By Danny Coleman
originally published: 02/03/2022

“This is a one-off single, the song felt like it lived in its own bubble because of the environment that we are in now. I didn’t see this as part of a collection, this is almost like an album’s worth of ideas or music in one song for me and it really addresses the life we are living right now and I couldn’t really see any companion pieces for it; you know?”

Ben Vaughn is a multi-instrumentalist, radio personality, songwriter and composer who grew up in Southern New Jersey and currently calls the West Coast his home. Some of Vaughn’s credits include writing the theme songs for popular TV shows such as “That ‘70s Show” and “3^rd Rock From the Sun” as well as 12 albums and much more but his recent “One-off single” release called “Dancing In My Mind” truly stands by itself both in content and writing.

“Dancing In My Mind,” the single and the video are about to come out; it was kind of a spur of the moment thing,” began Ben as he explained how it came to be. “I wrote this song really quick as I was observing lockdown behavior. I was really impressed by how people were dealing with it and how they were escaping into their own minds and being creative and a lot of the things that I saw showing up on social media; expressions of people singing songs or dancing or whatever. I was just really impressed by that and the song came to me really quick and then I decided to shoot a fairly ridiculous video to go along with it; proof that lighting and wardrobe can hide a multitude of sins (laughs).” 

“The song came to me as I was driving through downtown L.A. on a Friday night and I was driving by these dance clubs that usually have long lines in front of them and they were dark,” he continued. “The streets were deserted and the clubs were closed and I thought, wow; I imagined those people who are usually in that line were at home in their apartments with disco balls dancing to music and just waiting this whole thing out and it was a very strong image in my mind. Finding joy during isolation; it just came to me that way.”

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In a recent press release, Vaughn was quoted as saying, “This song is about the triumph of the human spirit. I know that sounds grandiose but during these tough times I’ve been impressed by what I’ve witnessed in many people,” the question is; why Grandiose?

“That’s a fancy way of putting it,” he said with a laugh. “The modest career that I’ve had and how I feel about myself; speaking in eloquent terms is usually not my first lexicon to reach for but I really believe in this case that, that kind of phrase is not hyperbole in this case. What we’ve been though in the last two years and what people have done to survive this and stay sane is really impressive to me. The interesting thing is that we have no idea what is the right or wrong approach. We have no idea so it is up to the individual and their own comfort zone; you look at some people and you think, boy are they going overboard and then you look at others and think, boy they need to be more careful (laughs); we don’t know. This thing is so new and it keeps changing and our approach is that we have to be impressionable right now and observe and follow what we feel comfortable with. That is one of the strangest things about it; the ambivalence, this is a very strange time.”

Like so many others, the events of 2020 and the still lingering effects have caused havoc for those who make a living in the entertainment industry. Vaughn is no different but this new single and a soon to be released album were spawned during this difficult time.  

“I had a lot of things planned for 2020, I was supposed to be doing a very long tour in Spain and playing a bunch of U.S. shows and BOOM, everything got cancelled. I didn’t know what to do with my creative energy for a little while and I was like, oh my God, wow, all of my plans have been tossed aside. Then the songs started coming to me and I have a home studio, I’m a multi-instrumentalist so I just started recording and I played all of the instruments and the next thing I know, I had a full album that will be coming out in the Spring. “Dancing In My Mind” was one of those songs but it just didn’t feel like part of the collection (laughs); it was too much on its own to fit into anything. The album is called “The World of Ben Vaughn” and it’s due out near the end of April and I’m really excited about it, it really is an interesting record and I’m playing all of the instruments myself; I haven’t done a one-man record in a long time and I love working that way. On this single, “Dancing In My Mind” I’m playing all of the instruments too.”

Ah, a one-man record has its advantages; but what about reproducing it live? Turns out that he reaches back to his East Coast roots to make it happen; even poking a bit of fun at himself and that “Jersey” accent.

