Features performances influential DJ-rapper Funk Flex,
plus Battle of the Bands, Freestyle Night & Charity Car Show
CARTERET, NJ – The Carteret Music Festival & Annual Charity Carnival return Sept. 18 to 21 to Carteret Park. Highlights will include a Battle of the Bands on Sept. 18, a Freestyle Night on Sept. 20, the 48th Annual Ethnic Day celebration of the most culturally diverse town in Central Jersey on Sept. 21, and lots of rides, game, food, more music and other family fun throughout.
The Carnival will benefit The Mayor’s Children’s Charity Trust, which also will benefit from the 20th Annual Classic Car Show on Sept. 22 also in Carteret Park. In 2003 at the beginning of his first term, Mayor Daniel J. Reiman recognized that the Borough’s younger residents often lack the finances needed to achieve their goals. The Trust Fund was created with the knowledge that these children are often high achievers with great potential who with proper financial support could continue on a path of success. The nonprofit supports education, health, athletics, art and culture.
“The Charity Carnival is a long-standing tradition here in Carteret,” Mayor Reiman said. “With summer coming to an end and the children returning to school, the Carnival is a great way to mark the end of the season as a community and raise money for a great cause. The Children’s Charity Trust Fund realizes the importance of helping our neighbors in their greatest times of need.
“Carteret is one of the most culturally diverse towns in New Jersey,” the Mayor continued. “Ethnic Day is an opportunity for us to highlight what makes Carteret unique as a community. Carteret is the melting pot of Central Jersey. We have so many different cultures coming together to form a strong communal bond and contribute to making Carteret a great place to live. Our annual Ethnic Day is a reflection of that diversity as is our fantastic music lineup.”
This year’s headliner for Ethnic Day is Funk Flex, a celebrated DJ and rapper from New York and host of the first-ever hip-hop show on Hot 97, which he still airs today. Past Ethnic Day headliners have included Shaggy, Spin Doctors, C&C Music Factory, Smash Mouth, Sister Hazel, Taylor Hicks, Gin Blossoms and Carteret’s own New Jersey Hall of Famers The Smithereens.
On Sept. 21, Ethnic Day also will include food, art, craft vendors and cultural performances from 12-6 p.m., the Charity Carnival from 3 p.m. to midnight, and fireworks at 9:30 p.m.
Hosted by Tommy Nappi and Showboat of 103.5 KTU’s Level 2 Freestyle Mix, Freestyle Night performers on Sept. 20 will include:
- Aby Cruz, the founding lead singer of the New York freestyle/house trio TKA, whose hits included “One Way Love,” “Come Get My Love,” “Scars of Love,” and “Tears May Fall”
- David Torres, a New York freestyler whose hits include “No Regrets,” as well as “Diamond Girl” with the vocal trio Nice & Wild
- George Lamond, a freestyler from the Bronx who’s had hits with “Bad of the Heart, “Que Te Vas,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’”
- Giggles, aka Marla Melendez, who in collaboration with songwriter-producer Charlie “Rock” Jimenez, has had hits with “Love Letter” and “Hot Spot”
- Seduction, a female freestyle trio based in New York, whose hits include “Two to Make It Right,” “Could This Be Love,” and “Groove Me.”
The Battle of the Bands will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. on Sept. 18 with several music acts from New Jersey and New York vying for four cash prizes, including a first place prize of $1,500. Participants are:
- The Accelerators, a veteran punk band from Union, NJ, inspired by The Ramones and Carteret’s own The Smithereens
- A Deadly Endeavor, a metal-core band from Weehawken known for their melodic guitars, powerful bass and vocals
- Nebulus, party cover band from New York City
- The Nitro Blues Band, a young rock ‘n’ roll, blues and soul band based out of New Jersey
- Rioz, a Jersey-based dance-music artist whose latest single, “All Night,” is a duet with club diva MAVAA.
The musical festival also will include a performance on Sept. 19 by Larry Stevens Band, whose front man is a veteran of the both the New Jersey and Nashville music scenes. Stevens’ pop-rock originals are played alongside by a variety of covers that span the history of rock.
Other event highlights will include a midway filled with rides, games of chance, vendors, and a variety of food that reflects Carteret’s great cultural diversity.
All four days of the festival are free to attend, but there is a cost for food, beverages, and tickets to rides and games. Family Pack Coupons are 20 for $30 or 45 for $60 throughout the carnival for rides and games.
Festival/carnival hours are 6-10 p.m. Sept. 18, 6-11 p.m. Sept. 19 and 20, and noon to midnight Sept. 21.
Entry fees to the 20th Annual Car Show also will benefit The Mayor’s Children’s Charity Trust. From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., participants will vie for trophies, including the grand Mayor’s Trophy. Attendance is free.
More info also can be found on Carteret.net and @MyCarteret on Facebook, Instagram and X.
