JAZZ JAM

Brightside Tavern, located 141 Bright St. in Jersey City, will host a Jazz Jam every Monday from 8 p.m. to midnight. Over 20 musicians and singers will attend. Call (201) 435-1234 for more information.

LIVE JAZZ

Live jazz featuring Don Carter and the Trio, will start at 7 p.m. every Wednesday night at VB3 Restaurant & Lounge, 475 Washington Blvd., Jersey City.

OPEN JAZZ JAM

Winard Harper and Rosalind Grant will host an open jazz jam tonight from 8:30 p.m. to midnight at Moore?s Lounge, 189 Monticello Ave., Jersey City. All musicians, vocalists, spoken word artists, dancers and jazz music lovers are invited to attend. No cover or minimum required.

FIRST SUNDAY JAZZ NIGHT

Winard Harper and special guests will perform a special jazz show from 6 to 10 p.m. on the first Sundays of the month at Moore?s Lounge, 189 Monticello Ave., Jersey City. $10 cover. No minimum.

Lamppost is working on their website so they can put a listing of the shows. You can also check it out on the facebook page.

Their Facebook page has good info.

Quote:

Is there anywhere to find out the Lamp Post's upcoming shows? A quick search didn't turn anything up. I'd definitely stop by there more often if I knew what bands were playing.

While it's a good thing to see a surge in live music in JC, the "scene" still has light years to go.

The main negative is that spaces like Lamp Post and Lucky's are not, in any sense of the word, legitimate music venues. These spaces are incredibly small and hardly have the room both for bands and viewers.

It's a great first step, but until places like White Eagle Hall open up, it's really slim pickings so far.

Summer Dawn Hortillosa / For The Jersey Journal




There?s nothing like the vibe, energy and excitement of seeing a band play live. Unfortunately in Hudson County, finding live music can be a challenge. More and more bars and restaurants, however, are stepping up.

In Jersey City, many places are offering weekly music nights like Moore?s Lounge, GP?s Restaurant and VB3. Occasionally, you can catch hip-hop acts at Jordan?s Lounge, rock bands at places like Boca Grande and Lucky 7 Tavern, and a musical smorgasbord at PM Jamnites at Dorrian?s Red Hand.

Lamp Post Bar and Grill in Jersey City?s Village neighborhood is perhaps the best place in the city to catch live music, with rock bands every Tuesday and Saturday, the Yellow Frog Soul Sessions jam session and open mics on second and fourth Wednesdays and karaoke on Fridays. The bar also hosts other special concerts like the late-night half of the annual Ghost of Uncle Joe?s fundraising concert for the Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery, an event that in itself pays tribute to Uncle Joe?s, JC?s former go-to music spot.

Booking manager Candice Leger says Lamp Post doesn?t just give local bands a place to play - it also nurtures the local music scene as a whole.

?What?s great about booking bands at a local hangout like Lamp Post is that I get to showcase Jersey City bands, as well as introduce Jersey City folk to up-and-coming touring bands,? said Leger.

?The first show I ever booked I fell in love with a touring band called Crushed Out. A local band, Crazy and the Brains, asked me to book Crushed Out alongside them and now they have a fan base in Jersey City, New York City and Brooklyn. Developing our local scene while simultaneously expanding its horizons is extremely gratifying.?

Hoboken is also a major player in the scene. It is, after all, the home of the now-?closed?, famed rock club Maxwell?s (which is available for rental and still operates as a bar and restaurant, but does not regularly book bands). It also has plenty of other places to see musicians play like Northern Soul, DC?s Tavern and Pilsener Haus Biergarten.

Stephen Bailey, one of the brains behind the Hoboken Music Awards, says places like his eatery, D?s Soul Full Cafe, are the bread and butter of the local music scene.

?I think these nontraditional venues ? such as cafes, restaurants, galleries, etc. ? are vital to the future of music in Hudson County. Twenty years ago, the idea of live music anywhere other than in a bar was usually dismissed as a gimmick. These days however, with fewer and fewer bars actually hosting live music, these new venues are often the only places for new, original music to be heard,? said Bailey.

?From a creative standpoint, they force musicians into rethinking their approach to music. For example, my place is so tiny that we can?t have big amps or drums or a vocal PA, so performers have to force themselves out of their comfort zones in order for the music to work,? he said. ?For me, it?s that challenge that makes it exciting. Sure it?s not loud, blaring, drunken debauchery of the good ol? days, but that?s OK.?

Anthony ?Dancing Tony? Susco of Rock-it Docket, which organizes JC music events like the aforementioned Ghost of Uncle Joe?s and the weekly summer outdoor concert series Groove on Grove, says these venues have been gaining momentum since January 2012 when Jersey City passed an ordinance allowing late night live music on Restaurant Row.

?I freaking love it!? said Susco, adding that things can only get better with places like White Eagle Hall, a 400- to 800-person venue being redeveloped into an arts center, hoping to host shows and concerts.

?I?m very excited. We all know there?s a need for a new music venue. I always thought there was a need,? he said. ?With Downtown (becoming more family-oriented), I don?t expect live music to be at the forefront of new residents? demand, but we also have a young population moving in ... and I heard they like to have a good time.?