Free gumbo tasting and live entertainment will be featured at Friday night’s (May 17) Jersey Gumbo Kickoff Party for the June 15 “Jersey Gumbo Cookoff and Music Festival.” Chef Richard Spurlock’s Main Street American Café will host the party from 6pm, with a free concert by Mojo Mozart and the Mardi Gras Swingers planned from 6:30-8:30pm, presented by Tony Mart Presents.

There will also be free tastings of Carmen Marotta’s “Jersey Crab Gumbo” and Chef Richard Spurlock’s signature chicken and andouille gumbo.
Chef Spurlock will also feature an a la carte menu with two different kinds of Gumbo served with potato salad Cajun style, Jambalaya, Shrimp Po Boys and several other Louisiana specialties.

The band will be performing Louisiana, New Orleans and Mardi Gras favorites and everyone is welcome to dance and sing along.

Guests can bring their own beer and wine to accompany their orders of Chef Richard’s specialties.

Chef Richard Spurlock’s Main Street American Café is located at 6002 Main St., Mays Landing. RSVP Call 609-625-5500 for reserved seats.

The Jersey Gumbo Fest takes place June 15, 2013 at the Somers Point Volunteer Fire Company #1, 447 Bethel Rd., Somers Point and will feature the following musical lineup:

JERSEY GUMBO FEST ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE

12:20 GUMBO LESSONS
1 – 1:45    “ROSIE O’REILLY” GAZARRA
2:15 – 3:00    MOJO MOZART & THE MARDI GRAS SWINGERS
3:20 – 4:20    VINI LOPEZ & LICENSE TO CHILL
3:00  GUMBO LESSONS
4:40 – 5:50    VINI LOPEZ & LICENSE TO CHILL
6:10 – 6:30    AWARDS CEREMONY
6:30 – 8:00    TERRANCE SIMIEN & THE ZYDECO EXPERIENCE
8:30 – 9:50    JUMPIN’ JOHNNY SANSONE & HIS NEW ORLEANS ALLSTARS

See more at Tonymart.com.

ATLANTIC CITY — Are you an average Joe? Do you enjoy hot cars, cool boats and fast motorcycles? Do you like hunting, fishing, camping, the outdoors, BBQ, MMA, rock ‘n’ roll, video games and sports? If the answer to these questions is yes, you might just be an average Joe! And if you’re an average Joe, it’s mandatory that you git yer fun-lovin’ keister to the Average Joe Expo!

Organized by those crazy cats at Good Time Tricycle — the same ones who bring Atlantic City the Celebration of the Suds and A.C. Seafood Festival each year — the Average Joe Expo will be held May 18 and 19 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

The Average Joe Expo is like no other show on earth. This inaugural event vows to “bring real guys together and create an opportunity to discover what makes us tick, getting to the heart of male commerce, interests and desires — both the obtainable and the aspirational, the Average Joe Expo has it all!”

The event will populate over 200,000 square feet of exhibition space at the Convention Center. It will introduce products, places and things to the masses, holding nothing back and showcasing unique product demos, seminars and other related experiences.  The Average Joe Expo promises to be a great weekend out to explore some awesome experiences you may not have otherwise! Tickets are $20 in advance through Ticketmaster or $25 at the door. Hours are Saturday, May 18: 11am-8pm; Sunday, May 19: 11am – 6pm.

The Average Joe Expo will also play host to a variety of celebrities and personalities — people who guys just want to meet and hang out with.  With a huge emphasis on the male lifestyle, the expo will cover motocross, gaming, action sports, all things outdoors and everything in between . This expo will offer men a true weekend of discovery! Visit averagejoeexpo.com/atlantic-city.aspx or click the video below to learn more.

Courtesy of borgatanightlife.com

On Tuesday, May 14, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa announced that its popular dance club mur.mur has gotten “a fresh new look.”

The redesign will be unveiled on Saturday, May 18, as Borgata’s resident DJ, DJ Vice, mans the turntables for the celebration.

“Mur.mur was a game-changer when it debuted in 2006, bringing with it a Las Vegas-style alternative for our nightlife customer and truly shaping the landscape within the market,” said Joe Lupo, Borgata’s senior VP of Operations, in a release to the media.

“As Borgata celebrates its 10-year anniversary in July, we felt now was the ideal time to refresh and update one of our most successful and acclaimed spaces on property.”

Aside from boasting a brand new color scheme, the club now features “pristine carpeting, drapery and lighting.”

The release from Borgata continues:

Partygoers escape the moment they enter the club, as they descend into the sensual atmosphere where the dance floor meets the personalized table service complementing mur.mur’s pulse-pounding beats from artists the likes of Steve Aoki, Samantha Ronson, D-Nice, Ruckus, and Martin Solveig.

