Groove in the Grove comes back to Budd Lake
For singer-songwriter Loretta Hagen, one of the great challenges is getting people to hear her original songs.
So to Hagen, the Groove in the Grove music festival is more than a fun time; it is almost a necessity.
“Songwriters need listeners,” says Hagen, a West Milford resident who first played the Budd Lake music event in 2014. “This festival is a way to get new listeners.”
“Plus, everyone involved is wonderful,” adds Hagen. “The people who run it and the people who attend it are the best.”
That compliment is music to the ears of Clark and Renee Paddock of Ledgewood. Under their corporation, Mountain Ledge Music, the Paddocks created the Groove in the Grove festival in 2011 as a showcase for original music.
The fifth annual Groove in the Grove will return to Vasa Park in Budd Lake this Saturday, June 13.
As in the past, about a dozen performers will appear on two stages. Attendees will also have the chance to buy food and purchase goods from crafters at the daylong event.
The music comes first at Groove in the Grove, according to Clark Paddock. “Originally, we conceived it as a networking event,” he says. “We thought this was a way for musicians to meet each other and make connections.”
That goal has been achieved, Renee Paddock says. “We’re extremely happy when we see that people meet at the Groove and then connect later on the various social media.”
One significant change in the five years since the Paddocks started Groove in the Grove is the visibility of the festival. “We started with nothing, but now we have a reputation,” Clark Paddock says.
That status gave them the support to invite Denny Tilton – a singer-songwriter with a strong following in eastern Pennsylvania and northwest New Jersey – to this year’s festival for the first-time
Many of the acts are gradually developing a regional or even national following, but the Paddocks say that their bias is toward local acts. For example, the twin sisters Nalani & Sarina hail from the Flemington area. Dina Hall comes from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Eclecticism is another hallmark of the Groove in the Grove line-up, Clark Paddock says. “We always try to have a mix of folk, rock, blues, and jazz. We never wanted to have everyone be in the same style.”
This year’s headliner, the Alex Radus Trio, specializes in a swing-jazz sound, according to Clark Paddock. “They have an upright bass and a small drum kit. They have a great sound, and they’ll be a fun way to end the festival,” he says.
However, the majority of the performers tend to play acoustically. “A lot of what we see is more stripped down,” he says. “That gives the festival a more intimate feel.”
One other criterion has also remained constant, and that is the Paddocks’ enthusiasm for the artists.
“We would go to festivals, and the music we most enjoyed was on the side stages,” says Renee Paddock. “These people were putting their heart and soul into their music, and we responded to that.”
Renee Paddock says she and her husband are pleased by the growth of Groove in the Grove in a relatively short time. “We knew when we started that we wouldn’t have thousands of people at first. But we are growing, and we want to continue it.”
5th ANNUAL GROOVE IN THE GROVE
WHAT: Daylong festival spotlighting singer-songwriters, mainly from northern New Jersey, performing original material. Food, beverages, and vendors.
WHEN: 1 to 9 p.m. Saturday, June 13
WHERE: Vasa Park, 1 Wolfe Road, Budd Lake.
TICKETS: $15; $10 for students, free for children age 10 and under. Free parking.
INFORMATION: 973-691-8383 or www.grooveinthegrove.com
ARTISTS INCLUDE: Liz Nordstrom, Chaz DePaolo, Maura Glynn, e’lissa jones, Gregg Cagno, Kathy Phillips, Maribyrd, Loretta Hagen, Dina Hall, Nalani & Sarina, Denny Tilton and an evening concert by the Alex Radus Trio