NEW BRUNSWCK, NJ—The Hub City Music Festival, a series of local concerts to benefit Elijah’s Promise, will be running for its second annual year starting on Saturday April 5.

Performances are set to kick off 9 pm this Saturday at the Court Tavern, and will run over the next week, leading up to the final show 8 pm on Saturday April 12 at World of Beer.

Other venues participating include a popular new bar and restaurant called Destination Dogs, Hidden Grounds coffee shop, the Crossroads Theatre, and the soup kitchen itself.

For years, Iguana Music and Elijah’s Promise have partnered to host a musical fundraiser at Tumulty’s Pub, the city’s oldest restaurant and one of the venues hosting a concert on Friday April 11.

This year, the New Brunswick Cultural Center is also getting involved, making the festival part of the center’s “Hub City Sounds” series. 

One of the longterm goals of the festival is to raise awareness of issues of “food justice,” and how food is grown, produced, transported, distributed, accessed, and consumed across the globe.

Volunteers from Elijah’s Promise will be in attendance for each performance to provide information on their work, recruit volunteers, and collect donations. 

Bands, although paid, have the option of donating thier payment to Elijah’s Promise.

Spook Handy, a longtime city resident, has been performing since his time as a student at Rutgers in the 1980’s. 

At the time, Handy was part of folk music scene as it developed in New Brunswick.   Handy hosted open mic nights in the Corner Tavern on Easton Avenue, and his music career picking up from there.

“I have been playing music [in New Brunswick] for 25 years”, Spook mentioned “It’s the springwell. It’s where it all started”.

Handy was contacted by the organizers of the Hub City Music Festival and asked to perform, an offer he happily accepted. 

His performance will take place 4 pm on Sunday April 6 at Hidden Grounds coffee shop at 106 Easton Avenue, and will feature a tribute to Pete Seger, an American folk singer and activist.

The full schedule of concerts is below.  There is a $10 suggested donation to benefit Elijah’s Promise.

Saturday, April 5th at 9 pm at the Court Tavern
124 Church St, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
The Stuntcocks, The Roadside Graves, Chris Harford and the Band of Changes, The Junk Rumblers, Wreaths

Sunday, April 6th, at 4pm at Hidden Grounds
106 Easton Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
The Brummy Brothers, Spook Handy (Remembering Pete Seger), Roia Rafieyan, Collin Rocker

Monday, April 7th at 7pm-8:30pm at Elijah’s Promise
Soup Kitchen, 18 Neilson Street, New Brunswick
The Chris Trotta Project

Tuesday, April 8th at 7:30pm at Delta’s
19 Dennis St, New Brunswick, NJ 08873
Valarie Adams and the Dimension Band

Wednesday, April 9th at 6:30pm at Crossroads Theater
7 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Sounds of Greg D, Robin Renee, Adam Bernstein, Barbecue Bob

Thursday, April 10th at 9:00 pm at Destination Dogs
101 Patterson Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
The Do Rights, Velour, Matt & Swayne (Matt Witte & John Swayne)

Friday, April 11th at 9pm at Tumulty’s Pub
361 George St, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Eric Harrison’s Crash Chorus, Animal Shapes, Wayward Bus

Saturday, April 12th at 8pm at World of Beer
335 George St, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Rainbow Fresh, The Stones Band, The Anderson Council, Billy

Reporter at New Brunswick Today

Award-winning, multimedia journalist with experience in digital first and print-media. Daniel has covered local, state and regional issues, and utilized photography, social media and has written in-depth articles to produce high-quality work.

Award-winning, multimedia journalist with experience in digital first and print-media. Daniel has covered local, state and regional issues, and utilized photography, social media and has written in-depth articles to produce high-quality work.