Music lovers surry down to Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts this April 5, 2025 evening for a concert of songs by Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King presented by Stoned Soul Picnic. Stoned Soul Picnic is an ensemble created by Diane Garisto, a singer who not only toured with Laura Nyro but who also performed and recorded with artists including Billy Joel, Paul Simon, George Benson, Carly Simon, and Steely Dan.
Inside the Grunin Center’s Gia Maione Prima Studio Theater, executive director Heidi Sheridan welcomes tonight’s crowd and introduces Stoned Soul Picnic. Keyboardists Elise Morris and Doug Katsaros, guitarist Chris Biesterfeldt, bassist Andy Huenerberg, and drummer Warren Odze take their places on stage before lead vocalist Diane Garisto enters and the group launches into Laura Nyro’s 1968 hit for Blood, Sweat and Tears, “And When I Die.”
Starting only with keyboard and vocal on the rubato intro, Garisto sings with emotion, “And when I die/And when I’m dead, dead, and gone/There’ll be one child born/In this world to carry on, to carry on,” before the band kicks in and the tempo increases.
After welcoming the audience, Garisto talks about how Laura Nyro, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell “broke boundaries in songwriting.” She introduces singers Carolee Goodgold and Janie Barnett and the trio launches into Joni Mitchell’s “Raised on Robbery,” where tight three-part harmonies call out on this upbeat and rhythmic rocker.
Following a slow and easy rendition of Carole King’s hit for The Drifters, “Up on the Roof,” Garisto and Co. present a high-energy interpretation of Joni Mitchell’s 1970 composition, “Big Yellow Taxi,” where the audience moves to the music as they sing along on the tune’s “They paved paradise, put up a parking lot” refrain.
Garisto mentions the new Elton John and Brandi Carlile release, “The Rose of Laura Nyro,” before sailing into her rendition of Nyro’s 1968 hit for The 5th Dimension, “Sweet Blindness,” where she sings with feeling on the song’s “Oh sweet blindness/A little magic/A little kindness” refrain.
Carolee Goodgold is the featured vocalist on the 1971 Carole King chart-topper, “I Feel the Earth Move,” where Doug Katsaros offers up a swirling organ solo and Chris Biesterfeldt renders a lyrical guitar solo.
On King’s 1960 hit for The Shirelles, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” Garisto’s sweet voice floats out as she chants, “Tonight you’re mine completely,” before she’s joined by her fellow vocalists on the lush harmony refrain. Popping into her high register, Garisto and the band follow up by performing “Carey,” a folk-rocker with an island feel from Mitchell’s seminal 1971 album, Blue.
As Janie Barnett tunes her guitar, Garisto talks about how Carole King wrote songs using a strict “verse/chorus/bridge” format, but Laura Nyro “broke the form” by writing in a “stream of consciousness” style which influenced Joni Mitchell “to go back to writing on piano.” Here, Barnett and Garisto perform a duet rendition of Mitchell’s 1968 Judy Collins hit, “Both Sides Now.” Accompanied by Barnett’s strumming guitar, the audience softly sings along with Garisto on the tune’s wistful “I’ve looked at life from both sides now” refrain.
The crowd cheers and Garisto introduces her fellow musicians before giving one of the highlight performances of the evening — a virtuosic rendition of Laura Nyro’s torch song, “Billy’s Blues.” Starting off with a rich and nuanced Elise Morris piano introduction, Warren Odze swirls his brushes on his drums and Andy Huenerberg plays soft and steady on the bass as Garisto fires up a soulful and bluesy vocal on this modern jazz standard.
The audience hoots and hollers and the band dials up an arrangement of Joni Mitchell’s “You Turn Me On I’m a Radio” which features Elise Morris on lead vocals and Garisto playing a harmonica which, as she reveals, was given to her by New Jersey’s own Southside Johnny.
Accompanied by Morris on piano, Janie Barnett plays guitar and handles the lead vocal on Joni Mitchell’s “River,” her full voice crying out on the composition’s “Oh, I wish I had a river/I could skate away on” refrain. Then, Doug Katsaros takes a turn in the spotlight on a jazzy solo interpretation of Carole King’s 1971 hit for James Taylor, “You’ve Got a Friend,” which has the audience happily singing along on the beloved “You just call out my name/And you know wherever I am” chorus.
