montclair arts
Verona
ART IN THE PARK
Liketoshop for yourfine art and crafts in abeautiful natural setting? THE FINE ART AND CRAFTS SHOW, with its 140-plus exhibitors of jewelry, glass, wood, leather, fine art and more, returns to Verona Park for its 33rd year. When you’ re not perusingthe items for sale, you can paddle-boat in the lake, enjoy the park’ s large playground or eat at the lakeside snack bar. The show goes on rain or shine. • Corner of Pleasant Valley Way and Lakeside Avenue, rosesquared. com
APRIL 27 8P. M.
MAY 19-20 10A. M.-5 P. M.
Montclair
BUDDY GUY AT THE WELLMONT
Bluesman BUDDY GUY, whom Eric Clapton called“ without a doubt the best guitar player alive,” brings his preeminent skills to the WELLMONT THEATER. The Ben Miller Band opens the show. Doors open at 7 p. m.; tickets $ 20- $ 395. • 5 Seymour St.,( 973) 783-9500, wellmonttheater. com
Upper Montclair
ARTS UNBOUND SHOWCASE WELCOMES A NEW BOARD MEMBER
ARTS UNBOUND, the visual arts nonprofit that promotes the careers and creative works of artisans living with disabilities or mental illness, had roots in town even before its ARTS UNBOUND SHOWCASE relocated from Maplewood to Upper Montclair. Executive Director Margaret Mikkelsen is a resident, and several Montclair artists exhibit at the Cornerstone building, its new location, including Kristen Zachares, Anie Knipping, Katinka Neuhof and Daniel Stern. Also, Montclairians Marcelle Gaia and Sally Sheola teach art to other seniors as part of its Elder Arts Ambassadors program. Now resident WILLIAM S. JIGGETTS joins Arts Unbound’ s board of directors. He is the founder and managing principle of Family Financial Management Practice in Montclair. His commitment to the arts is not new; he is the chairperson of the African American Cultural Committee of the Montclair Art Museum. • 198 Bellevue Ave.,( 973) 337-2311, artsunbound. org
Montclair
ELK CITY TAKES THE GLOBAL STAGE
Montclair-based ELK CITY has performed regularly in North Jersey, New York City, and on tour in Europe and the U. S. for more than two decades. But the band hasn’ t released a new album since 2010— until last month. Everybody’ s Insecure, with lyrics by front woman Renée LoBue, includes songs that have been described as personal, confessional and rooted in the singer’ s past.
Her early life was, in her words,“ not optimal.” But the difficult times shaped her perspective, she says.“ At a very early age, I had to … ask myself, who do you want to be? And I wanted to be this person … because I needed to escape.” In preparing these songs, she recognized that something had changed.“ I couldn’ t run anymore,” she says.“ It wasn’ t a decision where I said,‘ I’ m going to write these songs about my life.’ It was just that they came out this way.”
Drummer / producer Ray Ketchem is well positioned to confirm LoBue’ s account of the songwriting process. He’ s been her friend, musical collaborator, and“ filter” since 1990, when they started Melting Hopefuls, which morphed into Elk City.( The name comes from a place in Ketchem’ s native West Virginia.)“ We definitely went through a lot during this record,” says Ketchem, who was building his Montclair studio, Magic Door Recording, while the album was taking shape.“ I feel like theband almost broke up acouple of times during the making of it. It was because various feelings maybe were getting a little too close to the bone.”
The first single from Everybody’ s Insecure,“ 25 Lines,” was released on March 2. Elk City brought their evocative stylings to Manhattan’ s Bowery Ballroom on March 15. Fans can get updates via the band’ s website, elkcityband. com.
— STEVEN P. MARSH
ART: COURTESY OFROSE SQUARED PRODUCTION; ELK CITY: COURTESY OF GEORGE KOPP; JIGGETTS: COURTESY OF VAUGHN STROTHER; BUDDY GUY: NICK WASS / INVISION / AP
26 MAY 2018 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE