Christian McBride to Headline Benefit Concert For Luna Stage

Six-time GRAMMY-winning bassist Christian McBride will headline a concert to benefit Luna Stage on Friday, June 1 at the Montclair Women's Club. This jazz luminary will be joined onstage by special guests. The program will include cocktails, dessert, a silent auction and dancing after the concert. Proceeds will support development of Luna's cutting-Edge Theater productions, classes in local schools, and community programming.

Tickets are $135 and $190 for the VIP Package, which includes special seating, a gift and the opportunity to meet the musicians. The Montclair Women's club is located at 82 Union Street, Montclair, NJ. Tickets are available at www.LunaStage.org https://tinyurl.com/mcbrideatluna or call (973) 395-5551

On June 1, that ride will celebrate and support Luna Stage. Luna is nationally recognized for producing dynamic world premieres and contemporary plays in an intimate space that allows audiences to feel they are part of the action. Luna's work often engages contemporary social issues, and is frequently accompanied by talkbacks and other educational events. A growing acting conservatory for youth and community-based performance events round out the programming of this vibrant local institution.

McBride is known for dynamic performances that fuse musically inventive artistry and energetic fun. He bemoans the "unwritten contention that somehow swinging and imagination are mutually exclusive."

Instead, he says, "When you pull the people in, you can go anywhere as long as they feel like they're a part of the ride."

One of the most recorded musicians of his generation, McBride has appeared on more than 300 recordings. He primarily plays double bass, but is equally adept on bass guitar. Jazz artists McBride has collaborated and recorded with include Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Brad Mehldau, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Joe Henderson, Diana Krall, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Wynton Marsalis, Pat Martino, Hank Jones, Lewis Nash, Joshua Redman, and Ray Brown's "SuperBass" with John Clayton, as well as with pop, hip-hop, and soul musicians like Sting, Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Isaac Hayes, The Roots,[1] Queen Latifah, Kathleen Battle, Renee Fleming, Carly Simon, Bruce Hornsby, and James Brown.

McBride is "brilliant and he's fearless," says NJPAC president and CEO John Schrieber. "Christian is just so tickled by life, and by the possibilities of discovery and invention."

About Luna Stage: Luna is not just a theater, it is an anchor of the Valley Arts District, a center for Community Engagement and provider of Theater Education Programs for children and adults.

Mission: Luna Stage develops new voices and engages communities in the transformative power of theater. Our work challenges, illuminates, and educates by asking big questions, starting important conversations, and reveling in the complexity of the human experience.

Luna Stage is a home for the adventurous theater goer. Our work is resonant and responsive, sometimes daring and always challenging.

Over the course of its history, Luna Stage has contributed to the development of over 50 new works for the stage. Our world premieres have gone on to be produced in New York and across the country earning the theater a reputation for artistic excellence.

Our classes for children and adults and our developmental programs for early career artists inspire our community members to nurture their own creativity and vision.

Our unique approach to producing and our work itself fosters an environment of inclusivity, understanding, and infinite possibility.