The Festival in the Borough will have a bit of a late night TV feel to it this year when Conan O’Brien’s longtime musical director, Jimmy Vivino, takes the stage.

This year’s festival, the largest street and music event in Northwest Jersey, is slated for Saturday Sept. 17. It is truly a townwide event with three stages of music and nearly 20 musical acts throughout the day and into the night in the Downtown district along Route 57. 

Presented by the Washington Business Improvement District, the 18th annual Festival in the Borough’s line-up includes an array of music styles, from rock to jazz, soul and blues, to acoustic.

Vivino will bring his band, Jimmy Vivino & the Black Italians to Washington, with a mix of blues and rock, including hits from the ironic 1960s act, Canned Heat.

Vivino (pictured below) performed with Canned Heat this past winter and has always considered himself “a blues man with a job”.  Although best known for serving 26 years as Conan O’Brien’s musical director, guitarist and bandleader, his experience in the music business predates that by 20 plus years and continues to this day. Vivino has produced, led bands and recorded with a countless number rock and roll and blues artists for five decades including the likes of Hubert Sumlin, Warren Haynes, Bob Weir, Keith Richards, Elvis Costello, Johnnie Johnson, Son Seals, Shemekia Copeland, Levon Helm, Phoebe Snow, Dion, Laura Nyro, Bob Margolin, Lowell Fulson, John Sebastian, Joe Louis Walker and Al Kooper to name a few. 

In addition to Jimmy Vivino, who takes the stage at around 8 p.m., the Main Stage features Parkway Soul with its Motown sound, The Outcrops, Grey Man Group, Atlanta Cafe Band and the Big Easy Easton Brass Band (pictured above). 

The annual Festival in the Borough is a family-friendly free event with vendors, crafters, kids activities, food and three stages of music that annually attracts thousands of visitors.  

The 3 stages are: Main Stage, Route 57 parking lot in the center of Downtown, Scotty’s Stage on Belvidere Avenue, and Broad Street Stage by Gaia’s Gifts.  There is some seating available; attendees may want to bring lawn chairs. No coolers.

The Scotty’s Stage kicks off at 12 noon with Pentley Holmes and continues with Andy B. & SoulFolk, Lelica, Duster 5, Bulldog Mack and finishing up with Grateful Dead cover band, Diamond Eye Jack.

The Broad Street stage starts things off at 11 a.m. with a Tai Chi demonstration (and audience participation) with Stan Cohen followed by numerous singer songwriters and unique musicians.  

Pre-festival action is planned for Friday night Sept. 16 at Veteran’s Park in Downtown Washington, with Southbound from 6-8 p.m. 

Sponsors this year include Direct Millwork/Builders General Supply, Visions Federal Credit Union, PNC Bank, JCP&/First Energy Foundation, Rossi Auto Group, Hunterdon Healthcare, New Jersey American Water, Elizabethtown Gas, Fred Beans Automotive Group, WRNJ, Swift Print Solutions, Quick Chek, DM Solutions, David Santini, CPA, Buttzville Brewing Company, West Washington Dentistry, Stew’s Auto Body, Oxford Auto & Tire, and Hairmazing, along with additional support from Good Impressions, John Dorsch Electric, Frank Blanche Signs, and Kennedy Event Services. Funding has also been made possible, in part, by the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Division, and grants from the Warren County and Washington Borough Clean Communities.  The beer garden is hosted by the Washington Borough Fire Department.  

For more about the festival, LIKE the Festival in the Borough Facebook Page, or visit www.washingtonbid.org.