Carnival of Soul

A roundup of arts events taking place around the state, through Sept. 18:

POP/ROCK/FOLK

• The folky, Celtic-influenced British rock group The Waterboys, which frontman Mike Scott has kept going with an endless number of different supporting casts since the early ’80s, will kick off a rare United States tour at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m.

• Backstreet Boys fans may want to make sure they arrive promptly for the group’s 8 p.m. Sept. 15 concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, as the opening act will be aspiring country singer Baylee Littrell, the son of group member Brian Littrell. (Yes, the Backstreet Boy, now 44, has a 16-year-old boy of his own.)

• Grace Church in Jersey City hosts the Hudson West Folk Festival, Sept. 14 at 12:30 p.m., with performances by Mary Gauthier, David Olney, Vance Gilbert, Susan McKeown, Rosier (formerly Les Poules à Colin), Sam Baker, Jean Rohe and others, plus workshops and jam sessions.

• Two of the greatest classic-rock guitarists, Robby Krieger of The Doors and Leslie West of Mountain, will team up for a double bill at BergenPAC in Englewood, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. Krieger’s band includes his son, Waylon, on guitar and vocals. (For a chance to win two tickets, send an email with the word “Krieger/West” in the subject line to njartscontest@gmail.com by 10 a.m. Sept. 12.)

• Lloyd Cole, initially known as the frontman for the band Lloyd Cole & the Commotions in the ’80s, will perform at the Outpost in the Burbs at First Congregational Church in Montclair, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. The show opens the Outpost’s 2019-20 season. Cole released a new solo album, Guesswork, this summer, to mostly enthusiastic reviews. (For a chance to win two tickets, send an email with the word “Cole” in the subject line to njartscontest@gmail.com by 10 a.m. Sept. 12.)

• Two bands, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams and Yarn, will co-headline the 15th annual free Festival in the Borough, taking place in Washington (Warren County), Sept. 14 from 11 a.m. to 10 a.m. There will be three stages, plus vendors selling crafts and other items, food, a beer garden and a children’s area that will including a miniature golf course. Other performers will include Southbound, the Trevor B. Power Band, JerZgirls, Renegade Ramblers and the Fantasha Dancers.

JAZZ

• Smooth jazz is the theme of the Atlantic City Jazz Fest, which will take place Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, and feature Boney James, Najee, Pieces of a Dream, Joe Bataan, Norman Brown and Lindsey Webster.

• The Central Jersey Jazz Festival takes place over three days, with free music at three different outdoor locations..

Sept. 13 at 6 p.m., Winard Harper, Jeanne Gies, Willerm Delisfort and NJPAC Jazz for Teens will perform on Stangl Road in Flemington.

Sept. 14 at 1 p.m., the lineup will be the Dizzy Gillespie Afro Latin Experience, The Diva Jazz Quintet — Five Play, Jerome Jenning and New Brunswick Jazz Brass on George Street (between Liberty and Bayard street) in New Brunswick.

Sept. 15 at 1 p.m., the festival concludes with Nat Adderley Jr., Brianna Thomas, Javon Jackson and NJPAC Jazz for Teens at the Somerset County Historic Courthouse Green in Somerville.

• And there is yet another New Jersey jazz festival scheduled for this weekend: The free Woodbridge Jazz Festival at Parker Press Park, Sept. 14, with Danny Tobias & Friends (at 3 p.m.), David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band (at 2 p.m.), The Anderson Twins (at 1 p.m.) and the Danny Mixon Quartet featuring Antoinette Montague (at noon).

DANCE

• Savion Glover — who made his Broadway debut in 1985, at the age of 11, as the title character “The Tap Dance Kid” — will direct a production of the musical, featuring young local talent, at the Victoria Theater at NJPAC in Newark, Sept. 13-14 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. The musical is about a boy who dreams of becoming a dancer despite encountering resistance from his family.

• House of Independents in Asbury Park will present an Asbury Park Dance Festival, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m., with performances by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Ron K. Brown/Evidence, Doug Varone and Dancers, Caleb Teicher, Ricky Ubeda, Axelrod Contemporary Ballet, 10 Hairy Legs and others. Proceeds will go to Arts Ed NJ.

FILM

• The classic 1980 horror movie “Friday the 13th” was filmed in Blairstown, as well as two nearby towns (Hope and Hardwick Township), and on Fri., Sept. 13, Roy’s Hall in Blairstown will offer an opportunity for fans to see it in the place where it all started, with screenings at 4, 6 and 10 p.m.

OTHER

• Desi Con, a multi-genre entertainment event showcasing South Asian artists, takes place at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m., with performers from the worlds of comedy (KC Arora), music (Neel & the Band), theater (“The Big Fat Brown Show”) and dance (AfroDesi). Organizers say the idea is to bring attention to performers from the “Desi” community (including people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka) that have previously not had an outlet in the Jersey City arts scene.

• Mary Wilson, a member of the great Motown group The Supremes and a contestant on the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars” (which begins Sept. 16), will sign copies of her new coffee table book “Supreme Glamour,” Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Bookends in Ridgewood. The book explores the Supremes’ fashion statements as well as the group’s music.

• This year’s edition of the annual “Fright Fest” at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson opens on Sept. 13, and continues on all days that the theme park is open through Oct. 31. Zombies and ghouls will roam throughout the park, and there will also be seven haunted mazes, a Halloween-themed stage show and more.