Here’s To The Arts

A cozy oasis of art, music, booze, coffee and wireless internet.

Thanks mostly to the vision of owner Art and his wife Willie, this place is a real treat. Seriously easy to get to by train and chock full of art and music.


A cozy oasis of art, music, booze, coffee and wireless internet

From Hoboken or NYC’s Penn Station you can hop on a NJ Transit train to Maplewood. Be careful though, at times the train from Hoboken runs express from Newark Broad Street to Milburn. No problem though, you can just hop on the train going in the other direction for one stop. As happened to me. But I digress.

Thanks mostly to the vision of owner Art and his wife Willie, this place is a real treat. Seriously easy to get to by train and chock full of art and music. Potentially overwhelming to the senses you are greeted by paintings, dancing lights, a wall of guitars, musical delicacies and an assortment of beverages.

Despite all of that, your senses will fair just fine. Actually, with the cultural barometer in the NYC area seriously falling, they will do flips of joy in knowing that this oasis exists in New Jersey. My friend and musical collaborator Steve Hayden described it as, “If there were a highway in the Twilight Zone, this would be the rest stop.”

We were there along with Eric Schmitz and Nelson Pla to rehearse as our band Ya-Ne-Zniyoo prepares for our final show ever. I have to say we pulled off a tight set after only having rehearsed for the first time the night before. You see, Steve just joined up recently and Nelson hasn’t played with me since 1991.

After we finished, Art played some classy, jazzy keyboards and sang. Willie sang a few tunes too and Eric’s dad Hal got up to perform Mack the Knife. All the while wives and kids scampered about the place. A fun time was had by all.

So if you’re like me and crave vibrant, creative spaces with fair prices and an inviting, local feel then hop on the train to Maplewood and walk the few blocks over to Here’s To The Arts. You won’t be disappointed.

If you’re in a band and looking for a cool, mellow place to play then check it out. Yes it’s tiny. The stage is a bit cramped, the drum kit is barely three pieces and you cannot move Art’s keyboard rig out of the way. Heck I had to stand on the floor in front of the stage area for lack of room. But the sound is fantastic and the mood is so chill that you won’t care about the claustrophobic tendencies.

See Also:
Here’s To The Arts
Ya-Ne-Zniyoo
NJ Transit’s Need for Clarity


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