THE PRUDENTIAL NORTH TO SHORE FESTIVAL CELEBRATED THE LAUNCH OF A FULL YEAR OF COMMUNITY ARTS PROGRAMMING IN ATLANTIC CITY

Concerts, workshops, art installations, dances and more will fill twelve months with events featuring local artists and organizations

A family-friendly music festival, a block party and a day of skateboarding and punk rock to highlight inaugural week of events

The Prudential North to Shore Festival celebrated the launch of a year-long community arts programming initiative in Atlantic City with a kick-off event at The Terrace at the Hard Rock Casino Hotel.

Dozens of local artists, nonprofit leaders and city officials gathered to inaugurate the series, which will bring dozens of events featuring artists who live, work and perform in Atlantic City to local venues from June 14, 2025, through May 30, 2026. These events represent the festival’s investment of $176,000 in the local creative economy and will provide access to the arts for all of the diverse communities of Atlantic City.

A number of events will take place during the effort’s opening week, June 14 through June 21, including:

• The Orange Loop Block Party in The Garden at Carnival Restaurant, where the DJ collective Weekday Underground will spin tunes as visitors shop at an artisan marketplace and join hands-on art projects, from noon to 5 PM on June 14;
• SkateAC’s third annual Bash at Back Sov, a day-long skateboarding competition with performances by local bands, including A.C.’s punk powerhouse Gutter Drunk, from 1 to 7 PM on June 14 at the community-built Back Sov Skate Park;
• Global Grooves, a multicultural festival of music, food and art at O’Donnell Memorial Park, featuring local favorites Mums the Word, 1 to 5 PM June 15;
• The first of two Summer Concerts at Gardner’s Basin, presented by The National R&B Music Society, featuring Atlantic City artists including the Ty Turner Band, The Cason Express Show Band with SiSi Dash and Judah Dorrington & Paradise, from 1 to 7 PM June 21, in historic Gardner’s Basin.

Many of these events will be produced with Prudential North to Shore’s Community Arts Awards. Each year, the festival works closely with an Advisory Group of Atlantic City’s arts and culture leaders to select local artists, arts organizations, nonprofits, and small businesses that will receive Community Arts Awards of up to $10,000 each to produce free or reasonably priced events for the community.

Prudential North to Shore was conceived by Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy in 2023. The festival, produced by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), returns this year with Prudential Financial as the title sponsor, in celebration of its 150th anniversary, and with a special focus on comedy and music.

In addition to a year of community arts events in Atlantic City, the festival will offer mainstage performances in Asbury Park and Newark, and present events featuring local artists in those cities, from June 14 through June 29, 2025, only.

“Prudential North to Shore has always focused on shining a spotlight on the artists who make their homes in iconic New Jersey cities,” said John Schreiber, President and CEO of NJPAC. “Their creativity, their spirit, make this state the remarkable place it is. Now, for the first time, in Atlantic City we are turning up the volume on these Jersey creatives for a whole year, pouring new energy into this community’s artistic ecosystem.”

In addition to the exciting year-long lineup of events, Prudential North to Shore will also present several series of special performances and workshops focused on particular audiences or genres:

• Artists from Atlantic City and from across New Jersey will step into the spotlight through a new performance series produced in partnership with the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino: Garden State Live. Three emerging New Jersey artists will be featured at each of these monthly Friday-night concerts at the Casino’s Sound Wave Theater. Tickets will be reasonably priced at $10 to allow Atlantic City residents to enjoy these performances by New Jersey’s newest musical stars.
• The festival looks forward to partnering with the Atlantic City Board of Education to present Books on the Move — interactive literacy workshops that bring picture books about great artists of color to life for second graders in Atlantic City elementary schools. Books on the Move, a much-loved offering at schools and libraries in Essex and Hudson counties, intends to expand its reach to offer children and families in Atlantic City a fun and easy introduction to reading and to the arts. We anticipate presenting Book on the Move workshops in the city’s public schools starting in Fall 2025; participating children will be featured in a free public performance for family and friends, based on Andrea Davis Pinkney’s celebrated children’s book, Alvin Ailey, as the series’ finale in Spring 2026.
• Additionally, the festival will bring five poetry workshops for adults to Atlantic City throughout the year; more details on this initiative will be announced soon.

Events to be produced by Atlantic City’s Prudential North to Shore Community Arts Awards recipients after the initiative’s inaugural week include:

Awardee: The National R&B Music Society Inc. – The National R&B Music Society Presents “The 2025 FREE Summer Concerts at Gardner’s Basin” featuring Atlantic City artists Chris-N-Teeb, Village Bridge, Special Occasion, and Shawn Rock | 7/26/2025 at 1:00 PM | The Historic Gardner’s Basin, 800 N. New Hampshire Ave.

Awardee: John Brancy John Brancy and Peter Dugan Live at the 609 Club | 8/23/2025 at 8:30 PM | The Celebrity Theater at The Claridge Hotel 123 S Indiana Ave.

Awardee: Hispanic Association of Atlantic County Atlantic City Latino Festival | 9/6/2025 at 12:00 PM | Showboat at the Boardwalk Boardwalk & New Jersey Ave.

Awardee: Mary Cross Mary Cross’ Phyllis Hyman Musical Tribute | 10/4/2025 at 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM | RESORTS Casino Hotel – The Screening Room 1133 Boardwalk

Awardee: AC Pride 2nd Annual Dancing Under the Rainbow to Benefit the LGBTQ+ Community | October 2025 Date and Time To Be Announced | Venue To Be Announced

Awardee: Noyes Museum of Art of Stockton University Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Celebration | 11/1/2025 at 4:00 PM | Noyes Arts Garage 2200 Fairmount Ave.

Awardee: Atlantic City Arts Foundation ARTeriors 2025 | 11/7/2025 at 6:00 PM | Commercial Vacant Building To Be Announced

Awardee: Derek K. Cason and The Cason Express Show Band AC Jamming: Angela Burton and Passion | 1/17/2026 at 6:00 PM | Gin Rickey’s Live Music Bar, 2831 Boardwalk

AC Jamming: The Cason Express Show Band | 2/14/2026 at 6:00 PM | Gin Rickey’s Live Music Bar, 2831 Boardwalk

AC Jamming: Gina Roche | 3/14/2026 at 6:00 PM | Gin Rickey’s Live Music Bar, 2831 Boardwalk

AC Jamming: Valorie Newman | 4/11/2026 at 6:00 PM | Gin Rickey’s Live Music, Bar 2831 Boardwalk

AC Jamming: The Jazzmen | 5/15/2026 at 6:00 PM | Gin Rickey’s Live Music Bar, 2831 Boardwalk

The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) is a proud partner of the North to Shore Festival and the creative expansion into year-round community arts programming in Atlantic City.  CRDA has been a partner since 2022, investing $430,000 to support Atlantic City’s arts and cultural community.

More Prudential North to Shore Festival community arts events will be added to the calendar throughout the year. For updates, visit northtoshore.com.