THE OFFICIAL STONE PONY CALENDAR

THE MOTET

Forming over two decades ago, the funk six-piece The Motet have learned to work as an interlocking unit, with each member bolstering one another towards the best creative output. This symbiosis has led to a unique style and cohesive musical chemistry, as seen in the band’s immaculate live performances and seamless blend of funk, soul, jazz, and rock. With a fervent fanbase in tow, The Motet have sold out shows across the nation, performed six headlining slots at Red Rocks and sets at festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra.

But even after their 20+ years of accolades and recognition, the legendary outfit – composed of Dave Watts (drums), Joey Porter (keys), Garrett Sayers (bass), Drew Sayers (keys and saxophone), Ryan Jalbert (guitar), and new singer Sarah Clarke – are still exploring new sonic ideas and finding new ways to showcase each other’s skill sets.

The band released their 10th studio album, All Day, in January 2023 – an eclectic instrumental voyage threaded by the infectious grooves and immaculate, layered arrangements that The Motet have become known for.

Now with vocal powerhouse Sarah Clarke in tow, the band continues their journey with new songs and fresh arrangements of Motet classics.

Common Kings
Road to Maui Tour
with support from Jakobs Castle

Common Kings are more than a band of musicians, they are a family, a lifestyle, a community, a brother and sisterhood, having grown up together in California’s Orange County, four college mates who first met at a backyard barbecue 20-some years ago. Music was the common bond for these Pacific Islanders (all but one first-generation Americans) who have together transcended their Polynesian reggae roots to achieve pop crossover success since releasing their first music in 2011 – Samoan-born Hawaiian lead singer Sasualei “Jr. King” Maliga and Hawaii-raised Samoan guitarist Taumata “Mata” Grey; Fiji-born bassist Ivan “Uncle Lui” Kirimaua, and L.A.-born Tongan drummer Jerome “Big Rome” Taito. The band has toured with Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Meghan Trainor, Fifth Harmony and CeeLo as well as headlining their own shows and music festivals around the world.

Common Kings have been releasing music on their own Island Empire/Mensch House Records label for more than a decade, with their first full-length debut, 2017’s ‘Lost in Paradise’, nominated for Best Reggae Album at the GRAMMYs. The long-awaited follow-up, aptly named CELEBRATION, follows a series of five songwriting camps around the country (Miami, Hawaii, Orange County, Nashville, L.A.), winnowing down 120 songs to 12 over the course of almost two years during and after the pandemic. Common Kings’ island rhythms are as seductive as a lazy ocean breeze, with a narrative that is an All-American story with a tropical twist.

Jake Clemons Band
Eddie Testa Band
Jarod Clemons
Door 6:30 Show 7:30 to 11:30
Tickets: $28 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $32 at the door

Solo artist and E Street Band member Jake Clemons returns to Asbury Park with his band. Jake is recognized around the globe as a stirring solo artist and for his electrifying performances with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Jake is a magnet for positive energy and emotion, consistently sharing stories and thoughts about life, his beliefs and experiences through music. Jake is always bringing that positive message to his live shows. Jake’s vast array of musical endeavors over the past decade have made him a familiar figure around the world. From recording and/or performing with Eddie Vedder, Glen Hansard, Tom Morello, Prophets of Rage, Roger Waters, US Girls as well as touring the world, to performing his own music with the Jake Clemons Band and spending the last 10 years as the tenor and baritone saxophonist with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band including appearing on Springsteen’s latest album “Letter To You” and the companion Apple TV documentary. “I process my life through my music and I hope that there’s always growth in whatever I do,” Clemons suggests. “I definitely feel that with this new album. I took some chances on this record that I didn’t dare do before. The approach is certainly a little more aggressive than what people might not have heard or expected from me before.”

Soule Monde with Dezron Douglas
Tom Marshall’s 60th Birthday Party
with the Anthony Krizan Band

Soule Monde is avant funk born of the syncopated minds of power drummer Russ Lawton and organ wizard Ray Paczkowski. The “duo” is cemented into an indestructible unit, where bold improvisational leaps are interpreted telepathically and reciprocated effortlessly. Paczkowski has an intrepid ability to simultaneously tame the Hammond B3 and clavinet, filling Soule Monde’s sound with beautiful and dynamic melodies. Lawton is the consummate ‘pocket’ drummer, driving the groove further without ever losing a step, or Ray. This is the jazz-duo your parents warned you about.

