The Hoboken Spring Arts & Music Festival, an annual harbinger of warmer weather and outdoor music, arrives on Sunday, May 19, with a new look, as homegrown deejay DJ Dugspin closes out the day on the main stage.
While not technically the “headliner” after a controversy over a previously announced closing act, DJ Dugspin’s appearance on the main stage will mark a striking departure from tradition after decades of Baby Boomer-friendly rock bands have held the coveted spot.
The festival made headlines last month when the City Council balked at proposed headliner DJ Rekha, both for her pro-Palestinian politics and her $20,000 fee. (Mayor Bhalla withdrew the contract before putting it up for a vote.) DJ Rekha plays Bhangra, a traditional music from India and Pakistan, while incorporating hip-hop beats, dancehall rhythms, and live percussion.
Born Dugleth Sinning, DJ Dugspin is a lifelong Hobokenite and a popular party DJ throughout Hudson County.
“I consider myself an overall performance deejay,” Sinning said. “So, I jump from genre to genre, depending on the setting and the people in the room. I try not to stay too long on one genre, and I’ll play pop, rock, punk, hip-hop, whatever. I try to test every genre and make it work through the night.”
Sinning got into deejaying almost by accident while a senior in high school when helping a friend, DJ Leverage, one night.
“He went to the bathroom and asked me to play the next song, and I did,” Sinning recalls. “And people started coming up saying, ‘That’s my favorite song, thank you.’ And it made me feel good.”
What to expect from him at the festival?
“High energy music,” Sinning said. “It’ll be different lengths, different genres, there’ll be a nice big bass and the tempo will keep people moving. The energy will be there to get everyone dancing.”
The spring fest marks the first major event under the tenure of Cristin Cricco-Powell, who was appointed as Hoboken’s head of Cultural Affairs in February. Geri Fallo, who’s guided that department for over 30 years, announced her retirement last year but remains at City Hall to help with the transition.
The biannual Arts & Music Festival lines Washington Street from Observer Highway to Seventh Street with booths representing local artists, merchants, service businesses and food vendors. Two stages of music — one at each end of the event — will present a mixed bag of music, with local indie-rock bands like the Dracu-las (surfy garage-rock) and Little Hag (fronted by indie chanteuse Avery Mandeville) perform alongside ethnic ensembles and local youngsters.
The festival has always paid homage to ethnic music and this year will include sets by Lulada Club, an all-female salsa group from New York City; the rootsy Ebony Hillbillies, who call themselves “the last African-American string band in America”; Cajun boogie from Hudson County’s Zydeco Revelators; and reggae from the Brooklyners.
Hoboken’s teenaged punk band 3 Dollars, who played the Seventh Street stage last year, will open the day on the Main Stage. This will be the group’s last appearance in their current incarnation, as guitarist Dylan Daly replaces Theo Shuttleworth.
Guitarist/lead vocalist Arthur Pawley, who’ll be heading to NJCU in the fall, noted, “Getting to play on the main stage is awesome and this will be our last pure show for an indefinite amount of time. But I’m looking to start other local projects and will try to build on our local scene while 3 Dollars is dormant.”
3 Dollars – whose members are all still in high school – are far from the youngest act on the bill. The Seventh Street Stage lineup includes the All Saints Bold Dancers from All Saints Episcopal Day School and a Bollywood routine from the students at Arya Dance Company. Hoboken’s Drum Den, owned by Pete Martinez, will present two of its young students — Shawn Tang and Joseph Dronet — playing drums over backing tracks.
“They are both students of our teacher, Noel Sagerman, a busy local sideman,” Martinez noted, pointing to his work at two Jersey City venues. “He sometimes runs the jam at Moore’s Lounge in Winard (Harper’s) absence and usually hosts the jazz jam at the Brightside Tavern on Monday nights.”
The Seventh Street Stage will also present Hoboken’s own boy band, Dream Boys. Brothers Finn Douglas and Jack Casey are the sons of Annie McLoughlin, owner of Hoboken’s Garden Street School of the Performing Arts. Fallo booked them last year to perform at Sinatra Park and noted that both boys have extensive credits in film, television, and theater.
“Enjoy Broadway hits and songs from the Great American Song Book as this dynamic duo take you through songs and stories from Broadway,” reads their bio.
In the event of inclement weather, the rain date will be Sunday, June 2.
Here’s the schedule:
Seventh Street Stage
12:15: All Saints Bold Dancers
12:30: Arya Dance Company
12:55: Drum Den
1:25: Dream Boys
2:10: Zydeco Revelators
3:30: The Brooklyners
5: The Ebony Hillbillies
Observer Highway Stage
Noon: 3 Dollars
12:50: Dracu-Las
1:35: Little Hag
2:45: Lulada Club
4:45: DJ Dugspin
Jim Testa is on Facebook at facebook.com/Constant-Listener-Jim-Testa-On-Hudson-Music-108591071738628. He can also be reached at jim@jerseybeat.com.
