Spring Arts & Music Fest Comes Back to Washington Street Sunday

It's time for the annual music and arts festival in Hoboken. The spring version of the bi-annual event is planned for May 5 and the weather forecast is sunny and beautiful.

The event, like in previous years, will start at 11 a.m. and last until 6 p.m. The festival will take up Washington Street between Observer Highway and Seventh Street, which will be closed to traffic.

The city has also released information about the bands that will be performing.

Check it out: (information provided by the City of Hoboken):

Mike Doughty: Mike Doughty is a musician, author, poet, blogger and former lead singer and songwriter of Soul Coughing. His most recent album “The Flip is Another Honey” is a collection of cover songs including “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (John Denver) with Roseanne Cash singing harmony and “Southern Girls” (Cheap Trick). A world-renowned and versatile solo artist Mike sings and produces all the sounds on most of the songs on this newest CD. Mike Doughty first came to prominence as the leader of Soul Coughing, then did an abrupt sonic left turn, much to the surprise of his audience, transforming into a solo performer of stark, dusky, but strangely hopeful tunes. He battled addiction, gave up fame when his old band was at the height of its popularity and drove thousands of miles alone across America performing with just an acoustic guitar. His candid, hilarious, self-lacerating memoir, The Book of Drugs (released in January 2012) features cameos by Ani DiFranco, the late Jeff Buckley, and the story of Soul Coughing’s rise and bitter collapse, as well as, the haunted and darkly comical life of addiction, and perhaps even weirder world of recovery.


John Eddie: John Eddie is a folk rock singer-songwriter who moved to New Jersey in the 1970’s and became a popular club circuit musician, occasionally performing with Bruce Springsteen. He was signed to Columbia Records and released two albums in 1986 and 1990. The 1986 single, "Jungle Boy" peaked on Billboard at #17 on the Rock chart and #52 on the Hot 100 chart. His career saw a resurgence when he signed with Lost Highway Records for 2003's “Who the Hell is John Eddie?’’ Kid Rock has covered 3 of John’s songs, "Lowlife", "Forty" and "Happy New Year.” Eddie still tours extensively. His latest CD, entitled, "Same Old Brand New Me", was released in February 2012.

Karyn Kuhl Band: Based in Hoboken, Karyn Kuhl is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who expresses emotional extremes with a deep soulfulness. While seduced by ethereal melodies and hypnotic beats, her music continues to be energized by the raw power of 3 chords and held under the sway of the blues. Karyn started out as the front person for the post-punk band Gut Bank and the rock trio Sexpod. Her music has evolved to encompass a wide range of influences as illustrated on her 3 self-released recordings Little Demon Girl (2001), The Beautiful Glow (2003) and Cigarette Songs (2007). Karyn's latest recording "Songs For The Dead" will be released in 2013.

Bern & the Brights: Bern & The Brights formed in 2008 and have since been sharing their brand of danceable, romantic nerd-rock with enthusiastic audiences. Their sound can be described as familiar but fresh, warm and feverously energetic. Their latest EP “Work” deals with themes of labor, the work of romantic relationships, the work of introspection and the work of keeping up your spirits and holding onto what matters.

Lloyd United: is one part pop ukulele outfit, one part hooligan prog rock experience and one part beer-soaked Irish drinking song mob, blending unique singing and songwriting talent with a party-til-you-drop attitude. The group brings a melodic sensibility and a unique instrumental take to established rock and pop favorites and delivers original compositions that will have you singing along by the second chorus.

Swingadelic: “NYC metro’s greatest little big band,” began in 1998 as part of the neo-swing movement and have released six albums of their big band-swing jazz sound. "The Other Duke,” their tribute to pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Pearson, was released by the ZOHO Music Label in 2011. The album was in the JazzWeek radio charts Top Thirty and received rave reviews in “Jazz Times” and “All About Jazz.” Their latest CD (May 2013) is called "Toussaintville,” features a collection of songs written by legendary New Orleans piano player, songwriter, producer & arranger Allen Toussaint.

Del Exilio: Del Exilio, a Cuban-American alternative band, blending Latin and American styles, released their second album PANAMERICANO on March 1st 2013. The songs on the album chronicle the journey of a young Latino turning toward his roots, featuring funkified anthems (“200%”), alt. tangos (“Santa Maria del BuenAire”) and earthy Andean explorations (“Peruvian Groovin”).

Taiko Zuko: Taiko Zuko is a Japanese style drum troupe from Glenn Weber's New Jersey School of Percussion in West Orange. They perform using traditional Japanese “Taiko” drums and play traditional, contemporary and original pieces, combining choreographed movements and unique rhythms to create exciting percussive performances. This art form, which was developed after World War ll, combines large Temple drums with smaller drums that were used in Kabuki Theatre performances, creating the current Taiko Ensemble. 

Gene D. Plumber: A long time Hoboken favorite Gene Turonis delights audiences with his eclectic collection of folk, country and Tin Pan Alley tunes, his tasty finger pickin’ guitar style, homespun vocals and whistling expertise. Gene coined the phrase “Tex-Mex-abilly” to describe his unique sound.

Danny Matos y Son Candela Salsa Band: The Danny Matos y Son Candela Salsa Band have been playing their unique take on classical salsa for over 20 years. To quote the band, “We just don’t sound like anybody. Come and check us out!”

Ron Albanese (POLKA DOT!): Ron Albanese is POLKA DOT! a one-of-a-kind, kids’ and family, music and comedy, entertainment personality. Ron writes power-pop tunes influenced by the record player constantly spinning in his head where pop, bubblegum, punk, and good ol' rock 'n' roll swirl together to create songs aimed at a young audience but enjoyable to parents as well. "POLKA DOT! has recently made many multimedia inroads, including airplay on SiriusXM. In addition two of his videos were just licensed for an ABC Family TV pilot, and the international clothing retailer Betabrand has just selected Ron to be a "model citizen," where he will be the subject of a video biography."

Preschool of Rock: The Preschool of Rock was founded by Michael Napolitano, a longtime member of the Blue Man Group organization and former Music Specialist at the Blue Man Creativity Center in NYC. The school offers a unique music based curriculum for children and their families. Each Preschool of Rock class or show is a roof raising celebration. Their use of original music, drum circles, guitars, dramatic play, puppets, movement and storytelling captivates audiences.