Summer 2016: Horizon Foundation Sounds of the City

Here's a first look into the summer series at NJPAC for Thursday nights starting at 5pm and ending at 9pm. 
Make sure to bring your blankets, chairs and enjoy your evening under the stars. FREE!

• July 7: Felix Hernandez’s Rhythm Revue Dance Party 
  This season’s edition of the Dance Party is a milestone for the radio host: He’s celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first Rhythm Revue broadcast (formerly Harlem Hit Parade) on WBGO, which airs the program on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. The Rhythm Revue dance parties, which began in New York in 1991, are the live versions of the metro area’s first and longest running radio show dedicated to classic R&B and soul music.
   
• July 14: Tiempo Libre
  One of the hottest Latin bands in the metro. Their blend of Afro-Caribbean music, described as “dance music of sophistication and abandon” by The New York Times, features an irresistible, exhilarating mix of jazz harmonies and seductive Latin rhythms. A globe-circling band that’s at home in concert halls jazz clubs or dance venues, Tiempo Libre has been seen on The Tonight Show, Live from Lincoln Center and Dancing with the Stars, as well as on many programs on Univision and Telemundo.
   
• July 21: Universal Hip Hop Museum: The Peace, Unity & Love Show
  Hip-hop great Rakim appears with other emcees and rap artists gathered for Universal Hip Hop Museum’s The Peace, Unity & Love Show on July 21. Hosted by Roxanne Shante, this creative showcase is a fist-pumping salute to hip-hop culture, bringing such names to the stage as Renee Neufville (formerly of the group Zhane), T Ski Valley, Original B Fats, Reggie Reg (of the Crash Crew), Lakim Shabazz, Chip Fu and Lava Pit recording artists Antonius The Realist and Milwaukee Lateef. Other music is provided by Grand Wizard Theodore (one of the founders of Universal Hip Hop Museum with Kurtis Blow), Cutman LG of SiriusXM radio and Miranda Writes. Rakim, critically acclaimed for his lyric-writing talents as half of Eric B. & Rakim, and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominee, was ranked on all-time-best-album lists (MTV, Rolling Stone magazine) for his groundbreaking work on the top-selling Paid in Full.
   
• July 28: Kamasi Washington, the eclectic saxophonist 
  He began his career with The Young Jazz Giants and has toured with Snoop Dogg, Gerald Wilson and R&B legend Raphael Saadiq. He also has performed and recorded with such artists as McCoy Tyner, Lauryn Hill, Chaka Khan, Freddie Hubbard and Kendrick Lamar (on his acclaimed 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly). 
   
• August 4: Junior Marvin’s Wailers
  Junior Marvin’s Wailers – fronted by the blues-rock guitarist whose credits include a part in The Beatles’ film Help! – draws on years of collaboration with Bob Marley and the Wailers in a concert on August 4. Junior Marvin, an innovative and expressive musician, was an original member of the London cast of the musical Hair and served his musical apprenticeship in America by performing with the likes of T-Bone Walker and Ike and Tina Turner.
  DJ Lumumba aka Revolution opens this performance.
   
• August 11: Avery*Sunshine
  One of the most dynamic voices on the creative music scene, who also is known for her compelling and honest songwriting. The singer has collaborated with the likes of Roy Ayers, Will Downing and Musiq Soulchild and choral-directed for live performances by Michael Bublé, David Foster, Anthony Hamilton and Jennifer Holliday. She is heard on the soundtrack of The Fighting Temptations. Singer and songwriter Bradd Marquis opens the performance. 
   
• August 18: Tortured Soul
  Three distinctive guys, from three different backgrounds – get the crowd dancing to their deep, soulful house music on August 18. Influenced by the classic songcraft of Prince, Heatwave and Kool & The Gang, the members of Tortured Soul are united under a groove-centered rhythm. The band’s frontman and songwriter, John-Christian Urich (“Might Do Something Wrong”), can be seen simultaneously drumming and singing with effortless mastery, while bassist Jordan Scannella and keyboardist Isamu McGregor are virtuosos at generating the pulsating accompaniment.
  A’ndre Davis, an R&B/hip-hop singer and songwriter, warms up the stage. Born and raised in Newark, he toured with The Temptations as their opening artist.
   
• August 25: Bilal
  The final concert on August 25 features Philly-born Bilal, one of the most eclectic of R&B vocal artists, who takes his inspirations from gospel, jazz, soul, blues and hip-hop. Bilal’s 2010 album, Airtight’s Revenge, yielded the GRAMMY-nominated song “Little Ones.” Three years later, his release A Love Surreal garnered critical acclaim when it was named one of People magazine’s Top 10 albums of the year.

  Walter Christopher, who opens the evening, is known to fans as “Walt Chris”: a singer-songwriter who can slide effortlessly from playing an R&B gig to a sanctified gospel church to a swinging jazz club.