Jake Thistle (born March 19, 2004) is an American singer-songwriter and performing musician. Originally from Paramus, New Jersey.
His first album, Down The Line, debuted 2020. Thistle self-produced the album as a result of the pandemic delaying a studio deal he initially had in place for the album. Down The Line was well-received, and American Songwriter| magazine proclaimed that "At 16, Jake Thistle Could Be The Next Generation’s Classic Singer/Songwriter," and that "Thistle’s music oozes an authenticity and depth that should make modern folk legends like Jason Isbell and Jeff Tweedy smile. His vocals, delivered with sincerity and just the right amount of rasp, recall early Jackson Browne, John Hiatt, Steve Forbert and Tom Petty."
Thistle's first song released under the Gold'n Retreiver label, Ghosted Road, earned highly positive reviews from industry publications, and garnered the 2022 Best Americana Song Of The Year honors from Indie Boulevard Magazine. The follow-up single, The Dreamer, was similarly well-reviewed. Alchemical Records noted that "Few singer songwriters have the breadth and depth of Jackson Browne...It is highly possible that we are witnessing the rise of his modern day counterpart through the music of New Jersey-based recording artist Jake Thistle."
Kim Richey came onto the music scene in the 1990s and entered her first recording contract at the age of 37 when she signed with Mercury Nashville. She spent the next few years promoting her albums and touring with the likes of Wynonna Judd.
Her songs have been recorded by Trisha Yearwood ("Believe Me Baby, I Lied"), Radney Foster ("Nobody Wins"), Brooks & Dunn ("Every River") and many others including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gretchen Peters, Patty Loveless and Jim Lauderdale
Since her May 1995 self-titled debut album which contained the singles "Just My Luck" and "Those Words We Said", she's released a string of albums including Thorn in My Heart in 2013, which featured guest vocals from Trisha Yearwood, and "A Long Way back: Songs of Glimmer" in 2020
She'll have a new album out in 2024 just in time for her first appearance at the beautiful Avenel Performing Arts Center
Jake Thistle (born March 19, 2004) is an American singer-songwriter and performing musician. Originally from Paramus, New Jersey.
His first album, Down The Line, debuted 2020. Thistle self-produced the album as a result of the pandemic delaying a studio deal he initially had in place for the album. Down The Line was well-received, and American Songwriter| magazine proclaimed that "At 16, Jake Thistle Could Be The Next Generation’s Classic Singer/Songwriter," and that "Thistle’s music oozes an authenticity and depth that should make modern folk legends like Jason Isbell and Jeff Tweedy smile. His vocals, delivered with sincerity and just the right amount of rasp, recall early Jackson Browne, John Hiatt, Steve Forbert and Tom Petty."
Thistle's first song released under the Gold'n Retreiver label, Ghosted Road, earned highly positive reviews from industry publications, and garnered the 2022 Best Americana Song Of The Year honors from Indie Boulevard Magazine. The follow-up single, The Dreamer, was similarly well-reviewed. Alchemical Records noted that "Few singer songwriters have the breadth and depth of Jackson Browne...It is highly possible that we are witnessing the rise of his modern day counterpart through the music of New Jersey-based recording artist Jake Thistle."
Music on Main Street at APAC brings the legendary blend of eclectic music it’s know for to the intimate Avenel Performing Arts Center (APAC). The center offers superb sound and sightlines in an attractive, comfortable setting. Curtains Restaurant & Bar is located within APAC and is the perfect place for pre or post show dinner and drinks.
© Woodbridge Arts, Woodbridge, NJ
Mayor John E. McCormac
