River City Extension Announce Final Show As a Band, November 25th at The Stone Pony w/ Brick + Mortar

River City Extension at Asbury Lanes in March.

Farewell

Today, Toms River's River City Extension announced that November 25th will mark their final show as a band. They'll play The Stone Pony with Brick + Mortar on Thanksgiving Eve. The show would have marked the band's sixth annual Simple Gifts celebration, but it will now serve as a farewell show for a beloved local band that achieved national and international acclaim. Current and former members of River City Extension will join the celebration, which I'm sure will be an emotional and
cathartic experience.

The announcement, written by founder and frontman Joe Michelini, begins:

"It’s with a heavy heart that we are announcing the final River City Extension show as a band. It’s been a long, weird journey with so many talented musicians and irreplaceable memories. Being able to connect with all of you through our music all over the world these past eight years means more to us than we can express through words. We love River City Extension and we love the catalogue and the shows and all of you. Our last release, Deliverance, is by far my favorite thing I’ve ever worked on and perhaps the goal of River City to begin with. In short, looking forward, we realized our work here is done."

I've, personally, been a fan of River City Extension since I started CoolDad Music. Each of their albums has been different, and each of them has been brilliant in its own way. Live, River City Extension were always an amazing communal experience. The post-Sandy edition of Simple Gifts stands as one of the greatest live shows I've ever experienced, and the band's latest appearance on a snowy night at Asbury Lanes showed that -- even in their new configuration -- River City Extension were still a force of nature live.

In the announcement, Michelini promises more solo performances. I remember another snowy night at the Berkeley when Michelini previewed some of the songs that would eventually make up Deliverance. The weather kept the crowd small, and the show was a beautiful moment.

One of the great things that has come from running CoolDad Music these last three and a half years is that I feel that I can call Joe Michelini and other current and former members of River City Extension friends. They all continue to make excellent music, and I wish them all the success in the world at whatever it is they choose to do.

Keep up with all of their current projects and head to The Stone Pony on November 25th for one, final party.

River City Extension will be missed.