INFORMATION FOR
Louis Prima Jr. and The Witnesses, a horn-driven, 10-piece New Orleans-style band known for their energetic performances, will perform on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at 8 p.m. in the Shea Center for Performing Arts at William Paterson University in Wayne. The event is part of the WP Presents! series.
The band’s music crosses several genres, from big band and swing to rock and blues, bringing new energy and a current attitude to audiences with what has been called “the wildest show this side of the 60s.” They have recorded two albums, Return of the Wildest (2012) and Blow (2014), both produced on the Warrior Records label and distributed by Universal Music Group. In its first week, Blow, which was recorded at Capitol Records, was the most-added album on American jazz radio and debuted in the CMJ Jazz Chart’s Top 25 and the iTunes’ Top 15 for jazz.
Prima Jr. is the son of legendary entertainer Louis Prima, known for his New Orleans-flavored music and lively performances. Prima had a career that spanned five decades and included record-breaking contracts to perform in Las Vegas where legends such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, and Louis Armstrong would regularly jump on stage with the entertainer and his band. His classic “Sing, Sing, Sing” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame; he won a Grammy for “That Old Black Magic;” and his classic, “Jump, Jive ‘an Wail” went on to start a swing revolution in the 1990s.
Tickets are $50 for Gold Circle; $45 for orchestra and front loge, and $37 for rear loge. There is a 10 percent discount for William Paterson faculty, staff, students, and alumni, as well as senior citizens. All tickets are an additional $5 on the day of the show. To purchase tickets, or for additional information, call the Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office at 973-720-2371 or visit wp-presents.org.
WP Presents! events are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
