November 9, 2023
The January 20, 2024 main event of Light of Day Winterfest 2024, also known as "Bob's Birthday Bash" in honor of The Light of Day Foundation, Inc.'s co-founder Bob Benjamin, will take place at The Count Basie Center for the Arts' Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre in Red Bank, NJ. The headlining act will be Max Weinberg's Jukebox, featuring Mighty Max supported by the members of The Weeklings.
Other venues hosting LOD WinterFest 2024 shows include: Asbury Park’s Stone Pony, Wonder Bar, McLoone’s Supper Club, Watermark, Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel; Deal’s Axelrod Performing Arts Center; Outpost In The Burbs in Montclair; City Winery in Manhattan and Philadelphia; and Penguin Rep Theatre in Stony Point, NY. All performances and events will raise money and awareness for the continuing battle to defeat Parkinson’s disease and its related illnesses ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) within our lifetime.
Tickets for “Bob’s Birthday Bash” featuring Max Weinberg's Jukebox, as well as a separate Winterfest tribute-bands show scheduled for January 12 (along with various ticket combo packages,) will go on sale tomorrow, Friday, November 10 at 10:00 am ET and will be available via theBASIE.org, the Basie Center box office onsite at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank and through Ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices range from $89.50-$425.50 (plus additional fees where applicable) with various multi-tiered packages being offered: “On-Stage All-Access,” “Platinum All-Access,” Gold All-Access,” “Silver All-Access,” and “Bronze All-Access." Tickets for all other WinterFest 2024 performances will go on sale on Friday, November 17. For more details on lineups, performances and ticket packages, visit LightofDay.org.
The Light of Day Foundation, Inc., utilizes the power of music to raise money and awareness in its continuing battle to defeat Parkinson’s disease and its related illnesses ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) within our lifetime. The concerts and the organization began as a birthday party in November 1998 at the Downtown Cafe in Red Bank, NJ to celebrate the 40th birthday of artist manager and music industry veteran Bob Benjamin. Benjamin had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, and in lieu of gifts, asked that donations be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. Over $2,000 was raised that night. Spurred by the generosity and support, Benjamin reached out to friends, including concert promoter Tony Pallagrosi and musician Joe D’Urso, and formed the Light of Day charity, taking its name from the Bruce Springsteen song. The first official Light of Day concert was held at Asbury Park, NJ’s legendary Stone Pony in November 2000 and primarily featured local, unsigned artists. The critically acclaimed Pittsburgh-based band Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers (managed by Benjamin) headlined the show, which featured a surprise appearance by Bruce Springsteen, who joined the Houserockers for a raucous hour-long set. Over the years Light of Day has grown from a one-day event into a festival spanning 10 days in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area. More significantly, Light of Day has expanded into an internationally recognized tour, through a true grassroots effort of musicians, music fans and benefactors. Light of Day shows take place around the world on three continents, including six shows in Canada, an eighteen-days late-November-into-December trek through Europe, with stops in England, Wales, Ireland, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Spain, as well as an additional Light of Day event in Australia. Portions of the proceeds from each show are donated to a local Parkinson's organization. Just Around The Corner, an award-winning documentary about Bob Benjamin’s battle with Parkinson’s and the history of Light of Day (with extensive concert footage,) was produced by Ohio-based Flat Broke Productions and released by Virgil Films in 2012. Click here to purchase the DVD and/or click here for DVD/streaming options.