In only its third year, The Avenue J Music Festival at The Barnacle is attracting plenty of attention: big crowds and big-name stars.
This year’s headliner is Alex Clare. The London-born musician is one of those fairytale rise-to-fame stories. He first earned a deal with the Island Records label in the United Kingdom, where he was paired with producers Diplo and Switch. “The Lateness of the Hour.” It contained the track “Too Close,” which was released in 2011, but the debut album failed to make a dent on the charts, so Island dropped him. It didn’t help that he had turned down an April tour with a world-famous entertainer, which would have helped hype his album. But April? That’s Passover. His strict observance made those dates null and void.
After the Island fallout and the pop-star snub, the singer-songwriter was almost penniless. He decided to take a break from music and go to Israel where he enrolled at yeshivah, thinking he would be there for a while, but Microsoft changed all that.
He was in Israel when Microsoft came knocking for his song “Too Close” to use as a backdrop for the introduction of its Internet Explorer 9. That’s when the world stood up and took notice of Alex Clare. After Microsoft licensed “Too Close” for one of its ads, the musician broke the Billboard Top 100, reaching No. 7 in America, No. 4 in the United Kingdom and No. 1 in Germany. He became an almost overnight sensation with fans hungry for more. Island came calling, too, and signed him again.
He released his second album, ‘Three Hearts,” in 2014, recording it in studios in both Los Angeles and London. An international tour in support of the album wowed crowds in Switzerland, Russia, and Germany, plus the United States The songwriter received the ASCAP PRS Music Writer of the Year Award in 2014.
Also on the triple threat lineup is Zusha, a Hasidic hipster soul band from New York, and returning for the second time to Avenue J is Moshav, a dynamic duo who blend rock, soul and Israeli sound.
Organized by Chabad of the Grove, the distinctly alternative music festival with religious undertones attracted over 3,000 attendees in its second year at The Barnacle last year.
“The Festival is all about bringing people together for an incredible evening of music, food and community in the heart of Coconut Grove,” says Rabbi Getzy Fellig of Chabad of the Grove, presenters of the event.
The festival, is Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at The Barnacle State Park at 3485 Main Highway, Coconut Grove. Tickets are $36. Various food and drink vendors will be on site.
More information about the 3rd annual Avenue J Music Festival and purchase tickets at www.avenuejfestival.com. Sponsorship packages are available which include a meet and greet with headliner Alex Clare.
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Go getzy