“My band, The Ben Vaughn Quintet is located in Philadelphia; I’m from Jersey, I grew up outside of Camden and used to play City Gardens all of the time; I loved that club. If you tell people you’re from Jersey they immediately think you’re from North Jersey near New York City and right away it’s; oh Joisey (laughs) and I’m like, no, no, no it’s more like Jursey or even a “C” because we have this lazy thing that we do like Jer-Cee, wurter; boil some wurter because I wanna have caufee (laughs). That’s how we speak and I love it because there is a relaxed manner to it, it doesn’t have the hyper-activity that a North Jersey accent has; we have a slower, more laidback kind of sound to our accent. When I was growing up, there was a lot of farm country down around Pitman, Glassboro, Deptford; it was all farms.”

As was mentioned prior, Vaughn is a radio personality whose program keeps him busy as well. On the program he plays music reminiscent of the old AM radio days where every genre and style are represented; hence the show’s title.

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“The Many Moods of Ben Vaughn,” can be found on the information super-highway and wherever you find podcasts,” he said once again with a laugh; “I’m out there. There is a radio station out here in Joshua Tree, CA that puts my radio shows up as podcasts so you can download it. I’m on WXPN in Philly and on 28 different stations in the country and if you like a lot of different types of music, you’ll love this show because I’m all mover the place.”

To discover more about Ben Vaugn, please visit www.benvaughn.org.

That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!

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This week's event listings

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Al's Airport Inn
636 Bear Tavern Road West Trenton
(609) 883-5252
Sat. 5 p.m. Joe Hutchinson
Mon. 5 p.m. Joe Hutchinson
Tues. 7 p.m. Brian Elliot
Wed. 7 p.m. Kindred Spirit Duo

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Bill's Olde Tavern   
2694 Nottingham Way Hamilton   
(609) 586-0192   
Mon. 7 p.m. Trivia Night
Tues./Wed. 8 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ "Super" Dave Curtis
Ages 21+

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Bowman's Tavern   
1600 River Road New Hope, PA   
(215) 862-2972   
Thurs. 6:30 p.m. Fermenters
Fri. (5:30 p.m.) Bennett Lee (8 p.m.) Bob Egan
Sat. 7 p.m. Dave Dales Trio
Sun. (12 p.m.) Larry Tamanini (6 p.m.) Lorenzo
Mon. 6 p.m. Liz Du Four
Tues. 6 p.m. Chris Giakis
Wed. 6 p.m. Andy Prescott

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Broken Goblet Brewing 
2500 State Road Bensalem, PA 
(267) 812-5653 
Thurs. 7 p.m. Mike Estabrook 
Fri. 8:30 p.m. The Jay Grosse Birthday Jam feat. Cara Cartney, Mike Estabrook, Greg McGarvey, Mike Lock
Sat. 8:30 p.m. "First Saturdays" w/ Bridge Beat Duo 
Wed. 7 p.m. Trivia Hosted by Righteous Jolly

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Candlelight Lounge   
24 Passaic Street Trenton   
(609) 695-9612   
Thurs. 6 p.m. Thursday Night Blues Jam Hosted by The Mojo Gypsies. $5 (Includes hot buffet)

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Catch A Rising Star (Hyatt Regency Princeton)
102 Carnagie Center Princeton
(781) 568-1471
Fri./Sat. 7:30 p.m. Eric Potts. $23.69, Doors open at 7 p.m.

