The Monmouth University’s Department of Music and Theatre is pleased to announce the return of distinguished New Jersey Songwriters Joe Rapolla and Joe D’Urso for the Songwriters by the Sea series, Saturday, March 28 at 8 pm at the Lauren K. Woods Theatre. The duo will be joined by Tom Chapin and Jen Chapin with an intro set by George Wurzbach. Tickets for Songwriters by the Sea are priced at $30, and can be reserved through the Monmouth University Box Office at 732-263-6889, or online at www.monmouth.edu/mca. Pre-show reception will be held at 7 pm for all ticket holders.
In a career that spans six decades, 26 albums and three GRAMMY awards, Hudson Valley Troubadour Tom Chapin has covered an incredible amount of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway, as well as working extensively in television, radio and film. As a music-maker, the multi-talented singer/songwriter/guitarist has maintained two long and productive parallel careers, both as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children’s music. Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and effortlessly charismatic live performances. Chapin’s infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth consistently shine through, whether he’s performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra or in an intimate coffeehouse. The New York Times called Chapin “one of the great personalities in contemporary folk music.”
Jen Chapin has been celebrated for writing “brilliant soulfully poetic urban folk music” (NPR) for almost two decades, beginning with her debut, Open Wide, in 2002. Nurtured in and around NYC by a large family of artists, writers, and musicians, Jen’s “observant, lyrically deft, politically aware and emotionally intuitive” (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) songwriting features both her “extraordinary voice” (De krenten uit de pop, The Netherlands) and “astonishing jazz band” (popmatters). As much as an artistic legacy, the roots of Jen’s upbringing have inspired her “potent, jazzy, layered folk” (Newsday) songs and a lifetime of passionate activism, through ongoing work with WhyHunger (founded by her late father Harry Chapin), and teaching high school global history in Brooklyn. She has performed on stage with Bruce Springsteen, on bills with Aimee Mann, Bruce Hornsby, and The Neville Brothers, and her rendition of Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” was featured in an episode of the SyFy TV series “Defiance”. Jen Chapin’s 2013 release Reckoning, produced and engineered by five-time GRAMMY© Winner Kevin Killen (U2, Elvis Costello, Kate Bush) was named among the best Americana albums of that year by Examiner.com and awarded First Prize, Lyrics category by the USA Songwriting Competition (for the song “Go Away”). Her new trio album “Desert or Sea” was released in summer 2019.
About Songwriters by the Sea:
Songwriters by the Sea began as intimate, casual coffeehouse jam sessions around Asbury Park, and has since evolved into a national show attracting some of the most revered singers and songwriters of today’s scene— from Joe Grushecky and Garland Jeffreys to Glen Burtnik, Marshall Crenshaw and Alison Moorer. Along the way, D’Urso (front man of Stone Caravan and board member of WHY Hunger and Light Of Day) and Rapolla (a veteran music industry executive, solo performer, and front man of the band Perfect Square) have fine-tuned their circle of artists, trading favorite songs and illuminating backstories behind their most personal works, into a vehicle that brings out the best in the assembled talent. Whether the venue is a club, a historic theater or a campus performing arts center, Songwriters by the Sea has been known to turn any space into an intimate house party atmosphere; a gathering of friends and a place where something akin to magic often takes hold.
Songwriters by the Sea is sponsored by the Monmouth University Leon Hess Business School and Business Council. All net proceeds will support Monmouth University’s Endowed Music Industry Scholarship.
