Angus Kress Gillespie Main Stage

Stage Emcee: NJFF Board Member – Dr. Garrett M. Broad

10:00am

    A Long Time Coming

    Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Tribute

    The “ Long Time Coming CSNY” band is very excited to be welcomed back for the fifth time to perform at the NJFF! The five member band has been playing together in various lineups over the past 30+ years, having appeared in such venues as the historic Stanhope House in Northern New Jersey, the Wonder Bar, The Saint and The House of Independents in Asbury Park and the Tropicana in Atlantic City to name a few, and have also performed at festivals such as the Stonehenge and Bourbon Street Blues festival. They have collectively played across many musical genres including Folk ,R&B, Blues, Funk and Jazz, but they have never strayed from their lifelong passion for the music of Crosby, Stills Nash and Young, who’s progressive and unique sound combines vocal harmonies with a fusion of all those genres and more.

    11:00am

    Opening ceremonies

    Welcome Remarks by NJFF Founder: Dr. Angus Kress Gillespie, Middlesex County Commissioner: Chanelle Scott McCullum, NJFF Board of Directors President Elena Anastasiou Rossi, 2025 NJFF Director: Matthew Ferguson, and Skylands Stage Emcee & NJFF Board Member: Dr. Garrett Broad

    ‘Entry Music by the New Brunswick Jazz Project Brass Band & National Anthem by Rutgers Mason Gross Alumni: Charlie Barber

     

     

    11:30am

    NEW BRUNSWICK JAZZ PROJECT BRASS BAND

    Featuring the NBJP Brass Band

    The New Brunswick Jazz Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting world class jazz performances in downtown New Brunswick & other Central Jersey venues. Since its inception in 2010 NBJP has gone from presenting two jazz performances a month, to offering FREE year around shows, four nights every week. The Jazz Project has successfully fostered a supportive environment for regular live jazz performance in New Brunswick and has presented more than 1800 events featuring over 1200 acclaimed national and international jazz leaders, sidemen and special guests. In addition, the NBJP sponsors a weekly Emerging Artists Series, providing an outlet for the next generation of jazz talent from the local Mason Gross School of the Arts and the surrounding community. In 2023, we helped create The Middlesex County Jazz Festival. This jazz festival was created to expand jazz in our state. It takes place the last weekend in September and includes Edison, Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, Metuchen, and New Brunswick. This FREE event was so successful that Carteret was added to the festival in 2024 and now the event is in 6 Towns over 5 nights. “Jazz shouldn’t only be found in New York, New Orleans and Kansas City or at annual festivals. The music should be everywhere–all the time.

    12:15pm

    Jim Albertson

    Albertson, a venerable folklorist, author, musician, former radio DJ and recording artist, will offer his 50-year perspective on the golden anniversary of the NJFF. Albertson performed at the first NJFF in 1975.

    1:00pm

    Jackson Pines

    Original and Traditional Pine Barrens Folk Music

    Jackson Pines will perform original songs from their records “Purgatory Road” and “Wheel”, and focus on songs from the Merce Ridgway and the Pine Hawkers tradition such as “Mt. Holly Jail”, “Julie Jane”, and “The Pine Barrens Song”.

    Jackson Pines are a band of best friends from the Pine Barrens of NJ. Taking cues from the past, but always looking to the future, James and Joe pen songs of hope and despair, love and death, and redemption on the road of life. They also interpret 80-200 year old songs from the woods where they grew up. In 2024 they released a 20 song record of original songs called “Purgatory Road” as well as “Pine Barrens Vol. 2” , which was named the 2024 Album of the Year by The Aquarian Magazine.

    3:00pm

    Mike Montrey Band

    Mike Montrey Band is the sound where Americana, Folk, and Rock n Roll come together to be sung by a true singer-songwriter, with blissful harmonies and soaring guitar work. When the Mike Montrey Band set out to craft their latest album, Love, Time & Mortality, they did more than just record songs—they encapsulated the essence of life’s relentless march through poignant musical narratives. Mike Montrey, the band’s frontman and principal songwriter, possesses a distinct ability to weave personal tales with broader philosophical musings, a craft honed over more than two decades of songwriting and performing across the United States.

    “Soulful, pretty, bittersweet harmonies. Heartwarming, spine rattling, bone chilling duets. The sense of hope that inspired the title, will surely inspire listeners.” – New Jersey Stage