Unlike many South Jersey shore towns, Atlantic City remains vibrant in January. There's plenty to experience in terms of concerts.
DJ Boog will take over the decks Friday for his first solo headline show at Ocean's HQ2 Nightclub with a mix of open format classics, plus EDM and Tech house sounds.
It's Country Night the following evening at HQ2 with Ryan Stone Jones and Brown Bear. The tandem combines country with EDM.
New York City DJ Jonathan Peters will be remixing his late '90s/early 2000s hits, such as "My Love Is Your Love" by Whitney Houston and "All This Time' by Sylver Logan Sharp Jan. 10 at HQ2.
Disco Night Tribute Mania is slated for the Hard Rock on Jan. 10. The show features tributes to Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, ABBA, Barry White and Tina Turner.
Bravo's Southern Hospitality star/DJ Maddi Reese will spin tunes Jan. 16 at HQ2.
The annual Sidewalk Angels benefit, which features Matchbox Twenty singer-songwriter Rob Thomas is set for Jan. 17 at the Hard Rock.
Yellow Brick Joel — the tribute to Billy Joel and Elton John — is slated for Jan. 17 at Resorts' Superstar Theatre.
During the 1990s, the era's two most prominent piano men headlined stadiums. It was one of the most popular and satisfying events of the decade as Joel and John traded songs and engaged the audience. It's doubtful there will ever be another tour featuring the two icons.
But David Clark, who will belt out Joel songs and Bill Connors will play John tracks, will take the audience back a generation as the pair play the hits.
There's another musical event at Resorts on the same evening: A tribute to Queen and the Beatles at the Starlight Theater courtesy of the group Candlelight.
The show of the month is Public Enemy and the AllStars of Hip Hop at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall on Jan. 18.
PE, along with LCD Soundsystem, stole the Sea, Hear, Now music festival in Asbury Park in September. Chuck D and Flavor Flav remain an electric tandem. Such tunes as "Fight the Power," "Welcome to the Terrordome" and "911 is a Joke" remain relevant.
Arrive early to catch a tremendous undercard, which features Montell Jordan, KRS-One, the Sugarhill Gang and Philly's most unsung rapper Schoolly D. It's an old school mega event.
"The Return of the Mike," an evening with boxing legend Mike Tyson is scheduled for Jan. 23.
A decade ago, Tyson — who was the most feared heavyweight of his generation — went out on a tour and it was very entertaining and surprising.
Tyson dropped humorous anecdotes and revelations. He belies the punchdrunk stereotype boxers are saddled with since the dude once known as "The baddest man on the planet" remains sharp.
Classic rock is set for Jan. 24 at the Hard Rock with Tesla.
Comic Andrew Santino, who co-stars in the FX series "Dave" will perform that same day at the Borgata's Event Center. Matt Dusk sings Tony Bennett standards the same evening at the Borgata's Music Box.
Also on that day, comic drag queen Bianca Del Rio will perform at the Tropicana.
Country star Jason Aldean comes to the Hard Rock on Jan. 31
Grammy nominated DJ and producer Steve Aoki returns to HQ2 with a seven-album canon to draw from that includes collaborations with EDM heavy hitters Tiesto, NERVO and Armand Van Helden.
That's not a bad start to the year that will feature a number of top-tier headliners, such as Rod Stewart, Journey, Weird Al Yankovic, Joe Bonamassa and Yungblud.
Enjoy the prelude of a big year in Atlantic City.