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Chickie's & Pete's    
183 US Highway 130 North Bordentown    
(609) 298-9182   
Fri./Sat. 8 p.m. DJ Entertainment 

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City Streets   
510 Highway 130 South East Windsor   
(609) 426-9400 
Fri. 9 p.m. DJ Big Jae

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Clubhouse at Mountain View  (The Patio)
850 Bear Tavern Road Ewing
(609) 771-0400
Fri. 6 p.m. Honey Spot Blvd

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COARadio.com   
125 South Main Street Hightstown   
(609) 241-7103
Fri. 7 p.m. "Danny Coleman's Got The Blues" 
Sat. 3 p.m. “Rock On Radio Indie Hour”
Sun. 7 p.m. "Rock On Radio" feat. Aqualung Records 5th Anniversary w/ Jeff Fiedler / Interview w/ Ben Vaughn

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Cooper's Riverview                                                                       
50 Riverview Plaza Trenton
(609) 393-7300
Thurs. 9 p.m. Club Night feat. Rotating DJs (inside event)
Fri. (5 p.m.) "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere Happy Hour" (8 p.m.) 80’s Undercover
Sat. (7 p.m.) Talking In Cursive (9 p.m.) Club Night “Pajama Party”
Sun. 11 a.m. " Sunday Latin Jazz Brunch" w/ Victor Tarassov 
Tues. 7 p.m. Karaoke w/ Michael Hoffman
Wed. 7 p.m. Blues Jam / Disco Hustle Night 
All Events Ages 21+

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Cross Pollination Gallery
2 North Union Street Lambertville
(609) 213-6734
Fri. 5 p.m. "Friday Happy Hour." (Talk art, wine and musicians who bring instruments)

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Curran’s Irish Inn
1909 Bristol Pike Bensalem, PA
(215) 245-1800
Thurs. 7 p.m. Music Bingo

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Dacey's Pub
215 West Philadelphia Avenue Morrisville, PA
(215) 295-4838
Fri. 6 p.m. Acoustic Music Night
Wed. 8 p.m. Quizzo

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Dadz Bar and Grill
744 Main Street Lumberton
(609)267-4344
Thurs. (7 p.m.) Open Mic w/ Jimmy Mannix (9 p.m.) DJ Soul Kitchen
Fri. (4:30 p.m.) Happy Hour w/ DJ Deuce  (8 p.m.) Chuck's Alibi
Sat. 9 p.m. DJ Millionz
Tues. 7 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Edgar Anderson

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Friends Bar & Grill
2825 South Eagle Road Newtown, PA
(215) 504-7005
Fri. 9 p.m. BreakEven

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Gleason's Bar
6700 Mill Creek Road Levittown, PA
(215) 943-4781
Thurs. 7 p.m. Music Bingo / “Ladies Night”
Fri. (6 p.m.) "Happy Hour" (8 p.m.) Finster
Sat.  8 p.m. Hindsight

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Hopewell Valley Vineyards   
46 Yard Avenue Pennington   
(609) 737-4465   
Fri. 4 p.m. "Music & Merlot" feat. (5 p.m.) Rick Winow
Sat. (1 p.m.) FOGLight (5 p.m.) "Music & Merlot" feat. Modern Rewind
Sun. 1:30 p.m. "Jazzy Sundays" feat. Frank Cervantes

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Hurricane Jacks Bar and Grill   
7759 New Falls Road Levittown, PA   
(267) 914-4517   
Thurs. 7:30 p.m. Music Bingo
Fri. 6 p.m. Happy Hour w/ Johnny Betz 9 p.m. Troublemakerz
Sat. (2 p.m.) Benefit for Chuck Ward (9 p.m.) Last Call
Mon. 7 p.m. Motown Monday w/ Paula & Sam
Tues. 9 p.m. Karaoke w/ Paula & Sam    

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Irish Rover Station House
1033 South Bellevue Avenue Langhorne, PA
(215) 970-5412
Sun. 4 p.m. "Acoustic Sunday" feat. Ed Packer

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Iron Plow Vineyards   
26750 Mount Pleasant Road Columbus   
(732) 306-9111
Fri. 6:30 p.m. Spoondrift
Sat. 6:30 p.m. Jim Gaven

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Iron Plow Vineyards Tasting Room
61 High Street Mt. Holly
(732) 306-9111
Fri. 6:30 p.m. Wayne Palmer & Friends

