INFORMATION FOR
Composer and drummer Dan Pugach brings his big band to Shea for the very first time this summer, featuring music from his 2025 GRAMMY® Award-winning album Bianca Reimagined: Music for Paws and Persistence, featuring Nicole Zuratis. This adds to his growing list of awards as a composer, which include ASCAP Foundation Jazz Composer Award, and the BMI Charlie Parker Composition Prize. He also played drums on the 2024 GRAMMY® Award-winning album How Love Begins. Pugach, who was born in Isreal and has spent time in Rio de Janeiro and Boston before moving to our area, also leads a nonet, which along with his big band, performs in well-established NYC venues and at international festivals and performing arts centers.
General Admission: $20 (includes $3 ticket fee)Series Subscription: $75 Summer Jazz Pass (Includes all 5 Summer Jazz concerts for one low price and total savings of $25. Jazz Pass must be purchased before the first show on Monday, July 21, 2025.)
Born and raised in Havana, pianist, composer and Guggenheim Fellow Manuel Valera is a well-established NYC musician. He has collaborated as a pianist and composer with artists such as Arturo Sandoval, Paquito D’Rivera, Brian Lynch, Dafnis Prieto, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jeff “Tain” Watts, John Benitez, Samuel Torres, Yosvany Terry, and classical violin virtuoso Joshua Bell. Valera has released 18 albums as a bandleader including with New Cuban Express, a trio, the New Cuban Express Big Band, and playing solo piano works. Along with the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2019, he has been awarded three Chamber Music America New Jazz Works grants, two Dranoff International Piano Foundation commissions, and the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award. He has performed in more than 30 countries at some of the world’s most prominent international venues and festivals.
Named “Best Jazz Group” at the 2019 New York City Reader’s Jazz Awards, Sounds of A&R (S.O.A.R.) is the creation of the husband-and-wife duo, vocalist April May Webb and trumpeter Randall Haywood. Both are rising artists: Webb won the 2024 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, while Haywood was recognized as the "Male Rising Star" at the Hot House and Jazzmobile NYC Reader's Jazz Awards. They have represented the United States as Cultural Ambassadors and have received a grant from Chamber Music America. Their third studio album, Questions Left Unanswered, reached #12 on the National Jazz Week charts and was featured in Jazz Week’s Top 50 Jazz Albums of the Year.
One of today’s best-known tenor saxophonists, Dayna Stephens is an in-demand bandleader and sideman, lauded for his lyrical style and rhythmic explorations as both a player and composer. Raised in the Bay Area and educated at Berklee College of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, he was the first-place recipient of the 2019 DownBeat Critics Poll in the Rising Star–Tenor Saxophone category. Over the past fifteen years, the prolific Stephens has released thirteen albums under his name, including his latest release Hopium and his 2024 album Closer Than We Think. He has toured and recorded with many renowned artists such as Kenny Barron, Julian Lage, Gerald Clayton, Linda Oh, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Al Foster. Stephens teaches at the Manhattan School of Music and William Paterson University.
Wycliffe Gordon is one of today’s most outstanding trombonists. A composer and arranger as well, he has been in the limelight since 1988 when he joined the Wynton Marsalis Septet and subsequently the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Currently, Gordon tours the world as a soloist and with his own group; in 2018 he represented the US on State Department tour to Sri Lanka where he premiered a piece written for Sri Lanka’s 70th anniversary. He has 21 CDs as a leader, has been named the Jazz Journalist’s Association’s Trombonist of the Year 13 times and Downbeat’s Critic’s Poll six times. Recipient of numerous awards and honors, Gordon has an extensive catalog of original compositions, and his arrangement of the theme music of NPR’s “All Things Considered” is heard daily around the globe. He is also a committed music educator, serving as Director of Jazz Studies at Augusta University.
Micky Dolenz is an actor, singer, director, producer, writer, radio DJ, inventor, and all-around performer extraordinaire, and stands tall as a paragon of taste and accomplishment in the rough-and-tumble world of show business and entertainment. Micky is best known as a vocalist and drummer of the 1960’s pop legends The Monkees. The Monkees not only achieved great success as a TV show, but also as recording artists; selling in excess of 65 million units, and achieving worldwide success. Their first four albums – THE MONKEES (1966); MORE OF THE MONKEES (1967); HEADQUARTERS (1967); and PISCES, AQUARIUS, CAPRICORN AND JONES, LTD. (1967) all reached the number-one position on the charts and launched three number-one singles: “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I'm a Believer” (both with lead vocals by Micky), and “Daydream Believer.”
