(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents Croce Plays Croce—The Jim Croce Birthday Bash on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 8:00pm. A.J. Croce performs Croce Plays Croce, a special night of music featuring a complete set of classics by his late father Jim Croce, some of his tunes, and songs that influenced him and his father.
This special event features such timeless songs as “Operator”, “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Time in a Bottle” (a song written for A.J.), “Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy),” and “Lovers Cross,” to name a few. Classic covers may include songs by Lieber and Stoller, Bessie Smith, and other folk and roots artists.
After 50 years and more than 50 million records sold, Jim Croce’s legacy as an iconic singer/songwriter is firmly cemented. A.J. Croce, a Billboard charting singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, brings his Dad’s classic songs to the stage. After 10 studio albums and 30 years of touring the world establishing his own career, in the early 2000’s, A.J. taught himself guitar and several of his father’s classics. The fan response from dropping in a song or two like “Operator” in his own show was astounding and deeply emotional. He then debuted with a concert that celebrated the legacy of his father’s songs, stories, and music, as well as his own. The show featured two generations of Croce music and many songs by other artists which connect father and son as performers. In 2022, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Jim’s breakthrough album, You Don’t Mess Around With Jim, A.J. honored the memory of his father with a fall tour featuring a seven-piece ensemble and a multimedia production.
Over the past three decades, A.J. Croce has established his reputation as a piano player and vocal stylist who pulls from a host of musical traditions and anti-heroes—part New Orleans, part juke joint, part soul. From his 10 studio albums, it’s clear that he holds an abiding love for all types of musical genres: blues, soul, pop, jazz, and rock n’ roll. A virtuosic piano player, Croce toured with B.B. King and Ray Charles before he was 21. Since then, he has performed with a wide range of musicians, from Willie Nelson to the Neville Brothers, to Béla Fleck and Ry Cooder. Croce has also co-written songs with formidable artists such as Leon Russell, Dan Penn, Robert Earl Keen, and multi-Grammy®-winner Gary Nicholson. His albums have all charted on an impressive array of charts: Top 40, Blues, Americana, Jazz, College, and Radio 1. The Nashville-based singer/songwriter has landed 22 singles on a variety of Top 20 charts. His songwriting and style have evolved from jazz and blues on his debut and sophomore albums, to the roots-rock of the more recent collaborative recordings like Cantos with Ben Harper, Twelve Tales with Allen Toussaint, and Just Like Medicine with Vince Gill.
Tickets range from $29-$99 and are available for purchase online or by calling State Theatre Guest Services at 732-246-SHOW (7469). State Theatre Guest Services, located at 15 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick NJ, is open by phone and email only, Tuesday through Friday from 11:00am to 5:00pm. For in-person purchases, Guest Services is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:00pm to 4:30pm. Additional ticket and transaction fees may apply.
After major renovations, State Theatre New Jersey celebrated its 100th Anniversary in December 2021 in a fully renovated theater. Originally built as a silent film and vaudeville palace, State Theatre’s historic significance was honored by PBS by featuring it in its documentary series, Treasures of New Jersey, in the fall of 2018. “Treasures of New Jersey: State Theatre New Jersey” can be streamed online.
Today, State Theatre is the largest performing arts center in Central New Jersey and has welcomed more than six million people through its doors since reopening as a nonprofit performing arts center in 1988. State Theatre New Jersey is a cornerstone of the cultural vitality of Middlesex County and averages a total economic impact on New Brunswick and the surrounding area of more than $18 million a year. The mainstage programs have featured high-caliber artists such as Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Kevin Hart, Ringo Starr, Melissa Etheridge, John Leguizamo, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Program offerings include Broadway, orchestra, family, dance, comedy, rock/pop, jazz, Performances for Schools, and Sensory-Friendly Performances.
State Theatre New Jersey’s programs are made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.For information on events, go to MiddlesexCountyCulture.com.
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