Grateful Dead history, a disco brunch and more things to do in New Jersey this weekend

It’s been almost 50 years since the Grateful Dead made music history in Monmouth County. This weekend, that history comes to life in Asbury Park.

The iconic jam band's Sept. 3, 1977, appearance at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park with New Riders of the Purple Sage and the Marshall Tucker Ban, drew a reported 107,000 to the Englishtown site. It was the biggest concert of all time in New Jersey, and one of the highest-attended non-festival shows ever.

Millstone guitarist Michael Falzarano, formerly of the New Riders and Hot Tuna, honors the legacy of that landmark day with tribute band the Englishtown Project. They play the Wonder Bar on Friday night.

The show will feature contributions from players including pedal steel player Kevin Griffin and harmonica player Sandy Mack, as well as other special guests, with an opening set by James Dalton.

Go: The Englishtown Project, 7 p.m. Friday, Wonder Bar, Fifth and Ocean Avenues, Asbury Park, $20 in advance, $25 at the door; wonderbarasburypark.com.

Here’s what else is happening in Jersey this weekend:

Disco brunch at The Black Swan in Asbury Park

The '70s come to Asbury Park on Sunday, thanks to The Black Swan hosting a Disco Brunch.

Pull on your platform shoes and brush up on the lyrics to "Jungle Boogie," because Robert "Kool" Bell from Kool & The Gang will make an appearance.

And come hungry: The brunch menu at Chef James Avery's gastropub includes Scotch eggs, French onion soup, a full English breakfast, shepherd's pie, and bangers and mash, plus bottomless mimosa carafes.

Go: Disco brunch, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, The Black Swan, 601 Mattison Ave. in Asbury Park; reservations at theblackswanap.com.

Horror Sideshow Market in Edison

Things will be getting scary in Edison this weekend — the Horror Sideshow Market’s Winter Bazaar happens Saturday afternoon at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center ballrooms.

The vendor event from Ryan Scott Webber of the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival will feature memorabilia, toys, comics and more. There are scheduled celebrity appearances, too, including “A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” (1987) scene-stealer Jennifer Rubin, and Jonath Davis of last year’s underground horror sensation “Terrifier 2.”

Go: Horror Sideshow Market Winter Bazaar, noon Saturday, New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center Ballrooms, 97 Sunfield Ave., Edison, $10; horrorsideshowmarket.com.

Goddesses of War Wrestling in Brick

This weekend, an All Elite Wrestling star will be in the squared circle in Ocean County.

Former AEW Women’s Champion Nyla Rose will face off against the Notorious Mimi, a competitor formerly known as Sloane Jacobs in her work for the NXT brand of World Wrestling Entertainment, when Goddesses of War hits the VFW post in Brick on Saturday night.

The event will also feature The D365 Cup, a 16-woman tournament to determine the new, undisputed Goddesses champion, and a two-hour pre-show fan festival.

Go: Goddesses of War, fan festival 3 to 5 p.m., event doors 6 p.m. and bell time 7 p.m. Saturday, VFW Post 8867, 373 Adamston Road, Brick, tickets start at $20; titan-championship-wrestling-entertainment-llc.ticketleap.com.

'Eraserhead' in Lambertville

Long before the DIY chills from the likes of "Skinamrink," "The Outwaters" and even "The Blair Witch Project" took the independent world by storm, there was "Eraserhead."

Director David Lynch’s 1977 debut film, starring Jack Nance as a young working-class father struggling with the surreal realities of parenthood, is still provocative, chilling and, for many, a confounding experience as impactful today as it was nearly half a century ago.

The film, whose roots can be traced to Lynch’s time studying painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, returns to the big screen in Lambertville this weekend. The Lambertville Film Club presents a 45th anniversary screening of “Eraserhead” at the ACME Screening Room on Saturday.

Go: “Eraserhead,” 6 p.m. Saturday, ACME Screening Room, 25 South Union St., Lambertville, $10; acmescreeningroom.org.

Icarus Art Gallery in Lakewood

Here’s to the inspirational power of beer.

Icarus Brewing Company in Lakewood hosts the first Icarus Art Gallery on Thursday afternoon.

More than 30 local visual artists will have Icarus-inspired pieces on display and available for purchase in the brewery’s Swathmore Avenue tasting room. Artists will also be on hand, and the tasting room will be open until 9 p.m.

Go: Icarus Art Gallery, 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Icarus Brewing Company, 1790 Swathmore Ave., Lakewood.

Melody reunion in New Brunswick

Does the Melody still haunt your reverie?

Relive the bygone dancefloor days of the Melody Bar on French Street at the annual Melody Bar Reunion, 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday at the New Brunswick Elks on Livingston Avenue.

The Melody on French Street, since demolished, was opened by Cal Levine and Steve Flaks in March 1981, and became a haven for music buffs, artsy types, social misfits and other members of fringe groups.

DJs, including future star Matt Pinfield, played alternative rock — the music of the Smiths, the Cure and Depeche Mode — along with dance and house music, electronica and hip-hop. You’d hear everything from “How Soon is Now?” to “Rappin’ Duke.”

Frank Gibson of Hopewell spearheaded the annual Pinfield-era reunion a few years after the club closed in 2001. Proceeds raised benefit Camp Nejeda in Stillwater Township, which serves diabetic children. It’s in honor of the late John Ryan, the longtime Mel doorman who suffered from diabetes.

Go: 2023 Melody Bar Reunion, 7 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, New Brunswick Elks Lodge, 324, Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, $15; facebook,com (search 2023 Melody Bar Reunion).

Gabriela Laracca contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ things to do includes Grateful Dead tribute in Asbury Park