Marcus Hall Concert Series

by Jennifer Ersalesi

Through the efforts of a group of volunteers and the Board Members of the Williams Center for the Arts, the community has been excited about welcoming great talent to our town. The Williams Center has introduced a new music series called “Marcus Hall.” Board of Trustee Member, Michael Pelcynski, spoke to This is Rutherford about this series.

More information can be found at www.williamscenter.org and on Facebook “Williams Center for the Arts”.

The April 13th Line-Up is: WINNEBAGO, ABIRD, Black Wail, Cyclone Static

TIR: The William Center Board has wanted to bring back concerts for quite some time. Now it has become a reality. First, can you tell us where did the name Marcus Hall come from?

MP: The name came from a donor during the reconstruction period of the center. After a large fire in January 1977, one-third of the building was destroyed and donations from donors assisted in salvaging the Williams Center.

TIR: The Marcus Hall Concert Series began in early March and will continue until May. The concerts will be held every second Saturday the month. The next concerts will be held on April 13th and May 11th. How can the public purchase concert tickets?

MP: Since admission is only $5, ticketing will be at the door only. With differently tiered events, like the comedy nights, we have online pre-orders available as those tend to sell out. In the future, we expect to have more touring bands perform at Marcus Hall which will have pre-sales available as well.

TIR: The Marcus Hall Concert Series will bring many genres of music to Rutherford. What types of music can people expect?

MP: Everything from good old rock & roll, folk, alternative/art/indie rock to soul and everything in between. Since each concert will showcase 3 to 4 bands, we’re able to program

nights where we have a diverse spectrum of music that is curated to work well with each other.

TIR: The first concert of the series took place on March 9th. How did you find the bands that were there - Quality Living, Ruby Bones, LKFFCT, and C.R. Gennone?

MP: We had booked Quality Living and Ruby Bones for a test run show during the last successful craft beer night. We had worked closely with those two bands in curating these lineups, looking to support our local musicians with a proper hall, in hopes that the local community will support these great local acts and acclimate to finally having a local music venue in town.

TIR: How do you feel this music series will help downtown Rutherford support and further promote the arts?

MP: I think this music series will help immensely as this area has been without a proper concert hall for some time now. Musicians need this. The community needs this. There’s little socialization outside of dining in our downtown. With each event we’ve hosted, from the successful craft beer nights, makers' markets, film premieres to hosting nationally touring comedy acts, we see the added attention the downtown strip gets. People go out to eat before the majority of our events. It’s a natural mutually supported relationship that comes with having an active arts center anchored in the center of our downtown. It’s continued growing with each program and we honestly share in everyone’s excitement at having nightly music finally added to our town’s happenings.