Newark Artists Take Center Stage At North To Shore Festival

A rock violinist who's collaborated with the Rolling Stones. A Haitian-Jamaican performance artist. A singer who's inspired by her Puerto Rican roots. A sculptor who creates three-dimensional work out of fabric and thread. And a team of poets who perform under the traffic lights on the busy thoroughfare of Springfield Avenue.

These are just some of the scores of artists who make their creative home in Newark, who will be showcased at more than a dozen new events added to the lineup for the inaugural North to Shore Festival weekend in Newark on June 21-25. Each event will highlight the work of at least one, and often many, creatives who keep the city's arts scene humming all year long. These performances and events, many of them free, are made possible by grants offered by the North to Shore Festival.

These performers will join the Festival's previously announced global headliners - including Halsey, Santana, Alanis Morissette, Stephen Colbert, Jazmine Sullivan, Marisa Monte, Bill Burr, Natalie Merchant and more - in making the first North To Shore Festival weekend in Newark the definitive celebration of the power of the performing arts and the creativity, diversity and innovation found in the Garden State.

Conceived by Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy, the North to Shore Festival will spotlight both the state's cultural diversity and its technological innovation with three weekends of concerts, conversations, exhibits and more, one in each of three of the state's most exciting cities: Atlantic City, Asbury Park and Newark.

NJPAC will produce this three-weekend extravaganza in collaboration with partners including Montclair Film, Newark International Film Festival, TechUnited/Propelify and MediaSense. Music and comedy programming will be produced in collaboration with a cohort of other presenters, including SJ Presents, Madison Marquette, Live Nation, Platinum Productions and Absolutely Live!

An extraordinarily diverse roster of artists from the city - from poets and sculptors to deejays and MCs - from the city will be featured at Newark's festival events.

An extraordinarily diverse roster of artists from the city - from poets and sculptors to deejays and MCs - from the city will be featured at Newark's festival events.


"A Jersey festival isn't a Jersey festival unless it's an authentic reflection of the artists who bring their creativity to work in this state 365 days a year," says David Rodriguez, Executive Vice President and Executive Producer of NJPAC.

"We're proud that this festival is a genuine microcosm of the special character of each of the cities that will be hosting this new celebration," says Rodriguez.

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