Their pedigree speaks for itself, much like Russ and Ray’s music. While Lawton has played alongside Vermont staples like Mike Gordon, Strangefolk, and The Grippo Funk Band, Paczkowski’s early acts Viperhouse and Vorcza gained notoriety in the 1990s, and he (Ray) toured with Dave Matthews and Friends for 3 years in the early 2000s. Notably, both members of Soule Monde have been in the Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) for more than 20 years. Additionally, Russ and Ray have made appearances at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Saturday Night Live, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon.

In early 2018 Ray Paczkowski underwent brain surgery to remove a golf ball sized tumor that threatened his gross motor function. After a difficult year of rehabilitation filled with ups and downs, the “Milkman” as he is affectionately known, made a full recovery. With a freshly shaped lens on life the duo did not waste any time. In the Spring of 2020 Russ and Ray added a third and started LaMP, a supergroup side project with Scott Metzger of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. That Fall found them in their familiar roles alongside Phish’s Trey Anastasio at New York City’s legendary Beacon Theatre. The Beacon Jams 8-week live stream residency tested the duo’s versatility, rehearsing and performing over 100 songs.

Fast forward to early 2021, and Soule Monde proper returned to Sugarhouse Studios in Waitsfield, VT, surrounded by snow covered Pines, to record “Mimi Digs It”. The decades of synergy show, and eight brand new tracks highlight a musical partnership at the pinnacle of its craft. Much like the sugar yielding Maples on Ray’s Farm, this latest album is the gift that keeps on giving.

DEZRON DOUGLAS

Hartford, Connecticut-born bassist, composer, bandleader, and educator Dezron Douglas has established himself as a major force in contemporary creative music. A protégé of the great Jackie McLean, the Downbeat Magazine 2019 Rising Star is known for his work with Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Cyrus Chestnut, David Murray, Louis Hayes, Enrico Rava and also with piano legends George Cables, Eric Reed, Mulgrew Miller and Benny Green. In 2018, he appeared on the New York Side of Makaya McCraven’s Universal Beings. During the original covid lockdown in 2020, he live-streamed a series of duo performances with his partner Brandee Younger from their Harlem apartment, which were collected and released by International Anthem as the critically-acclaimed album Force Majeure. In 2021, Douglas produced Younger’s Impulse Records debut Somewhere Different, which earned her a Grammy nomination. Also in 2021, Douglas joined the Trey Anastasio Band as a full-time member. He has recorded on more than 100 albums, contributing to the artistry of numerous band leaders and maintaining an integral presence in the sounds of his peers, including Keyon Harrold, Jonathan Blake, Melanie Charles, Makaya McCraven and Brandee Younger. Douglas is an active music educator, currently on the Jazz Studies faculty at NYU Steinhardt.

$35 adv / $40 dos (plus applicable service charges)

JP COOPER

JP Cooper has done the legwork. Ten years in bands in and around his hometown of Manchester, England. Multiple songs written on his own and with a variety of collaborators, a couple of which became global hits-that-will-not-die: Perfect Strangers with Jonas Blue and his own September Song, which is now sitting at some 600 million streams. An international solo career built on pure songcraft. And he’s done the business. The singer-songwriter’s 2017 debut album Raised Under Grey Skies has sold in old-fashioned numbers: one million copies at time of writing. His 11 million monthly Spotify listeners have contributed to a grand – very grand – total of four billion total streams.

Tickets: $25 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $30 at the door

Peter McPoland
Stephen Dawes

At just 20 years old, Peter McPoland creates the kind of finespun folk-pop that feels both beautifully lived-in and undeniably original. McPoland picked up guitar at the age of 14 and taught himself to play, finding lessons to be too regimented. Within a year he’d started writing his own songs, mining inspiration from folk artists like John Prine and Gregory Alan Isakov. As shown on breakout hits like his self-released single “Romeo & Juliet,” the Texas-bred artist has an incredible gift for capturing the most nuanced emotional experiences, then bringing that expression to life in idiosyncratic detail.