The group's first five albums also went platinum. Micky has also released several critically acclaimed solo albums: KING FOR A DAY; REMEMBER; and A LITTLE BIT BROADWAY; A LITTLE BIT ROCK AND ROLL. The Monkees also re-grouped for a 50th anniversary album in 2016 entitled GOOD TIMES on Rhino. Micky toured in 2019 as part of the It Was Fifty Years Ago Today; a celebration of The Beatles WHITE ALBUM with Christopher Cross; Todd Rundgren; and Joey Molland of Badfinger. In March of 2019, he released the award-winning DOLENZ SINGS NESMITH on England’s 7a Records.Micky has also toured extensively on his own and earlier this year fronted Micky Dolenz Celebrates The Monkess which was a sell-out at every stop. He also recently performed at the annual James Burton event, this time in England, which also featured Ron Wood; Brian May and Van Morrison.On November 3, Micky releases the EP Dolenz Sings R.E.M. (7a Records) featuring 4 songs from R.E.M. Later that year, he releases the book I’m Told I Had A Good Times: The Micky Dolenz Archives-VOLUME 1.
In November of 2024, Micky released his first live album in seven years: MICKY DOLENZ: LIVE AT THE TROIUBADOUR. The album was recorded at the famed L.A. club in April and debuted Dolenz’s current stage show, MICKY DOLENZ: SONGS AND STORIES.
Tickets: Gold Circle $75Rear Orchestra $67Front Loge $57Rear Loge | Accessible $45
Discounts:Senior citizens and William Paterson employees and students are eligible for 10% discount. Groups of ten or more can get 15% off
The Shea Center for Performing Arts is celebrating its 60th birthday by bringing back the Dead! We welcome the premier Grateful Dead tribute, Dead On Live, to join us in the celebration by recreating the historic show, song for song, that was performed by the Grateful Dead here at the Shea Center 55 years ago on October 11th, 1970!
Dead On Live is nationally known for their unique approach to the Dead tribute scene by recreating entire albums, iconic shows, as well as specific eras of the Dead’s stylistically diverse musical career, absolutely note-for-note! Phil’s rootless syncopations, Bob’s “Weir’d” chords, the heart and soul of Pigpen, and the magical touch and tone of Jerry, all recreated with true dedication and reverence for the artists that created it
Relive the magic and the history of the one show performed by the Dead, here at the Shea Center in 1970, with Dead On Live!
Tickets:
Gold Circle $45Rear Orchestra $39Front Loge $35Rear Loge/Accessible $29
10% off for senior citizens and WP employees and students. 15% off for groups of ten or more.
Bat Out Of Hell is the 1977 debut album written and composed by Jim Steinman and performed by Michael Lee Aday A.K.A. Meat Loaf. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time, selling 43 million copies worldwide and 14 times platinum.
Considering himself an actor before a singer, Meat Loaf was pictured in the 1975 cult classic film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and is featured on several songs in the film, such as “Hot Patootie” and “Time Warp”. At any given Meet Loaf tribute show, expect these smash hits to be performed flawlessly.
Aside from evoking the heartfelt nostalgia of the 1977 Bat Out of Hell album as well as various other Meat Loaf Hits, Meet Loaf also tributes the genius of Jim Steinman, known for his superior songwriting and outstanding composition. Steinman hits performed in this spectacular concert, include but are not limited to, “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” by Celine Dion, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler, “Dead Ringer for Love” featuring Cher, and “Making Love Out of Nothing At All” by Air Supply.
The “Meet Loaf” tribute show epitomizes the Meat Loaf experience in a look-a-like and sound-a-like event, that leaves audiences awestruck. A world-class show that delivers the powerful wide-ranging male and female operatic lead vocals, along with the epic theatrical elements that Meat Loaf fans have come to love, in an unforgettable evening of smash hits. If you love the music of Meat Loaf, get revved up, because Meet Loaf really ignites!
For crying out loud, and in the words of the Meat Loaf legend himself, “Keep Rockin’!”
