GARDEN STATE STAGES LIGHT UP WITH TALENT, AS BOTH CLASSIC AND MODERN ENTERTAINERS FILL LOCAL VENUES
by Jessica Jones Gorman
BENNETT HOLDS COURT AT THE BASIE
He may be 93 years young, but Anthony Dominick Benedetto, aka Tony Bennett, is showing no signs of slowing down. One of the world’s preeminent entertainers, this son of Astoria, Queens has received 19 Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards (among other nods) and is a Kennedy Center Honoree and NEA Jazz Master. He is one of only a tiny number of artists to have new albums charting in every decade starting from the 1950s the new century marked by reinterpretations of Great American Songbook hits. On March 11, he will take the stage at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. Part of the “I Left My Heart” tour, the performance will also feature his daughter, Antonia Bennett, co crooning hits that dad made so popular. Tickets range from $50 to $199. 99 Monmouth Street, Red Bank, 732.842.9000, thebasie.org
POST MALONE AT PRU CENTER
Emerging in 2015 with a unique musical brew one that combined pop, trap, hip hop, folk, and rock Syracuse, NY born Austin Richard Post, aka Post Malone, hit the stratosphere in seemingly record time with his triple platinum 2016 album, Stoney. He now has several multi platinum certifications around the world and a catalog of hits that includes “rockstar” (featuring 21 Savage), “Sunflower” (featuring Swae Lee, and heard on the Spider Man: Into The SpiderVerse soundtrack), “I Fall Apart,” “Psycho” (featuring Ty Dolla $ign), and “White Iverson.”
Malone recently added a second leg to “The Runaway Tour,” with Swae Lee and Tyla Yaweh, and is coming to the Prudential Center on February 18. The singer/rapper’s third concert tour, it launched in Tacoma in September and will conclude in Stockholm in June with a set list that includes additional hits like “Better Now,” “Die For Me,” and “Circles.” Tickets start at $114, and VIP packages are available in the $300 range. 25 Lafayette Street, Newark, 973.757.6000, prucenter.com
LIGHTER THAN AIR
Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock met in 1975 while rehearsing a production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Hitchcock’s native Australia (Russell is from the UK), and have been making music together ever since. Better known as Air Supply, the soft rock duo created hits like “Lost in Love,” “Here I Am,” “Sweet Dreams,” and “Making Love Out of Nothing at All.” Their fifth studio album, 1980’s Lost in Love (the fi rst to be widely marketed outside Australia) resulted in three top 5 singles in the U.S. The group also became known for lavish live productions and for touring where few pop groups had ventured before. By 1988, they had played shows in China, Taiwan, and a variety of venues in South America. Today they are traveling the world once again on Air Supply’s “Lost in Love Experience Tour,” which is making a stop at the Bergen Performing Arts Center on February 28. Tickets range from $49 to $159. 30 N Van Brunt Street, Englewood, 201.227.1030, bergenpac.org
