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Kevin McLaughlin/Renaissance Productions Presents Riot: From Rebellion to Redemption A Documentary film about Newark

SAT, JUN 20, 2026 at 7:30PM

The first public screening of the documentary film Riot: From Rebellion to Redemption since the film premiered on PBS stations earlier this year. The film takes a hard look at the causes and effects of the Newark Riot/Rebellion of 1967. This screening will present the Director's Cut, featuring an additional 23 minutes of fascinating material not included in the broadcast version, followed by a Q&A with the film's director, Kevin McLaughlin, and Michelle Miller, renowned journalist and winner of multiple Emmys and the Edward R. Murrow Award.

South Orange Summer Nights Essex Funk Soul Collective Presented by SOPAC & South Orange Village
Free concert at Floods Hill in Meadowlands Park

WED, JUL 1, 2026 at 7:30PM

Essex Funk Collective brings their irresistible blend of funk, soul, and R&B to SOPAC and Floods Hill for a free community night out. Expect classic hits, modern favorites, and the kind of homegrown energy that only comes from a band with deep roots and a packed dance floor wherever they play.

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South Orange Summer Nights Forget The Whale Presented by SOPAC & South Orange Village
Free concert at Floods Hill in Meadowlands Park

WED, JUL 8, 2026 at 7:30PM

Forget the Whale is a Jersey City pop and rock septet fronted by powerhouse female vocals and fueled by a bold brass section. Their original, genre-bending songs are catchy, danceable, and built to love.

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South Orange Summer Nights Water Towers Presented by SOPAC & South Orange Village
Free concert at Floods Hill in Meadowlands Park

WED, JUL 15, 2026 at 7:30PM

Gather your friends and family for an evening with Water Towers, SOMA’s premier Indie Rock cover band, live at Floods Hill. With a repertoire spanning Rock, Soul, and Pop tunes, their vibrant performances feature driving grooves, sweet solos, and stunning vocal harmonies that appeal to audiences of all ages.

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Stewart Copeland Have I Said Too Much?

THU, JUL 16, 2026 at 7:30PM

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stewart Copeland, legendary drummer of The Police, comes to town with Have I Said Too Much – The Police, Hollywood, and Other Adventures, a spoken-word evening of stories, photos, videos, and Q&A tracing his journey from chart-topping rock star to acclaimed composer and creative maverick.

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South Orange Summer Nights The Brooklyners Presented by SOPAC & South Orange Village
Free concert at Floods Hill in Meadowlands Park

WED, JUL 22, 2026 at 7:30PM

The Brooklyners are a six-piece NYC reggae band blending Jamaican standards, French classics, and original conscious music into a rich, multicultural sound rooted in the diversity of Brooklyn itself. They bring the kind of warmth, groove, and good energy that makes every performance feel like a party.

Ladies of Laughter

Ladies of Laughter

THU, JUL 23, 2026 at 7:30PM

The Ladies of Laughter brings the best talent from their renowned national competition to SOPAC for an unforgettable evening of comedy. The program has grown into a powerful platform known as “The Careerbuilder for Women in Comedy.” With a star-studded alumni roster that includes Amy Schumer, Tammy Pescatelli, and Melissa Rauch.

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South Orange Summer Nights Workingmans Jed Presented by SOPAC & South Orange Village
Free concert at Floods Hill in Meadowlands Park

WED, JUL 29, 2026 at 7:30PM

The members of Workingman's Jed share a deep love for the Grateful Dead's timeless catalog, the songs, the jams, and the beautiful multi-part vocal harmonies that made the Dead like no one else. They design unique set lists for every show, weave songs together in original ways, and feed off the energy in the room to create performances that are familiar, yet always something new.

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Cyrille Aimée Quartet

THU, SEP 10, 2026 at 7:30PM

Cyrille Aimée is a GRAMMY-nominated jazz vocalist whose multilingual, multicultural upbringing infuses her music with a warmth and range that is entirely her own. She blends jazz sophistication, Caribbean rhythm, and pop accessibility into something intimate, alive, and impossible to categorize.

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Isaiah Sharkey

SAT, SEP 12, 2026 at 7:30PM

GRAMMY Award winning guitarist, vocalist, and composer Isaiah Sharkey is one of contemporary music's most sought after artists, with credits alongside D'Angelo, John Mayer, Cory Henry, and Lalah Hathaway. His live show is a masterclass in groove, harmony, and emotional connection, and with his current release RED building serious momentum, this is a great moment to experience him live.

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The Unwitting Magician By Jeremy Dobrish

WED, SEP 16, 2026 at 7:00PM

The Unwitting Magician is a one-night-only theatrical event in which an actor performs a script they have truly never seen, and somehow, impossibly, pulls off real magic along the way. Created by director and playwright Jeremy Dobrish, it is a singular evening of wonder, surprise, and genuinely big questions about free will that nobody in the room, including the performer, will see coming.

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Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East

FRI, SEP 18, 2026 at 7:30PM

The founder and dhol drummer of Brooklyn's beloved Red Baraat, composer and drummer Sunny Jain brings his acclaimed five-piece band Wild Wild East to SOPAC for a genre-defying journey through Bollywood, Punjabi folk, jazz, and psychedelic rock. Fresh off a viral NPR Tiny Desk Concert and tours of The Kennedy Center and Monterey Jazz Festival, Jain weaves his family's immigration story into music that is both deeply personal and electrifyingly alive.

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Liz Glazer Big Waitlist Energy

SAT, SEP 19, 2026 at 7:30PM

SOPAC favorite Liz Glazer - former tenured law professor, Tonight Show alum, and SOPAC fan favorite - returns with her new show, Big Waitlist Energy. Sharp, warm, and completely her own, Liz is exactly the kind of comedian who makes you laugh and think at the same time, often within the same sentence.