Gold Circle $40Orchestra/Front Loge $37Rear Loge/Accessible $35
Celebrating Shea Center’s 60th Anniversary, this concert is a nod to Billy Joel’s performance, with members of The Lords of 52nd Street, at the Shea Center on May 30, 1977.
Lords of 52nd Street - Legends of the Billy Joel band featuring saxophonist Richie Cannata, drummer Liberty Divetto and guitarist Russell Javors. In 1975 when Billy Joel was looking for a new band, these musicians were selected by Billy Joel and Phil Ramone to record and tour the album Turnstiles and were coined The Lords of 52nd Street.
They also recorded the album The Stranger which was a commercial success, it holds a RIAA diamond certification (10x platinum), and several #1 singles including, “Only The Good Die Young” and “Just The Way You Are.” The Lords of 52nd Street helped Joel establish a popular music career and his formidable sound.
Joel and The Lords of 52nd Street returned to the studio, and recorded Grammy award winning albums including, 52nd Street, Glass Houses, and The Nylon Curtain. The band recorded and toured with Joel for over a decade.
They are New York’s favorite band, and they continue to perform their legendary hits still to this day.
Pricing: Gold Circle $49Rear Orchestra $45Front Loge $45Rear Loge/Obstructed/Accessible $39
Discounts:10% off for senior citizens and William Paterson employees and students. 15% off for groups of ten or more.
Originally scheduled for Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 8:00 PM.
If you purchased tickets for the December 13th date, then your tickets and exact seats have been automatically transferred to the new date. No action is required. If you are unable to attend, then please contact the box office at 973.720.2371.
Judy Collins has long inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, and a firm commitment to social activism. In the 1960s, she evoked both the idealism and steely determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. Five decades later, her luminescent presence shines brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 55-album body of work, and heed inspiration from her spiritual discipline to thrive in the music industry for half a century.
The award-winning singer-songwriter is esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. Her stunning rendition of Joni Mitchell's “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album, Wildflowers, has been entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Judy’s dreamy and sweetly intimate version of “Send in the Clowns,” a ballad written by Stephen Sondheim for the Broadway musical A Little Night Music, won "Song of the Year” at the 1975 Grammy Awards. She’s garnered several top-ten hits gold- and platinum-selling albums. Recently, contemporary, and classic artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Shawn Colvin, Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, and Leonard Cohen honored her legacy with the album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins.
The cultural treasure’s 55th album, Spellbound, was released in February 2022, finds Judy enjoying an artistic renaissance. The 13-song album is a special entry in her oeuvre. It marks the first time ever she wrote all the songs on one of her albums. Spellbound was nominated in the Best Folk Album category at the 65th Recording Academy Grammy Awards in 2023.
Pricing: Gold Circle $72Rear Orchestra $68Front Loge $63Rear Loge/Obstructed/Accessible $53
Branford Marsalis continues to thrill audiences around the world while racking up achievements across diverse musical platforms, even after four decades in the international spotlight. From his initial recognition as a young jazz lion, landing his first major jobs with trumpet legend Clark Terry and alongside his brother Wynton in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, he has expanded his vision as an instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and educator, crossing stylistic boundaries while maintaining an unwavering creative integrity. Branford went on to form his own quartet and it remains his primary performance vehicle. Known for the telepathic communication among its uncommonly consistent personnel, its deep book of original music replete with expressive melodies and provocative forms, and an unrivaled spirit in both live and recorded performances. The Branford Marsalis Quartet has long been recognized as the standard to which other ensembles of its kind must be measured.
Along Branford’s musical journey, he has become an avatar of contemporary artistic excellence winning three Grammy Awards, a Tony nomination for his work as a composer on Broadway, a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as Jazz Master, and a 2021 Primetime EMMY nomination for the score he composed for the Tulsa Burning documentary.
As for other public stages, Branford spent a period touring with Sting, collaborated with the Grateful Dead and Bruce Hornsby, served as Musical Director of The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno and hosted National Public Radio’s widely syndicated Jazz Set. The range and quality of these diverse activities established Branford as a familiar presence beyond the worlds of jazz, classical, and beyond.
Pricing: Gold Circle $75Rear Orchestra $67Front Loge $57Rear Loge/Accessible $47
