Event Details

Due to the thunderstorms and heavy rain, tonight’s free concert with Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso has been moved to SOPAC. Tickets for tonight’s concert will be issued to patrons starting at 6:30pm. Seating is first-come, first-served.

2012 Free Concerts in the Park
Presented by the Village of South Orange, The Baird and the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC)

Location: Flood’s Hill in Meadowland Park, 70 North Ridgewood Road, South Orange, NJ
Rain Site: South Orange Performing Arts Center, One SOPAC Way, South Orange, NJ

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary Season, the highly anticipated 2012 Free Concerts in the Park series returns this summer at Flood’s Hill in Meadowland Park, South Orange.   For five consecutive Wednesday nights starting July 11th, some of today’s top performers will present free outdoor concerts ranging from jazz, pop, and reggae to salsa and rock n’ roll.  See complete line-up below.  Audiences are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket along to relax and listen. And, of course, dancing is always allowed. 

Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso
Since 2000, Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso have generated a growing number of loyal fans throughout the tri-state area and abroad. The group’s distinctive Salsa Dura style is the result of the unique and extensive musical back grounds of the band’s individual members, who have performed and recorded with some of the most recognizable names in Latin Music before joining together to integrate Swing Sabroso.

In 2005, Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso recorded their debut CD appropriately entitled Baila con Swing Sabroso, which received great reviews and continues to be a favorite album of many DJ’s and Dancers. Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso have also released two CD compilations by the UK label Freestyle Records.

Ray Rodriguez was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, the birth place of Rafael Hernandez, and raised in Brooklyn and New York City’s Spanish Harlem, home to Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and many other salsa icons.

Beginning his musical career at an early age, Ray Rodriguez went on to study at the renowned Brooklyn Conservatory of Music where he majored in music theory, counterpoint, harmony and arranging. Subsequently, he continued studying at the Bronx Community College and with selected private teachers.

Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso continue to perform with great reviews at such venues as Lincoln Center, S.O.B.s, LQ’s Philadelphia Salsa Congress, NYC Salsa Congress, Crystals Night Club and at many festivals and clubs. They have also shared the stage with Grammy award winner Eddie Palmieri, Conjunto Clasico, Oscar Deleon, El Gran Combo and many other International acts.

Baila con Swing Sabroso is the premier release by World Stage Recordings LLC, the independent record label that Ray Rodriguez established in 2005.

In January 2011, Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso released the single “Salsa Pa’l Mundo Entero,” which has received great reviews and has become a favorite with dancers and many DJ Record pools.

Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso is currently in production recording their second CD, which should be completed in 2012.

For additional information please visit their web-site at www.swingsabroso.com