Jernee Mill Rd. club
Starland Ballroom will
replace Hunka Bunka
Concerts East has big plans for
STEVEN M. BARON Concerts East will soon announce its first shows scheduled for the Starland Ballroom.
Jernee Mill Rd. club
BY JOLENE HART
Staff Writer
With new ownership will come a new name and image for the Sayreville nightclub formerly known as the Hunka Bunka Ballroom.
Late November will bring the grand reopening of the venue that will now be known to club-goers as the Starland Ballroom.
The new owners, Gate to Wire LLC, comprised of Concerts East Inc. and other private investors, hope to improve the club and create what was described in a press release from the company as "New Jersey’s first world-class concert nightclub."
The club, located at 570 Jernee Mill Road, will continue to present live music, ranging from rock and pop to jazz, as well as weekly dance parties, comedy nights and other live productions. The club will present a concentration of national acts, and will feature local acts as openers, according to Jon Vena, a spokesperson for Concerts East.
Just weeks before opening the Starland Ballroom, Concerts East — which will manage and book the venue — will cease its operation of the Birch Hill nightclub in Old Bridge. That club is to close on Oct. 26, to make way for the construction of a retirement community on the property.
Concerts East describes itself as the largest independent concert promoter in the tri-state metropolitan area. The company currently produces more than 500 events a year on the East Coast. It operates venues in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and Connecticut, and hopes to make the Starland Ballroom "the culmination of the company’s experience in the marketplace and industry."
In a statement released on Wednesday, Concerts East likened the Starland Ballroom to such nationally recognized venues as Boston’s Avalon Ballroom, Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club, and New York City’s Roseland Ballroom and Irving Plaza.
"Like other premier concert venues, it will have graduated flooring, improved sight lines, a raised stage, higher ceilings, air conditioning and heating," said Tony Pallagrosi of Concerts East.
The club hopes to accommodate touring bands with its "state-of-the-art sound and lighting" and a renewed presence that will attract large acts. The ballroom will also be available to rent for private social or corporate gatherings.
According to Pallagrosi, the new Starland Ballroom will quickly distinguish itself as a top New Jersey venue because it will fill the void left after the recent closing of Tradewinds and the pending shut-down of Birch Hill.
"Right now, it is a building without a function," he said, "but it will be everything that was and everything that hasn’t been in New Jersey."
The ballroom’s first concerts will be announced during the coming weeks.
The club will have a liquor license following the sale of the venue from its previous owners, Frank Sementa, Kip Connor and Bernie Bailey, according to Concerts East representatives.
Bailey had purchased the club, known as the Jernee Mill Inn, in 1982.