Summer Funk™ is where dancers ages 4 to 84 learn their favorite styles, design costumes, and take the stage. Students build confidence, discipline, and teamwork while gaining real performance experience in a professional environment. Have Feet. Will Dance.
Join us to celebrate SOPAC’s 20th Anniversary on Friday, June 12 as we honor two decades of extraordinary performing and visual arts right in the heart of downtown South Orange. We’re throwing open the doors and activating the entire building into one lively and unforgettable party that salutes our past, energizes our present, and sets the stage for the future.
Join us for an immersive celebration of West African dance traditions, performed by youth, teens, adults, and live musicians. This multi-generational concert features authentic choreography, honoring old cultural expression that continues to ed-u-tain our communities.
Ady Arts Center is a pre-professional studio located in Livingston, New Jersey, established by Ady Zeng. Ady Art Center students actively dance for their communities, through both local events and in national competitions, consistently being recognized for their top tier training and culturally rooted performances. This recital reflects Ady Art Center’s mission through hard work, dedication, and teamwork as they celebrate ten years of inspiring a passion for the arts in young artists.
Luis Figueroa is a multi-nominated Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY Puerto Rican American singer-songwriter hailed as the “new voice of salsa,” blending modern production with classic tropical soul. With chart-topping hits, acclaimed albums, and a dynamic live show, he’s redefining salsa for a new generation.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.