The Hopewell Valley Arts Council has been busy.
Since launching Hopewell Valley Stage this past spring, the Arts Council has published a full schedule of Stage programming through December 2026, continued its signature programs such as Tour Des Arts and the Amazing Pumpkin Carve, and hosted numerous gallery exhibitions and art talks throughout Hopewell.
Now, to help patrons take full advantage of everything the organization has to offer, the Arts Council is introducing a membership program and an exclusive stage all-access pass.
The Arts Council membership offers tiers for individuals, families, and artists. Perks include discounts for the Amazing Pumpkin Carve and HVStage performances, free tickets to weeknight “ArtConnect” events, and inclusion (for artist members) in a future Artist/Performer Directory.
The All Access Pass is limited to only 75 pass holders and includes tickets to all eligible Stage events for one year (between 4 and 6 events each month), among other benefits.
The program is offered in celebration of the reopening of the Stage and is not guaranteed past the first year, so interested Stage-goers are encouraged to act quickly.
“Our new membership and All Access programs are wonderful ways to support the arts in Hopewell Valley while also receiving great benefits,” says Carol Lipson, Executive Director of the Hopewell Valley Arts Council. “We’re glad to offer our supporters multiple options so that they can choose the membership that best fits their artistic interests”.
For Hopewell Valley Stage, the membership and All Access programs encourage community members to experience the theater’s full slate of programming, which includes events nearly every weekend.
“I’m excited that the Stage has basically become this family-friendly social club for the arts,” said Theater Manager Maeli Goren-Wilson. “Our membership program and especially the all-access program are extensions of that community idea – a way to welcome our neighbors again and again so we can get to know each other and celebrate creativity”.
While HV Arts Council Memberships are available indefinitely, all-access passes will only be offered until Nov. 1 (or while supplies last).
Both all-access passes and HV Arts Council Memberships are available for purchase at https://hvstage.org/memberships/.
All Access and HVArts Council Members will be able to apply their benefits to events at Hopewell Valley Stage starting on October 1st.
Fall events at the Stage are listed below, with tickets for all events through December coming soon.
Pop Folk:
Marvelous Manhattan Mandolins
Friday, September 11 at 7:30 p.m.
The Marvelous Manhattan Mandolins is a new super group of NYC musicians joining forces for an eclectic night of crowd pleasing hits… on mandolins. Members of this “Band O Mandos” have performed with Bette Midler, PM Dawn, Bettye LaVette, the Ambitious Lovers, the Nashville Symphony, the New York Pops, The American Symphony Orchestra, and numerous Broadway shows on stages from CBGBs and the Bitter End to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Beacon Theatre, Town Hall, and The Newport Folk Festival. These virtuosic players now come together in their love of stellar popular music. The show is warm and engaging and features a set list that includes well known TV themes and covers from The Beatles to Steely Dan… all on mandolin!
Improv Comedy:
Yes, Chef!
Friday, September 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Yes, Chef! celebrates food, chefs, and comedy, through the improvisational stylings of performers from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central, the New Yorker, the Second City, the Brooklyn Comedy Collective, and more! Come join us for a snack and a laugh.
Micro Music Festival:
Small Bites
Saturday, September 19 at 7 p.m.
Our bimonthly micro music festival is back! Small Bites is a “tasting menu” for adventurous listeners featuring 4 short concerts in 1. Each act in the multigenre lineup has a bold flavor all its own, and the concert ends with a tasty jam session that brings them together for the first and only time. Small Bites is a Hopewell Valley Stage original concept that celebrates courageous artists and audiences and the unique chemistry of live performance.
Jazz:
Soul Jazz Harvest Concert ft. Lawrence Haber Collective + Danjonian Project
Friday, October 2 at 7 p.m.
A double album release featuring Lawrence Haber Collective and The Danjonian Project. Original music inspired by 70s Jazz Fusion, 80s Electric Funk, the pageantry of Classic Rock, and the deep grooves of the Neo soul movement. The region’s most accomplished musical improvisers combine visions for a deeply fulfilling jazz harvest.
Interview and Q&A:
Dr. Donald Hoffman: The Interface We Call Reality
Saturday, October 3rd at 4 p.m.
For more than three decades, cognitive scientist Donald D. Hoffman has pursued a radical possibility: human perception does not reveal reality as it truly is. Evolution shaped our senses to provide a useful interface, not an objective picture of the world. The space, time and physical objects we experience may therefore be comparable to the icons on a computer screen: practical representations that conceal a deeper reality.
This conversation will introduce Hoffman’s scientific work and the mission of the TRACE Research Institute, which hopes to contribute to new approaches in artificial intelligence including interpretability, recursive reasoning, self-modeling and forms of computation that go beyond today’s large language models. The central question is: What becomes possible when science stops treating consciousness as a late product of matter and begins investigating the observer as part of the foundation of reality?
Indie Album Release:
The Spider & The Stars: Album Release by All.Is.On.
Friday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m.
A live performance of the debut album of composer/vocalist Allison Spann and producer/musician Scott Li, childhood next-door neighbors (Cranbury, NJ!) turned beloved collaborators. The story of a spider who spins her web between the stars, this genre bending contemporary classical album will move you and set your imagination on fire.
Global Dance Music:
Red Baraat
Saturday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Red Baraat is a pioneering band from Brooklyn, New York. Conceived by dhol player Sunny Jain, the group has drawn worldwide praise for its singular sound, a merging of hard driving Punjabi rhythms with elements of hip-hop, jazz and raw punk energy. You’ve seen them jam with Ed Sheeran in the Netflix show “One Shot” and heard them on the song “Ai Miei Amici” with Italian Superstar, Jovanotti. The band’s 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Concert is touted as the #8 top performance of all time by New York Magazine and their 2025 album, Bhangra Rangeela (Sinj Records), confirms they are one of most vital bands out there.
Singer/Songwriter:
Rhett Miller of Old 97’s
Thursday, October 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Rhett Miller is a revered singer-songwriter known for his more than three decades fronting the popular rock band Old 97’s, who were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2025 Americana Awards at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. After two independent releases, Miller and the 97’s signed to Elektra Records and released the critically acclaimed Too Far to Care. Their 13th studio album American Primitive was released on ATO Records in the spring of 2024. Between projects with the Old 97’s, Miller has released eight solo albums, including his most recent A lifetime of riding by night in 2025.
Magic:
Hoodwinked: A Magical History of Deception With Tommy White
Friday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Tommy White’s fascination with magic began with an appreciation for story. After reading about Harry Houndini, he was taken with the idea that any lock could be picked with a two inch piece of wire. By age 11, Tommy was picking every lock he could get his hands on. In Hoodwinked: A Magical History of Deception, Tommy warmly shares the legacy of modern magic as he inherited it from imaginative entertainers and inventors who came before him. You’ll laugh, gasp, question what you thought you knew about reality, and gain a new appreciation for the art of magic. While young people are welcome to attend, please note that this is not a children’s magic show. Recommended for audiences 7+.
Halloween Concert:
Stevie’s Blue Lamp plays Stevie Nicks & Fleetwood Mac
Saturday, October 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Stevie’s Blue Lamp celebrates the music and mystique of Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac with a powerful, atmospheric Halloween performance. Led by singer Jessica Star and backed by an exceptional band of seasoned musicians, the show brings beloved classics to life with soaring vocals, rich harmonies, and rock-and-roll energy- honoring the spirit of the original music while creating an experience that feels vibrant, immediate, and alive. Costumes are welcome!
