Tune In, Turn On
With Doug Deutsch
We South Jerseyans are pretty fortunate when it comes to seeing/hearing live music. All nine Atlantic City casinos offer live music of one form or another seven nights a week.
Many clubs and restaurants, from Atlantic City to Mays Landing, feature entertainment almost-nightly – Anchor Rock Club, Charlie’s, Gregory’s and The Roost, to name a few. Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall, reopened Feb. 13, will feature live music again, we’re told.
There’s also several quality music rooms within driving distance including Lizzie Rose Music Room in Tuckerton, Albert Music Hall in Waretown, Landis Theater in Vineland and Levoy Theatre in Millville. We’re not even listing the dozens of quality music venues in Philadelphia, live music rooms in Asbury Park, Red Bank and other North Jersey locations, nor the multitude of music venues 120 miles to the north in New York City.
Levoy Theatre’s storied history goes all the way back to 1908 – that’s when the first Levoy Theatre opened. It was much smaller than today’s structure and there were two floors – a theatre on the lower floor and a dance floor on the upper.
The first admission prices were 5 cents for one ticket, or 25 cents for six. The early silent flickering films shown in the original Levoy were often accompanied by a vocalist or piano player.
Fast forward to the present: The beautiful Art Deco-styled structure holds almost 700 patrons (696 to be exact) and has significantly increased its schedule of headliners.
“We’ve been stepping it up here,” Charlotte Zappile, Levoy Theatre’s general manager, told us regarding the music bookings. “Last year we had Taylor Dayne, Debbie Gibson, Nick Carter, Ambrosia and Jane Lynch,” said Zappile, who used to be director of entertainment for Tropicana Casino.
Here’s a few of the headliners coming to the Levoy Theatre: Sixties stalwarts The Lovin’ Spoonful (“Do You Believe In Magic,” “Summer In The City”) visit the Levoy March 2.
On March 8, the Levoy presents legendary prog-rock trio Emerson, Lake and Palmer, with a twist. The only surviving member of ELP is drummer Carl Palmer. The other two ELP members, bassist/vocalist Greg Lake and keyboardist Keith Emerson, who both passed away in 2016, will be represented here via holograms and rare classic live performance footage.
March 9 it’s The Neil Diamond Experience featuring Robert Neery in the headlining role.
On March 14, Pink Talking Fish, a hybrid mashup tribute featuring the music of Pink Floyd, the Talking Heads, and Phish, come to the Levoy.
On April 24, ’80s-era rock greats Jefferson Starship present their 50th Anniversary/The Runaway Again World Tour. While concertgoers attending this show won’t see or hear any of the original Jefferson Starship (nee Jefferson Airplane) members such as Grace Slick, Paul Kantner or Marty Balin, this JS version is still pretty tight, and features a very competent vocalist in Cathy Richardson, who’s been with the ‘Starship since 2008.
The Levoy Theatre is located at 126-130 N. High St., Millville. Call 856-327-6400 or see www.levoy.net.
Singer/Songwriter Showcase at The Wickie Room: Another area venue presenting live music is The Wickie Room located inside LBI National Golf & Resort in Little Egg Harbor Township. We were there for dinner last week, highly recommended.
On Wednesday, Feb. 26 there will be a Live Music Showcase featuring some of our area’s best musicians including vocalist Destinee Monroe, rising blues trio Twisted Livin’, singer/songwriter Amy Elizabeth, and alt pop-rockers Lilies of David, who we’ll be profiling at a later date.
This free show runs from 5 to 10 p.m. It’s located at 99 Golf View Drive, Little Egg Harbor; call 609-857-5656 for details.
Doug is the owner/operator of Doug Deutsch Publicity Services, which since 1995 has been servicing nationally touring acts, and working record release campaigns for clients. Doug also hàs experience writing for the one time shore-based weekly publication, Whoot! He also was a team member with Chip Braymes Advertising. Doug loves bicycling and aspires to bring the Blues to Atlantic City. He can be reached at ShoreLocalDoug@gmail.com and www.facebook.com/dougdeutschpublicity.
