A Week of Woodstock
WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ (July 31, 2019) –August 15-18, 1969 began a new chapter in American music. Over 400,000 fans gathered on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York to experience “3 Days of Peace & Music” that included Joan Baez belting her songs while six months pregnant, a 20 year old Carlos Santana ripping solos, The Grateful Dead overloading the stage amps on Turn On Your Love Light, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young performing what might be their most legendary set. In celebration of this world-shattering festival’s 50th anniversary, Monmouth University Center for the Arts has assembled truly top-notch talent that both made history and captured it.
From September 23 through December 13, the Pollak Gallery will proudly host Woodstock and Beyond: The Visionary Art of Mike Frankel, an exhibit featuring intimate, candid photos of the iconic performance moments from those incredible three days. The exhibit will also feature legacy artists who were making music during that same era, such as Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. There will be an opening reception and artist lecture with Mike Frankel on September 23 from 6-8 pm in the gallery.
On September 28, The Pollak Theatre will honor Jimi Hendrix, who closed out Woodstock with an incendiary performance that’s hard to match. However, Jimy Bleu does just that in his show, Kiss The Sky: The Jimi Hendrix Re-Experience. Using wardrobe and set materials from the Hendrix tours of the 1960s, this reproduction meticulously recreates the look and sound of Jimi Hendrix’s most classical concerts and stage performances. Virtuoso guitarist and former Columbia recording artist, Jimy Bleu boasts Hendrix’s landmark left-handed behind the back guitar skills and gives audiences the closest RE-EXPERIENCE possible of what it was like to have seen Hendrix at the peak of his career playing Hey Joe, Foxy Lady, Voodoo Child, Purple Haze, Watchtower and more. For those that can’t get enough, Jimy will be part of a panel discussion titled Jimi Hendrix: American Guru alongside iconic rock photographers Lenny Eisenberg and Elliot Landy on October 2 at 7:30 pm.
On October 3 at 7:30 pm, the Pollak Theatre will screen the director’s cut of the 1970 documentary film Woodstock. Director Michael Wadleigh truly captured the essence and electric spirit of the festival in his documentary, and has been called a benchmark of concert movies, and one of the most entertaining documentaries ever made. The Academy Award winning film ran for 185 minutes during its initial release, but with Wadleigh’s cut, viewers are given an additional 39 minutes of film is added, providing richer context and more jaw-dropping performances to this critically acclaimed film. In a world where everyone is looking at their phones, this is a film immersive enough to get all ages to sit up and pay attention as history unfolds.
On October 4, Melanie takes the Pollak stage at 8 pm in an unforgettable night of songs and stories from the legendary artist known as “The Female Bob Dylan.” Her musical journey begins with that momentous day in the summer of 1969 when she first attracted national attention with her Woodstock performance. Her singles Brand New Key (Roller Skate Song), Lay Down (Candles in the Rain), Peace Will Come, Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma, and Ruby Tuesday have all achieved chart success, with Brand New Key reaching No.1 and remaining in the charts for 18 weeks. After Miley Cyrus’s recent cover of Look What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma Melanie was once again thrust into the mainstream where she continues to earn generations of new fans. A Long Branch native, this will also be a special homecoming for Melanie.
Children of the 60s and those that read about Woodstock in history books should have no trouble finding something to love, cherish, and bond over at these special events. For more information about these events please visit www.monmouth.edu/MCA. Tickets for the Kiss the Sky and Melanie concerts can be reserved through the Monmouth University Box Office at 732.263.6889, or on our website. All of the other Woodstock events are free and open to the public.
Media Contact: Kelly Barratt 732-263-5114 | kbarratt@monmouth.edu