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Ivy Tavern   
3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton   
(609) 888-1435   
Thurs. 9:30 p.m. Karaoke
Fri. 8 p.m. “Comedy at the Ivy” Hosted by PJ Stansbury feat. Mario Zapata, Erica Kuhararski, Nick Z, Dan Regan. $10, Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Sun. 6 p.m. Karaoke Latinos
All shows 21+     

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John & Peter's   
96 S. Main Street New Hope, Pa   
(215) 862-5981  
Sat. 9 p.m.Part Time Custodian
Mon. 9 p.m. Open Mic (Sign-ups start at 8 p.m.)
Wed. 9 p.m. The Invitational   
All shows 21+ 

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Killarney's Publick House   
1644 Whitehorse-Mercerville Road Hamilton  
(609) 586-1166  
Thurs. 6 p.m. Mark Sacco
Sat. 9 p.m. DJ Dan
Sun. 10 a.m. Sunday Brunch

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Laurita Winery   
85 Archertown Road New Egypt   
(609) 752-0200 
Thurs. 7 p.m. The Best of Laurita Idol
Fri.  7 p.m. Country Line Dancing
Sat. 7 p.m. 90’s Dance Party
Wed. 12 p.m. Girls Night Out Ages 21+

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Logan Inn   
9 South Main Street New Hope, PA   
(215) 862-2300 
Thurs. 7 p.m. Jack Furlong & Pat Kerssen
Fri. 6 p.m. BD Lenz
Sat. 8:30 p.m. Springlight 

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McGuinn's Place   
1781 Brunswick Avenue Lawrence   
(609) 392-0599  
Tues. 9 p.m. Karaoke   
Ages 21+   

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McStews Irish Sports Pub   
5316 New Falls Road Levittown, PA   
(215) 949-9570   
Sat. 9 p.m. Steal Your Face
Tues. 7:30 p.m. Trivia Night
Wed. 9 p.m. Karaoke w/ Paula and Sam

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More Than Q
13 Klines Court Lambertville
(609) 773-0072
Sat. 2 p.m. Jet Weston & His Atomic Ranch Hands

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Music Mountain Theater
1483 Route 179 Lambertville
(609)397-3337
Fri. 8 p.m. “Noises Off.” $25
Sat. 3 p.m. / 8 p.m. “Noises Off” $25
Sun. 3 p.m. “Noises Off” $25

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Naked Brewing Company
212 Mill Street Bristol, PA
(267) 544-7129
Sat. 11 a.m. “Acoustic” Weekend Bunch feat. (!2 p.m.) Fly On The Wall
Sun. 11 a.m. Weekend Brunch
Tues. 7 p.m. Trivia

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New Hope Winery  
6123 Lower York Road New Hope, PA 
(215) 794-2331 
Sun. 1 p.m. Little Black Dress

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Newtown Brewing Company
103 Penns Trail Newtown, PA
(215) 944-8609
Thurs. 7:30 p.m.  Trivia Night
Sat. 6 p.m. Erin McAndrew
Sun. 2 p.m. Boondashark

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Nick's Roast Beef
4501 Woodhaven Road West Philadelphia, PA
(215) 637-5151
Thurs. 7 p.m. Trivia
Fri. 9 p.m. Jumper
Sat. 9 p.m. DJ JOAT

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Nottingham Tavern   
9 Mercer Street Hamilton Square   
(609) 587-6623   
Thurs. (7 p.m.) Danny Coleman’s Rock On Radio “Happy Hour” Hosted by Danny Coleman feat. Music by Rick Winow (9:30 pm.) Karaoke w/ Super Dave Curtis
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Spellbound
Ages 21+  

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Oldestone Restaurant
15 South Main Street New Hope, PA
(215) 862-7044
Thurs. (6 p.m.) Scott Gurney (Deco Bar)
Fri. (6 p.m.) Tour de Force Duo (Deco Bar) (7 p.m.) Springlight (Jazz Lounge)
Sat. (6 p.m.) Lisa Bouchelle (7 p.m.) MG3 (Jazz Lounge)