Morris’ light soprano is featured on Joni Mitchell’s 1970 hit for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, “Woodstock,” and Carolee Goodgold’s vocal performance is inspired by both Aretha Franklin’s and Carole King’s versions of “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” on an arrangement which includes Garisto, Barnett, and the entire instrumental ensemble.
Following a technical glitch with a mic on Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game,” Garisto goes out into the audience and invites music lovers to sing with her, after which she remarks, “That was so beautiful, thank you!”
Keyboardist Katsaros solos again on “a timely song which is still relevant today” — Laura Nyro’s “Save the Country” — where audience members move to the shifting rhythm of this appealing pop tune.
Garisto’s powerful vocal entrances the crowd on Nyro’s 1969 hit for The 5th Dimension, “Wedding Bell Blues,” where Goodgold and Barnett sway back and forth singing backup on this crowd pleaser. Garisto also sings lead on Nyro’s 1969 hit for Three Dog Night, “Eli’s Comin’,” where she excels on the tune’s dramatic rubato intro before the complete ensemble kicks in and the arrangement takes off.
Audience members cheer and applaud and Garisto confesses, “That was our last song,” before launching into an encore of Nyro’s 1968 hit for The 5th Dimension, “Stoned Soul Picnic.” Music lovers sing along with Garisto on the tune’s infectious “Surry down to a stoned soul picnic” lyric before the tune ends with a standing ovation and the musicians take a group bow.
As concertgoers make their way into the Prima Theatre lobby, several comment on tonight’s performance by Diane Garisto and Stoned Soul Picnic. Declares Lisa from Island Heights, “They were so talented and just fabulous — they brought back a lot of memories!” Patricia from Bayville agrees, adding, “I loved this show! I loved every song, the voices were phenomenal, and the band was great — I would definitely see them again.”
Remarks Larry from Plainfield, “It was a fabulous show — I’ve seen it before and it never gets old! Diane is so talented — they’re all talented — and even though there was a little technical difficulty she just breezed through it; she’s such a professional.” Thomas from Plainfield concurs, noting, “I was really impressed! We’ve seen this band four or five times and, as always, it was a lot of fun tonight,” prior to adding, “It was a wonderful night, exactly what we all needed.”
Insists Maggie from Montclair, “I loved Stoned Soul Picnic — they brought back a lot of memories for me. Back in the day, I listened to the records of Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Laura Nyro, and their music is as relevant today as it's ever been. The musicians were amazing and it was nice to see them perform up close in such a small venue.”
Diane Garisto also makes her way into the lobby to meet and greet music lovers who want to chat with her. When asked about her early history with Laura Nyro and her music, she explains, “When I was a kid, I went to New York’s High School of Music and Art because Laura Nyro went there. My older sister had turned me on to Laura and, after that, I totally fell in love with her, never dreaming I’d ever get the chance to work with her in person.”
Recalls Garisto, “Interestingly, when I went to audition for Laura, every female background singer in New York was there. Laura wanted people who could play instruments — and I can play a little guitar and a little piano, but I’m not really an accomplished player — but everybody was prepared with songs and Laura was sitting up there on the dais and she said, ‘OK, Diane, what are you gonna sing?’ Since I didn’t play an instrument, I just sang something a cappella — a standard — and I still got the gig,” before acknowledging, “but the callback was on the day of a wedding I was supposed to attend and I never made it to the wedding.”
In talking about what it was like to tour with Nyro, Garisto reveals, “I played with Laura in the ’90s — about three years before she passed — and she was amazing! We did songs from her album, Walk the Dog and Light the Light, in Japan where teenagers would come up to her and ask her to sign her older records like New York Tendeberry and she’d just laugh and say, “I love Japan!”
Finally, when asked to share her thoughts on this evening’s Grunin Center performance, Garisto responds, “I thought tonight’s audience was wonderful! I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and said, ‘I loved this show!’ — so they were really lovely, and I look forward to coming back and performing here again!”
To learn more about Diane Garisto and Stoned Soul Picnic, please go to stonedsoulpicnic.com. For info on upcoming performances at The Grunin Center’s Gia Maione Prima Studio Theatre — including Nat Adderly, Jr. on April 27 and Behn Gillece and Brian Betz on June 1 — please click on grunincenter.org.
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