Clifford, Ayers highlight furnace summer festival

OXFORD - Mark Clifford, the banjo player on Bruce Springsteen’s latest album, “The Seeger Sessions,” will lead his own band, the Monroids, at the Oxford Furnace Summer Festival on Saturday Aug. 12. Also on tap is the Sarah Ayers Band, and six other acts. The all-day event, presented by the Township of Oxford, features eight bands and an array of vendors and food. Sponsors include Pollution Control Financing Authority (PCFA) of Warren County, EMBARQ (formerly Sprint), Warren County Community College, Skylands Community Bank, Covanta Warren Energy, Finelli Consulting Engineers, Bill Griffett Sand & Gravel, and the Oxford Volunteer Fire Department. The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Oxford Fire Department, Route 31 with music starting at 1 p.m. The festival is free and parking is $5 per car. Clifford, who owns Skylands Professional Audio in Blairstown, is one of the prominently distinguished musicians on the Springsteen album, which spawned a tour this summer. Clifford did not join the tour, however, he did “guest” at one of Springsteen’s shows at the PNC Arts Center in Holmdel. Sarah Ayers and her band are winners of 11 Lehigh Valley Music Awards, including Best Original Band, Best All Around Performer and Best Female Vocalist. Their most recent CD, “cold, hard, dirty truth,” has a bluesy sound. Additional acts include Jam-Bone, The Still River Band, Paddy and the Pale Boys, Phoenix Down, and Big Daddy and the Wildcats. Opening up the musical festivities will be Kate & Paul at 11 a.m. For more information, call 908-453-4480.