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Old Town Pub   
135 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown   
(609) 291-9232  
Thurs. 7 p.m. Quizzoholics Trivia 

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Palmer Square
40 Nassau Street Princeton
Thurs. (4 p.m.) "Skating On The Square" $10/$12 (Includes skate rental)
Fri. (4 p.m.) "Skating On The Square" $10/$12 (Includes skate rental)
Sat.12 p.m./4 p.m. "Skating On the Square" $10/$12 (Includes skate rental)
Sun 12 p.m./4 p.m. "Skating On the Square" $10/$12 (Includes skate rental)

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Patriots Crossing   
1339 River Road Titusville   
(609) 737-2780  
Thurs. 8 p.m. Open Mic Night
Sat. 8 p.m. MLC Band

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Pete's Steak House   
523 Whitehorse Avenue Hamilton   
(609) 585-8008   
Fri. 9 p.m. Kindred Spirit                          

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Revere Restaurant
802 River Road Ewing
(609) 882-6365
Thurs. 6 p.m. Bad Hombres
Fri. 6 p.m. John Rodden
Sat. 6 p.m. Danny Lynch Project

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Second Sin Brewing Company
1500 Grundy Lane Bristol, PA
(267) 812-5251
Thurs. 4 p.m. Trivia

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Sparky World-Famous Beer Garden
4333 New Falls Road Levittown, PA
(215) 943-2321
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Dana
Fri. 9 p.m. DJ Dance Parties
Sun. 7 p.m. Open Mic Hosted by Cara Cartney
Mon. 9 p.m. Game Night Hosted by Kid Dalton
Tues. 7 p.m. Johnny Betz
Wed. 8 p.m. Dynamic Duos

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Spellbound Brewing
10 Lippincott Lane #12 Mt. Holly
(609) 832-0077
Fri. 7 p.m. Modern Mojo
Sat. 2 p.m. “Dana’s Having a Boy”

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Stars & Stripes Harley Davidson
600 South Flowers Mill Road Langhorne, PA
(215) 752-9400
Sat. 10 a.m. “Biker Breakfast”

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1675 Spirits
2685 Bristol Pike Bensalem, PA
(215) 645-1445
Sat. 6 p.m. Tour de Force Duo

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Tankard Pub
440 Keim Boulevard Burlington
(609) 306-5079
Thurs. 7 p.m. The Williamsboy

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Tara's Tavern  
1 Cookstown-New Egypt Road, Wrightstown   
(609) 286-2300   
Fri. 9 p.m. Zack Trucksess
Sat. 9 p.m. Amptons

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Tavern On The Lake    
101 Main Street Hightstown   
(609) 426-9345    
Wed. 9 p.m. Karaoke

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Temperance House   
5 South State Street Newtown, PA   
(215) 944-8050   
Thurs. 7 p.m. Open Session Blues Hosted by Steve Guyger
Tues. 8 p.m. Trivia w/ Righteous Jolly
Wed. 7 p.m. Open Mic Night w/ Cara Cartney

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TGI Fridays
3535 U.S. Route 1 North #275 Princeton
(609) 520-0378
Fri. 5 p.m. Matt Cook
Sun. 1 p.m. Edison Wilson

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The Bar at the Lambertville House
32 Bridge Street Lambertville
(609) 397-0200
Fri. 6 p.m. Christine Havrilla

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The Buck Hotel
1200 Buck Road Feasterville, PA
(215) 396-2002
Thurs. 7 p.m. Kevin Kirk
Fri. 7 p.m. Love Junk
Sat. 9 p.m. FM
Tues. 6 p.m. Danny Lynch

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The Cool Cricket   
216 Burlington Street Fieldsboro   
(609) 291-9110   
Thurs. 8 p.m. DJ Ran D
Fri. 8 p.m. Karaoke
Sat. 9 p.m. Unleashed

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The Dubliner 
34 North Main Street New Hope, PA 
(215) 693-1816
Fri. 7 p.m. Gerry Timlin
Sat. 7 p.m. JB Rocks
Sun. 3 p.m. "Traditional Irish Session" Hosted by

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The Five Four Bar & Grill 
8919 New Falls Road Levittown, PA 
(215) 547-5525 
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke w/ Paula and Sam
Fri. 9 p.m. Bigg Romeo
Sat. 9 p.m. SpareParts

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The Ivy Inn   
248 Nassau Street Princeton   
(609) 921-8555   
Thurs. 10 p.m.
Fri. 10 p.m. The Diablo Sandwich Band
Sat. 10 p.m. DJ Slick
Tues. 8 p.m. Quizzo w/ Bob E Luv  
Wed. 10 p.m. Total Request w/ DJ Rockin' Ron

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The Morrisville Tavern
376 West Trenton Avenue Morrisville, PA
(215) 295-5310
Mon. 7 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Tim
Tues. 7 p.m. Open Mic
Wed. 7 p.m. Trivia Night

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The Sycamore Grill   
255 North Sycamore Street Newtown, PA   
(215) 908-6326   
Fri. 8 p.m. Danny Lynch Project
Sat. 8 p.m. Plush

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The Union Firehouse
18 Washington Street Mount Holly
(609) 288-6491
Fri. 7 p.m. Al Snyder & Friends

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The Union House
19 East Union Street Burlington
Fri. 9:30 p.m. Dave Murray

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Tir Na Nog   
1324 Hamilton Avenue Trenton   
(609) 392-2554 
Fri. 9 p.m. The Williamsboy
Sun. 3 p.m. "Irish Sessions"
All Shows 21+   

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Trenton Social    
449 South Broad Street Trenton   
(609) 989-7777  
Thurs. 5 p.m. "Happy Hour Throwback Thursday"
Sat. 6 p.m. Live Music (TBA)
Mon. 6 p.m. "Monday Night Karaoke" Hosted by Sweets
Tues. 8 p.m. Open Mic Night w/ Tobias & Lea (Sign-ups at 7:30 p.m.)

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Vault Brewing Company
10 South Main Street Yardley, PA
(267) 573-4291
Fri. 7 p.m. Brian Elliot Duo
Sat. 7 p.m. John Sheridan Trio

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Working Dog Winery   
610 Windsor Perrineville Road Hightstown   
(609) 371-6000
Sat. 1 p.m. Ronnie Brandt
Sun. 12 p.m. Kevin McGowan

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WWFM 89.1 FM HD2 Radio
MCCC Old Trenton Road West Windsor
Jazzon2.org
Mon. 7 p.m. "Danny Coleman's Got The Blues"

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Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled 'Rock On Radio' airing Sunday evenings at 7:00pm EST on ThePenguinRocks.com where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.

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Narrow results by date, categories, or region of New Jersey.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue

Thursday, November 21, 2024 @ 7:30pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: music

View event page for full information

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Randall Goosby Returns: Renaissance Quartet

Thursday, November 21, 2024 @ 7:30pm
McCarter Theatre Center (Matthews Theater)
91 University Place, Princeton, NJ 08540
category: music

View event page for full information

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Marshall Crenshaw - Up Close & Personal

Thursday, November 21, 2024 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music

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State Theatre New Jersey presents Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with support from New Breed Brass Band

 

Rod Wave - Last Lap Tour comes to Prudential Center in December

(NEWARK, NJ) -- This Fall, AG Touring and Mammoth, Inc. proudly present the Rod Wave - Last Lap Tour. This large-scale multi-city outing will feature Rod Wave headlining 36 of North America's top arenas coast-to-coast. The tour will kick off on October 19 at Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, AZ visiting major markets across the country, including Newark’s Prudential Center on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 with special guests Moneybagg Yo, Toosii, Lil Poppa, Dess Dior and Eelmatic.

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