Centenary Stage Company’s 2024 Winter Thaw Music Festival



Rosaway, photo by Audrey + Wandy

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) — Start the New Year with Centenary Stage Company’s Winter Thaw Music Festival. This year, the music festival will feature concert performances by Jumaane Smith on January 13, Reverie Road on January 20, Rosaway on January 27, and Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba on Februrary 3. All performances will begin at 8:00pm in The Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ.

Kicking off Centenary Stage Company’s January Thaw Music Festival will be a performance Jumaane Smith on January 13 at 8:00pm. Jazz trumpeter, vocalist, and composer Jumaane Smith has performed on 5 GRAMMY Award-winning records (selling more than 60 million copies), 2 Emmy Award-nominated TV performances, the GRAMMY Awards with Stevie Wonder, in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” (trumpet solo actor), at The White House, on the Today Show, Tonight Show, Oprah, Good Morning America, and American Idol. He’s spent the last 17 years touring and recording with Michael Bublé as lead trumpeter and vocalist; was a member of Harry Connick Jr. ‘s house band for the syndicated daytime TV show “Harry”. He’ll take the Sitnik stage to give his renditions of classics from his biggest influences – Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, & Louis Jordan.

Then, join Centenary Stage Company as Reverie Road takes to the stage on January 20 at 8:00pm. Firmly grounded in their collective Irish roots, Reverie Road embraces humor with musical insight and natural abilities.  A fresh, eclectic celtic combination, featuring fiddler Winifred Horan and accordionist John Williams (founding Solas members) alongside former Gaelic Storm fiddler Katie Grennan and Jazz and Raga pianist Ustav Lal, they weave the roots of Irish musical traditions with new departures and curated gems including distilled airs, continental waltzes, and upbeat reels and jigs.

Next up will be Rosaway on January 27 at 8:00pm. Vocal, flute, drums, & machines – that’s Rosaway. A Pop-Jazz band hailing from Paris.  Distinctly French, somewhat them-tune-style, and a whole lot of groovy, this four-piece group is a blend of past and present. The band is made up founding members Rachel Ombredane who studied classical flute and music at the Sorbonne and sang vocals for artists, including Ed Sheeran; and Stephane Avellaneda who is an international blues drummer who’s played with and for the likes of BB King, Ben Poole, and Ana Popovic.

Finally, Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba will close out the Winter Thaw Festival on February 3 at 8:00pm. Hailing from a long line of Senegalese musicians and storytellers known as griots, Diali Cissokho made the transatlantic move almost ten years ago.  Shortly afterward, he formed the band Kaira Ba with the aid of several like-minded Piedmont musicians.  Together, they blend the traditions and rhythms of West African music with subtle timbres of the American South.  In essence, Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba makes dance music that bridges the continental divide.

All Winter Thaw Music Festival performances will take place in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center located on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ. Ticket prices for each performance are $25.00 for adults and $15.00 for students and children under 12.

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900. The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1:00-5:00 pm and two hours prior to performances. The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ. Centenary Stage Company can also be found across social media platforms; Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter. Like and follow to receive the latest in CSC news and special offers.

The 2023-24 Season of Performing Arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the CSC corporate sponsors, including Platinum Season Sponsor the House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors, Heath Village, Visions Federal Credit Union, Explore Warren, and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.