Mur.mur’s re-opening follows an extremely successful 2010 transformation of Borgata’s other signature nightlife option, MIXX, which saw the inception of state-of-the-art, built-in DJ booths along with an eye-catching LED lighting display. Both clubs boast an impressive roster of celebrity guests and clientele including Gwen Stefani, Fergie, Paris Hilton, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Joe Jonas and Cee-Lo Green and have garnered national attention as premier celebrity hotspots.

The club will be open Friday, Saturdays and Mondays throughout the summer (10pm-party ends).

Click here for more on South Jersey Nightlife.

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. —  Local singer/songwriter Gina Roche, known for adding a Brazilian flavor to her unique blend of jazz, blues and original compositions, will perform a Mother’s Day Weekend Celebration Concert at 7:30pm Saturday, May 11, in the beautiful concert space at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Jersey Shore.

Gina Roche

The congregation is located at 75 S. Pomona Rd. in Galloway (behind Stockton College).

A composer, jazz vocalist and guitarist, Roche will be joined by Andy Lalasis on acoustic bass and Keith Hollis on drums. This will prove to be an extraordinary evening of music.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $17.50 at the door. For advance ticket sales, call (609) 965-9400 and leave a message. For more information,visit ginaroche.com.

ATLANTIC CITY — Are you an average Joe? Do you enjoy hot cars, cool boats and fast motorcycles? Do you like hunting, fishing, camping, the outdoors, BBQ, MMA, rock ‘n’ roll, video games and all things sports? If the answer to these questions is yes, you have to git yer keister to the Average Joe Expo!

Organized by those crazy cats at Good Time Tricycle — the same ones who bring Atlantic City the Celebration of the Suds and A.C. Seafood Festival each year — the Average Joe Expo will be held May 18 and 19 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

The Average Joe Expo is like no other show on earth. This inaugural event vows to “bring real guys together and create an opportunity to discover what makes us tick, getting to the heart of male commerce, interests and desires — both the obtainable and the aspirational, the Average Joe Expo has it all!”

The event will populate over 200,000 square feet of exhibition space at the Convention Center. It will introduce products, places and things to the masses, holding nothing back and showcasing unique product demos, seminars and other related experiences.  The Average Joe Expo promises to be a great weekend out to explore some awesome experiences you may not have otherwise! Tickets are $20 in advance through Ticketmaster or $25 at the door. Hours are Saturday, May 18: 11am-8pm; Sunday, May 19: 11am – 6pm.

The Average Joe Expo will also play host to a variety of celebrities and personalities — people who guys just want to meet and hang out with.  With a huge emphasis on the male lifestyle, the expo will cover motocross, gaming, action sports, all things outdoors and everything in between . This expo will offer men a true weekend of discovery! Visit averagejoeexpo.com/atlantic-city.aspx or click the video below to learn more.

Le Grand Fromage, 25 Gordon’s Alley, The Boneyard, 20 S. Virginia Ave., Atlantic City, host this special music event. All door proceeds ($10 cover) will go directly to the Ozan Music School in Galloway and toward free music schlorships for autistic children. Also every person who pays to get in will receive a limited edition Elephants for Autism CD featuring over 20 artists who were kind enough to donate music to this great cause.

Here is the line-up:

Friday May 17, Le Grand Fromage-Rotating Stages
6-630-Down Chill And The Rabbits
630-700- Up The Knomadz
700-730-Down Barry Aishton
730-800- Up Horseman 5
800-830-Down Fools’ Pudding
830-900 Up Urethra Franklin
845-915-Down Empty November
915-945 Up Malcolm Tent And 1adam12
10-1030-Up The Mahlors
930-10 Down-Down Selva
1045-1115 Up Position 9
1015-1045 Down-The Daycations
11-1130-Down Lovelight
1130-12-UP The Secondside
12-1230-Down Yellow Tie Guy
1230-1-Up Daniel Ouelette And The Shobijn

(more…)

Preston Shannon heads up from Memphis in August

For more than 20 years, it’s been a tradition on the beach in Somers Point off Bay Avenue: free concerts each Friday night in the summertime from 7-9pm.

This year’s line-up includes some old friends, many award-winning artists, local favorites and a bunch of nationally heralded acts.

Read about the history of the Somers Point Beach Concert Series here.