Marky Ramone’s Holiday Blitzkrieg
Doing the Hits

Marky Ramone is best known for the 15 years he spent drumming for
the legendary Ramones. Prior to joining the Ramones, Marky played
with an array of influential musicians dating back to his high school
years when he was a member of the Brooklyn based hard rock band,
Dust. Recording two albums with his friends, Richie Wise (guitar and
vocals) and Kenny Aaronson (bass) for Neil Bogart’s Karma
Sutra/Buddha label.
While Dust was disbanding, Marky began hanging out at Max’s Kansas
City, where he met Max’s house D.J. Wayne County. He joined forces
with Wayne to form Wayne County and The Backstreet Boys. Wayne’s
outrageous stage performance and cross-dressing attracted many fans
and help solidify a cult following. After a year and a half of playing in
the New York area and not able to generate record company interest,
they decided it was best to move on.
In 1976, Marky was introduced to Richard Hell. Along with Bob Quine
and Ivan Julian, they formed Richard Hell & the Voidoids. The Voidoids
released their groundbreaking debut album in 1977 on Sire Records,
entitled “Blank Generation”. Shortly after the Voidoids historic U.K.
tour with The Clash, Marky found himself at the bar at CBGB with Dee
Dee Ramone. Dee Dee asked him if he would be interested in joining
The Ramones.
The spring of 1978, Marky joined the Ramones. In a matter of weeks
he was in the studio recording his first album with The Ramones
entitled, “Road to Ruin”, which features one of the biggest Ramones
songs “I Wanna Be Sedated”. The following year the Ramones filmed
the cult classic “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”. Later that year, they joined
forces with producer legend, Phil Spector to record “End Of The
Century”.
After several tours and a two more studio albums, Marky was asked to
leave the band 1983, only to rejoin his band mates in 1987 until they
decided to call it quits in 1996. His tenure with the Ramones spanned
a total of 15 years. Performing over 1700 shows and more than 15
releases, including songwriting credits on both Mondo Bizarro and
Adios Amigos, the bands farewell release.
In 2000, Marky reunited with long time friend Joey Ramone for Joey’s
solo effort “Don’t Worry About Me”. In 2001, Marky along with his
former band mates (Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy), were inducted into
the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. That same year, U2’s Bono presented
the Ramones with the MTV’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
The DVD release, “Raw”, a compilation of mostly home videos filmed
predominantly by Marky was release in 2004 and entered the Billboard
video chart at number 5. Certified gold in three countries and currently
the best selling Ramones DVD release to date.
In the spring of 2009, Marky launched a capsule collection clothing line
with Hilfiger Denim. In 2010, Marky shared his recipe for pasta sauce
by introducing Marky Ramone’s Brooklyn’s Own Pasta Sauce.
In February 2010 The Ramones received a Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award. It was the first Grammy for the punk rock
pioneers.
In early 2010 Marky Ramones Blitzkrieg with Michale Graves released
their first single “When We Were Angels” with former member of Sheer
Terror, Mark Neuman, playing bass and guitar.
With no signs of slowing down, Marky Ramone continues to tour the
world with his band, Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg, featuring various lead
vocalists including Andrew W.K. and Michale Graves.
Marky is currently in his eighth year as a D.J. on SiriusXM Satelldite
Radio hosing “Marky Ramone’s Punk Rock Blitzkrieg”. Marky has also
appeared on numerous TV shows including The Simpsons, Anthony
Bourdain’s No Reservations and ZRock.

LaBAMBA’S HOLIDAY HURRAH 
Annual Holiday Show with LaBamba’s Big Band

Richie ‘LaBamba’ Rosenberg is coming home to The Stone Pony for this annual holiday show! The Hurrah All-Star band features a giant horn section playing classic holiday music and LaBamba favorites.

Doors at 5 pm, early show 6 to 9 pm

Tickets: $40 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $45 at the door