Central Jersey Jazz Festival is back in Somerville and Flemington this weekend
The 14th annual Central Jersey Jazz Festival, a weekend of jazz taking place in Somerville and Flemington, is returning Friday, Sept. 8, through Sunday, Sept. 10.
The rain-or-shine outdoor festival organized by the Downtown Somerville Alliance and the Flemington Community Partnership is free. Visitors are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets. CD sales and signings will follow each performance. The event is sponsored by RWJBarnabas Health.
On Friday, Sept. 8, in Somerville on Division Street, the David Caldwell-Mason Trio will perform from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.; the Conrad Herwig Quintet featuring the Rutgers Jazz faculty will perform from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Sept. 9, in Flemington on Stangl Road, Claudia Acuna will perform from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and the Steven Kroon Latin Jazz Sextet will perform from 8:30 to 10 p.m.
“We look forward to dancing in the streets again with festivalgoers and providing a magical outdoor stage under a canopy of stars on Historic Stangl Road,” said Robin Lapidus, Flemington Community Partnership executive director.
The seating area opens at 5 p.m. Dining options from borough restaurants and food trucks will be available, as will beer, wine and cocktails. Free tickets and $18 VIP seating can be reserved at flemingtonCJJF.eventbrite.com.
To reach the stage, take Route 12 to the parking lot entrance near Liberty Village and enter Stangl Road on foot from the south end by the Polo Outlet and Lone Eagle Brewing.
On Sunday, Sept. 10, in Somerville on the Somerset County Court House lawn on the corner of East Main and Grove streets, Michaela Marino Lerman will perform from 1:30 to 2:40 p.m.; Lafayette Harris Jr. and Friends will perform 3:10 to 4:20 p.m.; and the David Gibson Quartet will perform 4:50 to 6 p.m.
Free parking will be available in all municipal parking lots, and there is also on-street parking. East Main Street between Grove and Bridge Streets will be closed to cars.
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Food and beverage tents will also sell fare on East Main Street.
About 6,000 people are expected to attend, making it one of the most popular events of the year in Somerville, where the festival began before New Brunswick and Flemington joined the lineup.
Unlike previous years, performances will not take place in New Brunswick or Metuchen, as those towns will be part of the new Middlesex County Jazz Festival, running Thursday, Sept. 28, to Sunday, Oct. 1.
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“The New Brunswick Jazz Project wanted to increase the exposure of jazz in our state, so we created the Middlesex County Jazz Festival with Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge and Perth Amboy,” said Michael Tublin, co-founder of the New Brunswick Jazz Project.
Go: Central Jersey Jazz Festival, Friday, Sept. 8, through Sunday, Sept. 10; Flemington on Stangl Road; Somerville on Division Street and on the Somerset County Court House lawn; centraljerseyjazzfestival.com.
Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. You can also follow her on Instagram at @seejennaeat and on Twitter at @JIntersimone.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Central Jersey Jazz Festival returns to Somerville, Flemington