Here is the 2013 Schedule

June 14                         Jumpin Johnny Sansone & his New Orleans Allstars

June 21                         Mingo Fish Trap

June 28                        The Billy Walton Band

July 4                             The Bob Campanell Band

July 5                             Jeremiah Hunter Band

July 12                          Kinsey Report

July 19                          Walter Trout & his Band

July 26                          Bonerama

August 2                       Vini Lopez & License to Chill

August 9                       Southern Hospitality  ~ Victor Wainwright, JP Soars & Damon Fowler

August 16                     Preston Shannon & his Band

August 23                     Bryan Lee & the Blues Power Band

August 30                     Dr. Bobby Fingers with Danny Eyer

Sept 6                            The Eddie Morgan Jazz Ensemble with special guest Jackie Greggs

All concerts are free and take place at the Somers Point Beach. Bring a beach chair, blanket, and a sweatshirt for those wonderful summer evening bay breezes.

BRIGANTINE, N.J. — Sunday, May 5, marks the fifth anniversary of the Brigantine Elks annual Sun, Sand & Style Fashion Show to benefit the Elks’ beach wheelchair program and other special-needs projects. The show is from 11am-2:30pm and tickets are $25 apiece or $225 for a table of 10.

Tickets can be purchased at Brigantine Elks Lodge #2428 (400 West Shore Drive), Lilli Rose Boutique (1219 W Brigantine Ave.), Primal Surf Shop (3106 Revere Blvd.), Root Beer Barrel Surf & Kayak (301 10th St South) and Bloomingsales Flowers (4214 Harbor Beach Blvd.), all located in Brigantine. Last year’s event was a sell out, so get your tickets today!

Beach wheelchairs (pictured right) are specially modified rolling chairs that allow those with limited mobility to access Brigantine’s pristine beaches. Those who need them can borrow them, free of charge, from the Brigantine Elks Lodge or the Brigantine Beach Patrol headquarters (16th Street and the beach).

This year’s Sun, Sand & Style Fashion Show will feature a fabulous gourmet brunch and Bellini bar, all the latest fashions from Lilli Rose Boutique, Primal Surf and the Root Beer Barrel, plus special entertainment from Brandon Tomasello (left) and Matt Coleman (right). Once again there will also be plenty of amazing raffles, door prizes and surprises.

Among Sunday’s fashion models will be Miss Columbus Day Courtney Charatsaris, Brigantine Mayor Phil Guenther, Either Way band members Johnny Zappas and Sarah Holt (who will also be performing), and Access AC Live! host Whitney Ullman.

Others include local dignitaries and business people John and Kathe Murray, Greg Depiano, Shannon Tosten Ott, Natalie Ott, Susanne Smith Holt, Joanne Smith Zappas and Angela Lang Brindisi.

To reserve a table, call Linda at (609) 412-7020 or Maureen (609) 517-7497.

ATLANTIC CITY — The 33rd annual Stockton College Foundation Benefit Gala was held Saturday night, April 27, at Revel’s Ovation Hall — an event that has helped raise more than $20 million for Stockton student scholarships since its inception. Saturday night’s event alone saw about 720 guests help raise more than $440,000.

This year's honorary chairman Dirk Schavemaker

For a photo slideshow of this year’s event, click here.

The evening began with a cocktail reception of passed hors d’oeuvres, buffet spreads and entertainment by the Stockton Faculty Band. Following dinner the event’s surprise special guest — who was kept under wraps from the early planning stages of this year’s gala — was singer/rock star Eddie Money, who had a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums during the 1970s and ‘80s. Guests were also encouraged to bid on dozens of items that were part of a premium silent auction.

The event concluded with dancing and entertainment by popular high-energy dance band Don’t Call Me Francis.

John Schultz

The Stockton Gala’s honorary chairman this year was Dirk Schavemaker, Revel’s senior vice president of operations.

Gary Hill

The co-chairmen were local philanthropists John Schultz and Gary Hill, co-founders of the non-profit Schultz-Hill Foundation that supports arts, history and education in southern New Jersey.

ATLANTIC CITY — Entertainment tryouts are being held on the 13th floor Screening Room of Resorts Casino today and tomorrow (Thursday and Friday, April 18-19), as local entertainers vie for the opportunity to perform at the soon-to-be-opened Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and LandShark Bar & Grill, which is set to open in May.

The band Route 9 auditions at Resorts Thursday afternoon, April 18

The tryouts are by appointment only both days from 10am-6pm. Auditions are available to full bands, duos and trios, and solo acoustic guitar solo artists.

Musicians will compete for a spot on an entertainment roster that will feature seven-night-per-week performances at the new Margaritaville Café and at the LandShark Bar & Grill — the first-ever full-service bar and restaurant directly located on the famous Atlantic City beachfront at Resorts.

Talent scouts will be evaluating talent with a particular focus on fun, upbeat acts specializing in cover songs ranging from classic rock to Top 40.