New Jersey musical journey

In 1877 Thomas Edison’s phonograph was invented making New Jersey the first place in the world that musicians could come together to record music.

Housed in his laboratory in West Orange, NJ, this early invention put the state firmly on the musical history map.

Take a self-guided tour of Thomas A. Edison’s Laboratory Complex at the Thomas A. Edison National Historical Park and visit the Thomas Edison Centre at Menlo Park.

Fast forward 64 years and in 1941 musician and inventor Les Paul, who spent much of his life in New Jersey, created the solid body guitar – the Gibson Les Paul.

He also introduced innovations such as multi-track recording and the reverb.

The list of influential musicians from New Jersey is long and illustrious, including Frank Sinatra, Dion Warrick, Gloria Gaynor, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston, Paul Simon, The Four Seasons and The Fugees.

Venues that have hosted these great artists and many others are dotted throughout the state. The Stone Pony in Asbury Park is one of the most iconic New Jersey music venues, and was the launch pad for Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi.

The Wellmont Theater opened in Montclair in 1922. The venue brings a variety of acts through its doors, from rock legends to indie bands, tribute acts and classical presentations.

Ocean City Music Pier in Cape May was originally constructed in 1928 and is a much-loved historical building overlooking the beach, boardwalk and Atlantic Ocean. This 900-person capacity venue still hosts a wider range of artists.

The Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, is the largest venue in the state and has a capacity of about 82,000. Home to the New York Giants and New York Jets, the venue also hosts big ticket stadium concerts.

Newark’s Prudential Centre is an 18,000-seat arena home to the NHL New Jersey Devils but also hosts large scale music events. Upcoming concerts include Barry Manilow, Seventeen, Post Malone, Iron Maiden and Mary J Blige.

New Jersey Performing Arts Centre opened in 1997 and has a capacity of almost 3,500. A prominent cultural institution for the city of Newark, it also holds a number of free events and festivals.

Atlantic City is known as the entertainment capital of New Jersey and big acts have been performing there in casinos, clubs and bars since the 1930’s, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra were regular performers. Back to modern day and Alicia Keys, ZZ Top, Mary J Blige, Diona, Chris Issak, Phish, Alice Cooper and Billy Ocean are just some of the artists set to play gigs over the next few months.

Venues include Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort, the Event Centre at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, Sound Waves at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Hard Rock Live Etess Arena.

Live music events and festivals take place throughout the state. These include:

The TidalWave Music Festival in Atlantic City from August 12-14, featuring country stars from around the United States.

Sea.Hear.Now celebrates its third year at Asbury Park and takes place from September 17-18. Performers include Pearl Jam, The Avett Brothers and Billy Idol.

XPoNential Festival will take place at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden from September 16-18 and features a line-up of up-and-coming artists.

To start planning a New Jersey trip, visit www.visitnj.org

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