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Darlingside

FRI, SEP 25, 2026 at 7:30PM

Darlingside is a Boston-based folk-pop quartet praised by NPR, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker for their exquisitely arranged harmonies and literary songwriting. Their acclaimed album Everything Is Alive weaves together baroque folk, orchestral richness, and deeply personal storytelling, and their live performances are exactly the kind of rare, transportive experience that reminds you why live music matters.

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Willie Nile

SAT, SEP 26, 2026 at 7:30PM

Praised by The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, the BBC, and Bono, rock legend Willie Nile is one of America's most celebrated and criminally underrated singer-songwriters. Known for electrifying live shows and a catalog steeped in the grit, heart, and poetry of American rock, an evening with Willie Nile is as good as it gets.

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Friends of The Brothers A Celebration of the Allman Brothers Band

FRI, OCT 2, 2026 at 7:30PM

Friends of the Brothers is the closest thing to a living continuation of the Allman Brothers Band, featuring musicians with deep personal ties to the original group. They bring the full depth, spirit, and improvisational fire of the ABB catalog to every stage they play.

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SOMI

SAT, OCT 3, 2026 at 7:30PM

Grammy nominated vocalist, composer, playwright, and Broadway star Somi is one of the most compelling and multidimensional artists in contemporary jazz. With her new album What Does It Take to Bloom? out in August, this is a rare and perfectly timed chance to experience her live.

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The Rock and Roll Playhouse Plays the Music of David Bowie & More

SUN, OCT 11, 2026 at 12 PM

The Rock and Roll Playhouse is the largest kid-friendly live concert series in the country, bringing the music of rock's most iconic artists to families with children aged one to seven in a joyful, high-energy celebration of music and movement. Parents get to rock out to the songs they love while their little ones experience the magic of live music for the very first time.

The Blind Boys of Alabama

Blind Boys of Alabama A Tribute to Stevie Wonder’s
Songs In The Key of Life

THU, OCT 15, 2026 at 7:30PM

The Blind Boys of Alabama celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the classic Stevie Wonder album & More! Six-time GRAMMY winners and Lifetime Achievement honorees with a career spanning more than 70 years, Blind Boys of Alabama remain one of the most powerful live acts in American music. From the Jim Crow South to the world's greatest stages, their gospel rooted sound has always crossed every boundary it encounters, and a night with them is as close to a transcendent experience as a concert can get.

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The Improvised Shakespeare Company

FRI, OCT 16, 2026 at 7:30PM, SAT, OCT 17, 2026 at 7:30PM

The Improvised Shakespeare Company takes one audience suggestion and builds a complete, fully improvised Shakespearean play from scratch. No script, no rehearsal, no idea where it’s going until it gets there. A Chicago institution since 2005 and celebrated at venues from the Kennedy Center to the Soho Theatre in London, their show is as funny, surprising, and as thrilling as live performance gets.

26.11.15 -THE LAST WALTZ Celebration Featuring The THE BAND Band & Special Guests Season 21 EventListImage400x300

The Last Waltz Celebration Featuring The THE BAND Band & Special Guests

SUN, NOV 15, 2026 at 7:30PM

The THE BAND Band has spent 17 years bringing the iconic catalog of The Band to life with soulful, authentic performances worthy of the originals. From Music From Big Pink to The Last Waltz, expect a night of Americana roots music that reminds you just how timeless these songs really are.

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Ladies of Laughter

THU, NOV 19, 2026 at 7:30PM

The Ladies of Laughter brings the best talent from their renowned national competition to SOPAC for an unforgettable evening of comedy. The program has grown into a powerful platform known as “The Careerbuilder for Women in Comedy.” With a star-studded alumni roster that includes Amy Schumer, Tammy Pescatelli, and Melissa Rauch.

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back to BACK TO BLACK: the Amy Winehouse Celebration Featuring Remember Jones

FRI, NOV 20, 2026 at 7:30PM

Remember Jones presents Back to Black: The Amy Winehouse Celebration, a Rolling Stone recognized tribute performing of the entire 2006 GRAMMY winning album in its entirety, plus more Amy favorites, with a 12-piece band and five vocalists. Hosted by acclaimed entertainer Remember Jones, this is the anniversary celebration that one of music's most beloved albums truly deserves.

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Shemekia Copeland & Jontavious Willis

SAT, NOV 21, 2026 at 7:30PM

Blues powerhouse Shemekia Copeland, hailed by the Washington Post as "the greatest blues singer of her generation," joins GRAMMY nominated Georgia phenom Jontavious Willis for a rare co-headline evening of roots music that spans generations and styles. Two of the most compelling blues artists performing today, one unforgettable night.

Giants of Jazz

SAT, NOV 28, 2026 at 7:30PM

Giants of Jazz offers unforgettable nights of all-star performances, curated by Grammy winner John Lee and featuring some of jazz’s most celebrated legends. Experience the magic, swing, and spontaneity as South Orange hosts the ultimate gathering of jazz masters.

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Dar Williams

SUN, DEC 6, 2026 at 7:30 PM

Dar Williams is a beloved American folk songwriter with thirteen albums, a playwright's gift for character, and a genuine devotion to community and connection. Her latest album, Hummingbird Highway, finds her at her most nuanced and alive, and her live performances are exactly the kind of warm, intimate experience that reminds you what folk music is for.

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Martin Sexton Live Wide Open Tour

FRI, DEC 11, 2026 at 7:30PM

Martin Sexton brings his soul-marinated voice, acoustic guitar, and legendary live show to SOPAC in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Live Wide Open, his critically acclaimed double vinyl live album. Praised by Billboard, Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, and John Mayer himself, Sexton is the rare performer who makes every show feel like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.