Explore Ocean County Arts...
38 www.sparkexploreocean.com
Music under the stars. Film festivals and movies on the beach.
Live music all summer long. Ocean County has a flourishing
entertainment scene ripe with local and national talent. Whether
it’s the year-round Jersey Shore band scene that thrives in the
taverns and lounges throughout the county, exploring the depths
of the universe, or the iconic classical guitarist Tommy Emmanuel
performing on Long Beach Island, there’s more than sand, sun
and boardwalks to entertain you in Ocean County.
Albert Music Hall
www.alberthall.org
Albert Music Hall has been presenting live stage concerts of
acoustic country/bluegrass music year-round for the last 44
years. Our music gathering started in the fox-hunting cabin
of Joe and George Albert in the early 1950s. The two men
came from Sayreville, New Jersey, and every weekend the two
brothers would invite local neighbors over to sit in the kitchen
and make music together until the early hours. These gatherings
continued for many years and attracted attention from
newspapers, including the New York Times and the Philadelphia
Inquirer, even from National Geographic magazine. The musical
get-togethers continued through the years, and in 1974 the
group rented space in a public building to see if others would
enjoy this type of entertainment—and they did.
Albert Music Hall opened its new space in January 1997, a
6,000-sq.-ft. building in Waretown with 350 seats and a stage
that resembles a cabin porch in the Pinelands. Next to the main
building is a Pick’n Shed where musicians jam each Saturday
night.
At Albert Hall you will hear old-time songs and traditional
country and bluegrass music. At a typical show you will see
fiddles, guitars, banjos, dobros, mandolins, upright basses and
sometimes even a wash tub bass and spoons.
Albert Hall is not like most other organizations. At Albert Hall,
no one is paid. All the musicians, the executive board and all
the staff members are volunteers! All money raised goes into
the running of the Hall, 8 scholarships and local community
projects. Since 1997, Albert Hall has awarded more than
$250,000 in scholarships. Not many venues can say that their
shows are run entirely by volunteers!
Bluegrass music in New Jersey is alive, well and thriving at
Albert Music Hall. Each year, there is a Sunday afternoon show
consisting of only bluegrass music. The 48th Ocean County
Bluegrass Festival will be on Sunday, February 10, 2018, and
it promises to be a great one. Six bands will each play for 45
minutes. Doors open at 11 am, and the music is from 12 to 5 pm.
When you walk into Albert Hall, you will feel a friendliness
that is not usually found in commercial venues and you will
immediately know that you are in the right place.
Albert Music Hall is at 131 Wells Mills Rd. in Waretown, Exit 69
off the Garden State Parkway. Visit our website, www.alberthall.
org, for the weekly line-up, photo gallery, directions and
information about previous shows.
Courtesy of Ocean County Parks & Recreation
/www.sparkexploreocean.com
/www.alberthall.org
/www.alberthall.org
