Arts & Entertainment

VooDUDES Return to South Brunswick Jazz Café Feb.1

Popular act blends New Orleans funk, blues, boogie-woogie and honky-tonk with a pinch of Zydeco, southern soul and Caribbean party music.

The VooDudes will bring their usual lively mix of zydeco, blues and New Orleans Jazz when they return to the township’s Jazz Café on Friday night, Feb. 1. 

The concert starts at 8 p.m. in the Herb Eckert Auditorium at the South Brunswick Municipal Complex, 540 Ridge Road. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. 

What is this voodoo that the VooDUDES do? Well first you gotta make a Roux. Then add in some New Orleans funk, blues, boogie-woogie and honky-tonk. Add a pinch of Zydeco, southern soul and Caribbean party music and let it simmer ‘til it’s real thick.

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 In the vast VooDUDES library of original songs, nothing is sacred. Whether it’s imploding the hits of Hank Williams into the ultimate drivin’ and cryin’ songs (That Hank Williams Feeling”), or eulogizing the Southern jazz funeral (“Party When You’re Gone”), The VooDUDES do it all—and with a beat that will make you move your feet.

The VooDUDES have been featured in numerous festivals, including The Red Bank Hedges Blues Festival, Philadelphia’s “Jambalaya Jam,” New York’s “Benson & Hedges Blues Festival” and Ft. Lauderdale’s “Crazy Crawfish Fest.” They’ve shared the stage with many of their favorite musicians—such as Dr. John, Levon Helm, Branford Marsalis, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Buckwheat Zydeco, C.J. Chenier, Chubby Carrier and Mavis Staples.

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The band has performed from Montreal to New Orleans, and also toured in Europe. They’ve produced six CDs: I’ve Been VooDUDE, Wake the Dead, Night of the Living ‘DUDES, Block Party, Let ‘em Roll and Take Cover.

The VooDudes are Dave Ambrosy, vocals and drums;  Gary Ambrosy, vocals and guitar;  Andy Berenstein, vocals, harmonica, percussion and rub-board; Fred Saunders, bass and beads; and John Pittas, keys and accordion. 

Sponsored by the South Brunswick Arts Commission, the Jazz Café is a monthly series of Friday night concerts. Admission is $6; refreshments included, and this performance is a BYOB show. For more information, please contact the South Brunswick Arts Commission (732-329-4000, ext. 7635) or arts@sbtnj.net


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