Spring Lake Heights Recreation's First 2001 Summer Concert Is
A Success
by Sherri Sage for The Coast Star
August, 2001
"The concert was wonderful," said Councilwoman Mary Beth McKnight
of the Spring Lake Heights Recreation Department's first outdoor concert of the
summer or 2001.
The concert, which was held last Friday evening in Allaire Road Park, was a
performance by Nicole D'Angelo, a Belmar resident.
Ms. D'Angelo not only sang her heart out for the crowd, but she also showed
off her many other talents, by adding in some guitar, harmonica, and keyboard
playing during the evening.
The full-time music teacher for the Livingston Public School System spends
her summers performing for organizations, as well as at restaurants in Monmouth
and Ocean counties.
She also continues to perform at local events during the school year on
weekends.
Last week's Spring Lake Heights concert, which was part of the recreation
department's summer concert series, was one of Ms. D'Angelo's best performances,
the singer noted.
Ms. D'Angelo said for the first time in her life, she received a standing
ovation from the crowd.
"It was unbelievable," she noted. "It blew me away."
Ms. D'Angelo said she performed a few extra songs because she had such a good
audience.
"They were shouting out 'one more song,'" she noted.
Ms. D'Angelo attributes her success with the Spring Lake Heights audience to
the fact that she performed music to appeal to all generations.
In her mix of songs, she included jazz, oldies, country, and more.
Some of the selections performed by Ms. D'Angelo were "I Will
Survive," "Achy Breaky Heart," "La Bamba,"
"Crazy," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love,"
"Jailhouse Rock," and "YMCA."
I try to pick popular music from each genre so most people know the songs
even if they don't like that type of music," noted Ms. D'Angelo. "I
play songs people can sing to," she added.
Ms. D'Angelo said her goal at each of her concerts is to make sure everybody
has a good time, which she believes is "part of the whole experience. They
get a kick out of it."
The crowd definitely had a good time at last Friday's concert, she said,
noting that several children ran up to the stage, faced the audience and taught
the crowd the YMCA dance.
"It was music for all audiences," she said.
One example of combining the old with the new was a medley Ms. D'Angelo
performed of "Rock Around the Clock" mixed with "Jump, Jive, and
Wail."
Ms. D'Angelo said the way she chooses her songs for each concert is different
than the way most singers choose their songs.
She does not write a set list for each event like she used to, she noted.
Instead, Ms. D'Angelo likes to look around at the crowd and get a feeling for
what song would fit next judging by the audience's reaction during her current
song.
Ms. D'Angelo said she was surprised at the amount of people that attended the
concert, regardless of the fact that the weather forecast called for rain.
"There was a big crowd," she noted.
According to Ms. McKnight, close to 150 people attended the concert.
Ms. D'Angelo has been performing at local concerts, as well as private
parties, for the past six years.
The 23 year-old believes she is "very fortunate at this point to have
developed a following."
She noted that many people attend all of her concerts no matter where they
live.
This has been a big help in the hiring process, Ms. D'Angelo noted, as
restaurants, in particular, call her to perform because she brings people in.
She said her mailing list is also definitely helping, as she has 1,200 people
currently on the list.
Those who are interested in being part of the list sign up at the concerts
and receive a schedule three times per year, with four months worth of events on
each one.
She also has her own website, www.musicbynicole.net, which gives updates for
her "Music By Nicole" entertainment schedules as well as other
information.
Ms. D'Angelo said she has always been involved with music and took voice,
piano, and guitar lessons during her lifetime.
The first music job she remembers having was at Strollo's in Belmar, which
began her local music career.
Ms. D'Angelo received a bachelor's degree in music education from William
Paterson University in Wayne in 2000, where her concentration was voice and her
minor was piano.
She is a 1996 graduate of Hanover Park High School in East Hanover.
Ms. D'Angelo said what she believes sets her apart from other performers is
that her music sounds like a five-piece band, "rather than just me."
She makes this possible by sequencing music, which she learned to do by
teaching herself.
This involves her personally layering the tracks through the keyboard in
order to make songs sound like a band performing them.
She said some performers choose to do this by downloading music from the
Internet, however, she prefers to record the music herself.
"I record the parts I can't play live," she said.
According to Ms. McKnight, after the concert, she received many phone calls
from residents who enjoyed the concert and requested that Ms. D'Angelo perform
in the borough again next summer.
Ms. McKnight said the recreation department is definitely planning on having
her back again, and said that besides the concert given by Ms. D'Angelo, the
recreation department will also hold a second concert next Monday evening, also
in Allaire Road Park.
The concert will be performed by Joe Finn and will begin at 7p.m., and like
last week's concert it will also be free to the public.
Those attending are asked to bring their own lawn chairs.
In case of rain, the concert will be moved to the Spring Lake Heights
Elementary School.
Ms. McKnight said the recreation department is planning to sponsor three
concerts next year, since this summer's concerts are "being met with such
success."
