Hudson County music groups to perform Saturday at daylong fundraiser to benefit Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery
Published: Friday, May 11, 2012, 3:03 AM
Summer Dawn Hortillosa / For
The Jersey JournalTen local music acts will band together at the Pushing Up the Daisies Festival benefiting the Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery.
Host and organizer Tony Susco - better known as “Dancing Tony” - said he hopes the event will help the cemetery stay alive.
In April, cemetery officials announced that money was so tight that they weren’t able to pay an electricity bill. Unable to sell new plots or even touch a $50,000 grant from the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund until it is matched, the cemetery relies on donations to survive.
Officials estimate that maintaining the six-acre cemetery, which was founded in 1828, costs $3,000 a month which includes utility payments for the land and caretaker’s house, which Susco said houses two veterans who work on the cemetery in lieu of rent.
Susco has organized several events for the cemetery before, including the Ghost of Uncle Joe’s Halloween benefit, which was a success in 2010 but was sabotaged by a snowstorm last year.
“We ended up having the event indoors and lost a considerable amount of potential funds. I thought we would’ve raised $6,000 to $8,000 but we raised less than $2,000. It covered heating expenses for the winter, but it was less than we wanted,” he said. “So this year I made a pledge that we’d set up an earlier spring fundraiser; that’s where this came about.”
Susco said the musical lineup had “something for everyone.”
“It starts off on a lighter note with
Scott Wolfson and the Other Heroes, who are indie-folk;
The Gully Hubbards, who cover a lot of old and new standards; and
Leaf Pile has a very dreamy, indie-pop style,” he said, adding that the turning point comes after performances by
Bob Parins and
Awkward Girls.
“(At 5 p.m. we have)
Winner Takes all Collective which is has a funk-soul fusion and then
The United States of Bugaloo project. In the grand finale,
The Nico Blues,
Cicada Radio and
Wyldlife are all pretty much stand-up rock bands,” said Susco.
He added that guests will also be able to enjoy food and drinks, buy flowers for Mom and learn about Jersey City history at the event.
The Pushing Up The Daisies Music Festival will be held at the cemetery, 435 Newark Ave., Jersey City, tomorrow from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. Suggested donation is $10. For more information, visit
JerseyCityCemetery.org or
RockitDocket.com.
