For 15 years, the biannual Hoboken Arts and Music festival has drawn thousands of people to Washington Street for the all-day, free event. In addition to homemade crafts and great local food, this year’s spring festival features pop sensation Val Emmich and ’60s icons The Box Tops on Sunday, May 3 (see sidebar for details).
Anticipating approximately 50,000 patrons, the festival welcomes over 300 artists and craftspeople who will display and sell all sorts of handmade artwork. From pottery, metalwork, woodwork, blown and fused glass, quilts, and items made of recycled materials, the festival has something for everyone. Collectors of fine art will be looking for a steal between Second and Third Streets, where oil paintings, watercolors, acrylics, and sculptures will be available for viewing or purchase.
“New York City has always been one of our biggest fans.” – Bill Cunningham, of the Box Tops.
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‘The Letter’
The Grammy-nominated Box Tops have toured heavily with The Beach Boys, The Doors, and most recently The Rascals, and will perform on the main stage outside of City Hall at 4:30 p.m.
“The New York area is always a great gig for us,” said founding member and bassist Bill Cunningham. “New York City has always been one of our biggest fans.”
Originally from Memphis, Tenn., the band is best known for their 1967 hit “The Letter” (you might know it for the lyrics “My baby wrote me a letter…”) which topped the billboard charts for over four weeks. Now, after reuniting in 1996, not much has changed since the early days.
“Personality wise, it’s funny how we all hover back to our old selves,” Cunningham said. “Even though we’re older now and have grown, the group still feels very much the same. We’re all the same kids that haven’t really grown up.”
Although the band still feels the same, the music has definitely matured since the late ’60s. After leaving the band, Cunningham received bachelor and master degrees in music performance and has played the upright bass in several orchestras, including the President’s Own Orchestra in Washington D.C., where he performed for the likes of such distinguished guests as Queen Elizabeth, George Harrison, and Kerry Grant.
“Our technical ability is definitely much greater now,” Cunningham said. “We have learned to listen to each other a lot more. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a huge crowd of 20,000 or a small club, playing live is such a unique experience. The interaction with the audience and the band’s reactions, it’s the closest thing to sex you can think of. It’s something that’s much bigger than the artist or the crowd.”
Although the band is now scattered across the country, they do manage to get together for a handful of gigs a year.
“We all have different jobs now, inside or outside of the music industry,” Cunningham said. “So it’s sort of rare for us to come and perform. It’s a chance for us to reconnect and say hello. And musically it’s a blast. ”
Although the rollercoaster life of a rock star can be a turbulent one, Cunningham is thankful to still be performing with the band.
“I was 17 at the time that ‘The Letter’ hit,” Cunningham said who added his parents had to sign his checks. “I was a real dreamer back then. Seeing so many people come to town [Memphis] and become big stars, I dreamt of that same stardom. Being able to experience that has been so surreal, like a magical trip and really wonderful from that perspective.”
For more information on the Box Tops, visit www.boxtops.com or come down to City Hall and see the band perform live.
The 15th annual Hoboken Spring Arts and Musical Festival takes place on Sunday, May 3 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sponsors of this year’s event include WRXP, Port Authority Trans-Hudson , Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Optimum, The Hudson Reporter, NJ Division of Travel and Tourism, and NJ Transit.
On the Main stage…
Mad Happy at 12 p.m.
Wild Carnation at 1 p.m.
Yung Wu at 1:30 p.m.
East of Venus at 2 p.m.
Val Emmich at 3 p.m.
The Box Tops at 4:30 p.m.
On the Sixth Street stage…
Bandwidth at 12:30 p.m.
The Verdict at 1:15 p.m.
2nd Fiddles at 2:15 p.m.
Clueless at 3:15 p.m.
Joe Taino at 4:15 p.m.
On the Kidz stage…
Hanna Valente at 11:15 a.m.
Polka Dot Pals at 12 p.m.
“A Year With Frog and Toad” at 1 p.m.
Bonnie Bess the Pirate at 2 p.m.
Polka Dot Pals at 3 p.m.
“A Year With Frog and Toad” at 4 p.m.
Polka Dot Pals at 5 p.m.