Jersey Rock Feature of the Week: Red Bank Porchfest

Get ready for a great weekend in Red Bank! Following a Saturday of beer, wine, and spirit sampling with the RAT Pack at Red Bank Oktoberfest, the entire borough will rock with the sounds of close to one hundred acts! On Sunday October 1 Red Bank Porchfest takes over porches of Red Bank for a great time and a great cause. The free event takes place from 12pm to 5pm and features a wide array of talent performing at multiple residential locations. It's a musical performance crawl boasting an absolute stellar schedule of singers, song writers, and seriously awesome musicians.

Red Bank Porchfest Co-Producer Marta Quinn said:

“Porchfest is a wonderful event that brings the community and music together. The outpouring of interest has been extraordinary, especially with the amount of musicians and sponsors.

The day will bring a variety of music genres, and special performances. We even have a section of the New Jersey Symphony playing!"

Check out the full Red Bank Porchfest schedule on Facebook!

While Red Bank Porchfest is a great celebration of music and live performance, there is much more to the event than just a good time. Red Bank Porchfest serves as a fundraiser for HABcore, a local organization that does amazing work for those less fortunate. Speaking of HABCore's relationship to Red Bank Porchfest, Quinn said:

"Habcore provides permanent, supportive and affordable housing to people experiencing homelessness in our community. Funds raised by donations and RBPF T-shirt sales will benefit local nonprofit HABcore."

Every performance at Red Bank Porchfest is free to attend, however guests will have the opportunity to donate to HABcore at every performance location. Anyone who would is unable to attend Red Bank Porchfest but would still like to donate to HABCore can do so at habcore.org.

Tune to Jersey Rock on 95.9 The RAT Tuesay, Wednesday, and Thursday night at 11:30 pm to hear the music of some of the artists performing at Red Bank Porchfest! Porchfest Co-Producer, singer of local band So Watt, and Mayor of Red Bank Billy Portman will call in to the show each night!

Learn more on the Red Bank Porchfest Facebook page!

Fall Foliage Boat Tour Bings the Beautiful Fall Colors To You

Everyone thinks that the fall foliage colors are best seen when sitting on a mountain side cabin porch in Vermont but the Jersey Shore has a great season for fall colors. LOL! We have trees too! No where are fall colors more vibrant than along the banks of the beautiful Navesink River in Monmouth County. But how does one get to see them without buying a million dollar estate in Middletown? A great idea is a fall foliage boat tour on one of the many boats operated by Classic Boat Rides.

Classic Boat Rides is based in Atlantic Highlands. The owners of Classic Boat Rides is a long-time friend of WRAT-FM. Captain Dan Shade was a co-worker for years before he turned his passion for classic boats into a local family business. Classic Boat Rides has grown over the years to offer sunset cruises, live music cruises, beer tasting cruises and cruises to enjoy the fall colors. Keep an eye on their website for the upcoming schedules and the opportunity to do a private charter.

The Classic Boat Ride fleet is impressive. There's an all-electric powered boat called, "Watts Up". "The Mariner" looks like a well kept fishing boat. And then there's the totally amazing riverboat paddle wheel called, "The Navesink Queen". The Queen is a truly remarkable sight from shore; gliding gracefully along. But she's that much more impressive when you're on board. The sound of the paddlewheel lapping the water and the breeze in your hair adds to the cool experience.

If fall leaf peepin' is your thing, a fall boat tour on any of their vessels makes for a great afternoon when your favorite football team isn't playing. And you don't have to drive to Vermont for it!

Have a look and listen to the Navesink Queen paddlewheel in action: