Uptown Montclair has never had its own weekly outdoor concert series. This summer, it finally does. Uptown Sound Summer Stage kicked off Friday, July 10, with a different local musician taking the lawn of St. James Episcopal Church every Friday night at 6:30 p.m., all summer long, free and open to everyone. It is a walkable, weekly reason to gather uptown before Uptown Sound, the town’s first annual music festival, lands in Anderson Park on September 26.
There is no admission, no ticket link and no vendor to navigate, just a band, a church lawn and a summer evening. The Montclair Pod is the Premiere Media Partner of the festival this series is building toward, and Radio Free Montclair presents Summer Stage itself. Opening night has a rain date built in, July 11, since this is an outdoor show and July in New Jersey makes no promises.
Who’s Playing Summer Stage This July?
Four acts are booked for the month, and the lineup covers a lot of ground. The Bard Band opened the series July 10 (full disclosure, that’s Mike’s band, and yes, they’ll also be on the festival bill in September). School of Rock House Band, made up of students from the Upper Montclair music school, plays July 17. Ryan Hobler, a Montclair singer-songwriter working in folk, pop and acoustic storytelling, plays July 24. Bern and the Brights, a New Jersey dream-pop duo known for lush, indie-leaning melodies, closes out the month July 31.
How Summer Stage Leads to the Uptown Sound Music Festival
Uptown Sound did not appear out of nowhere. It began as Dan & Day’s Music Festival, an idea from Dan Campeas and Dayanna Ordonez, the couple behind Dan & Day’s Burger Place on Bellevue Avenue. One Instagram post turned into a full festival, and the event is now working toward status as a 501(c)(3), meaning it will operate as a registered nonprofit rather than a for-profit event.
Radio Free Montclair backs the weekly series. Frederic’s Fine Jewelers is the presenting sponsor of the September festival itself.
What to Know Before You Go
Summer Stage runs every Friday at 6:30 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Church, 581 Valley Road in Upper Montclair. Bring a lawn chair or a towel. Grab dinner first from one of the uptown restaurants nearby, since there is no food vendor built into the show itself. No ticket or registration required.
Musicians who want to play a future date, or residents who want to volunteer with Uptown Sound, can reach organizers at summerstage@uptownsoundfest.org or fill out the form in their website.
Four Fridays are booked in July, with more dates rolling out through August. Every one of them is a step toward September 26, when Summer Stage stops being a Friday night warmup and Uptown Sound becomes the real thing.
