Last Updated: 5/30/2026
New Jersey knows how to fill a dance floor, and an 80s cover band can turn a wedding, corporate party, fundraiser, casino night, or class reunion into a full-on throwback celebration. From synth-pop and new wave to hair metal, arena rock, and MTV-era singalongs, these bands bring the songs, style, and crowd energy that make the decade still feel loud, bright, and built for a party.
Rubix Kube
The two musicians who give Rubix Kube its backbone grew up playing the New Jersey club circuit before any of this started. Steve Brown founded Trixter in Paramus at age twelve; P.J. Farley joined at sixteen. By the early 90s they had a Gold album, three #1 Dial MTV videos, and arena dates opening for KISS and the Scorpions. When they eventually landed in Rubix Kube’s lineup as guitarist and bassist respectively, they brought that résumé with them – and it shows in how the band plays.
Rubix Kube launched in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades running “The EIGHTIES STRIKE BACK Show,” a production-scale 80s set that covers pop, rock, new wave, Hair Metal, and hip-hop across a catalog of more than 200 songs. The band operates out of NYC but has performed regularly in New Jersey, including a Union County public event in Scotch Plains and private bookings throughout the tri-state area.
The show runs on dual frontpersons: Cherie Martorana Neve, the co-founder and show creator with session credits on Moby’s “We Are All Made of Stars,” and Scott Lovelady, who brings a performing arts background spanning puppeteering, animatronics, and rock fronting. Both shift through nearly 30 costume changes per show, embodying 80s icons in voice and movement. Mike Pex handles keys, keytar, and sax; Mike Hunter – a Broadway veteran of The Band’s Visit and Tootsie – adds a second keyboard layer; and choreographer Micki Lovelady (CalArts BFA) drives the stage movement throughout.
The setlist is built for maximum floor coverage: “Livin’ On A Prayer,” “Jump,” “Pour Some Sugar On Me,” “Jessie’s Girl,” “Sweet Dreams,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “Billie Jean,” “Take On Me,” “Love Is A Battlefield,” “We’re Not Gonna Take It” – with room left for MC Hammer, Grandmaster Flash, and Salt-N-Pepa when the room calls for it.
Visually, the show leans hard into the decade: confetti, bubbles, an eight-foot Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, a Bill and Ted’s phone booth, a dancing R2-D2, and a full video backdrop. Drummer John Laspina plays every track without loops or backing tracks. Ticketmaster reviewers at the Gramercy Theatre in NYC cited the sound fidelity specifically, with one noting the band “blew me away with their energy, setlist, costumes, and incredible sound.”
Strong fit for 80s-themed weddings and receptions wanting full production staging, corporate and fundraiser events, outdoor festivals, New Year’s Eve, and any party where the music needs to move from arena rock to new wave to pop to hip-hop without losing a single person on the floor.
LINK: https://rubixkube.com
80’s Undercover Band
80’s UnderCover is a central New Jersey five-piece that covers the full width of the decade, from arena-floor singalongs to new wave deep cuts, with a setlist of roughly 60 songs that spans nearly every corner of the 80s.
All five members sing, which is the band’s clearest structural advantage. Rob and Jodi share primary lead vocal duties, while Rick on lead guitar, Nick on bass, and James on drums each add their own lead and backup vocals. That spread of voices gives the group harmonic range uncommon in a band this size.
The setlist doesn’t just live in the obvious places. Arena-rock staples like “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Living on a Prayer,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Crazy Train,” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” share space with new wave picks like “Take On Me,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Just Like Heaven,” and “Walk Like an Egyptian,” and with harder cuts including “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and Iron Maiden’s “Flight of Icarus.” There are also crowd-specific workhorses: “8675309/Jenny,” “Love Shack,” “Jessie’s Girl,” and “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.”
The breadth matters in practice. A band that can shift between Duran Duran and Ozzy in the same set has more room to read a room than one locked into a single 80s lane.
The band works regularly across central and coastal New Jersey, playing bars, clubs, restaurants, private parties, and outdoor community events. The Boatyard LBI in Manahawkin, a waterfront Jersey Shore venue with a dedicated outdoor summer stage, booked them for multiple 2025 dates and returned for their Memorial Day Weekend 2026 lineup. The Trenton Downtown Association confirmed a return engagement at Cooper’s Riverview in Trenton. They have also appeared on the Langhorne Borough Business Association’s free summer concert series.
LINK: https://80sundercover.com/about/
80’s Revolution
New Jersey’s 80’s Revolution states its identity upfront: not a bar band but a show band, built around a rotating trio of female lead vocalists, a Vegas-style lights and sound production, neon costumes and leg warmers, and a catalog that treats the whole decade as fair game. From Dance Pop to New Wave to Hair Band Rock, the band covers Pat Benatar, Def Leppard, Journey, Michael Jackson, ABBA, Cyndi Lauper, Rick James, Madonna, Van Halen, The Outfield, The Go-Go’s, Whitney Houston, and Bon Jovi — all confirmed on the official site and corroborated by multiple independent sources. No full public setlist is available, but a fan testimonial specifically names Bon Jovi’s “Never Say Goodbye” as a slow-dance highlight.
Chelsey Elise Caulfield and Gianna Hodes anchor the front-of-stage vocal duties, with Laura Turk and Katie Lynn Joel alternating in for a third vocalist slot. Founder Brian W. Silver plays bass and bass keyboard synthesizer, Max Von Bolton handles guitar, Eric Heiss is on drums and percussion, and the keyboard chair rotates among Dave Cotter, Dan Truicia, and Kat Viksne Darcy, who also plays electric violin.
Silver brings more than three decades in the NJ/NY circuit to the band. He co-founded the Route 80’s Band and was an original member of The Flossie Band, a Bergen County act that regularly drew over 1,000 people per weekend in the 1980s, released a self-titled album, and won both the WDHA Homegrown Album of the Year award and the Aquarian Weekly Best Band contest.
The production side is a genuine differentiator. Stangl Stage described the band as “more than just flashy outfits, choreography and stage shtick,” pointing to precision with the source material. Fan accounts collected on the band’s site describe rooms “packed from wall to wall” with attendees “dancing on the chairs.” Beyond the standard set, the band also offers “Turn Back Time,” a narrative audience-participation theatrical show, and an “80s Movie Hits Tour” format for planners who need a concept rather than a straight dance night.
Venue credits include Stangl Stage at the Stangl Factory in Flemington (December 2022), the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center in New York’s Orange County (October 2022), the C&N Amphitheatre at Doylestown Township’s Central Park in Pennsylvania (September 2025), the Hazlet Day Festival (headlined), and VetFest 2025 in Wayne, NJ. They are booked into Hazlet Township’s Concerts in the Park for July 2026. As of early 2025, the band is represented by the Ultra Artists booking agency.
Steve Tarkanish of Stars Productions gives the band a five-star endorsement on their official testimonials page. Their Facebook page (facebook.com/80sRevolutionNJ) shows over 4,200 followers. No ratings from WeddingWire, The Knot, or similar platforms were found in publicly available sources.
A strong fit for outdoor summer concert series, municipal events, fundraisers, club nights, and theater or performance hall bookings where the theatrical show packages can be utilized. The variety of formats — standard party set, themed theatrical show, movie-hits concept — gives planners real flexibility depending on the event type.
LINK: https://www.80srevolution-nj.com/
Decadia
Decadia is a Long Island eight-piece 80s cover band, active since 2011, billing its show as “The ’80s and Beyond.” Sets run 80s radio hits at the core, extended into 70s classics, 90s favorites, and current songs, with a repertoire The Bash’s published list puts at more than 100 titles. The band books events throughout the New York metro area and Tri State region, including New Jersey.
Three vocalists share the front of the stage. In a 2017 live review for Digital Journal, editor Markos Papadatos singled out vocalist Genessa for opening Pat Benatar’s “Shadows of the Night” a cappella before delivering it at full volume, and for Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” with the room singing along throughout. No other vocalist names are publicly listed. The musicians behind them hold an unusually specific résumé: Broadway productions (Kinky Boots, Grease, Movin’ Out, Mean Girls), the Lynyrd Skynyrd Legends Tour, the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and American Idol appear across the band’s bios and EPK.
Verified from The Bash’s published setlist and the Digital Journal concert review: “Don’t Stop Believin'” (Journey), “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (Guns N’ Roses), “Livin’ on a Prayer” (Bon Jovi), “Jump” (Van Halen), “Pour Some Sugar on Me” (Def Leppard), “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (Bonnie Tyler), “Don’t You Forget About Me” (Simple Minds), “Take on Me” (A-ha), “In the Air Tonight” (Phil Collins), “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (Cyndi Lauper), “Under Pressure” (Queen), and “Footloose.” The full catalog extends across new wave, hard rock, funk, hip-hop, and disco.
The Bash listing describes standard production as lights, lasers, and giant screen video effects. The band’s own materials draw a clear line: “no bad attempts at 80s fashions or goofy stage names, just great songs played by a top-notch band with a great stage show.” Alongside the core 80s-and-beyond format, Decadia offers a separate “Blockbusters Live in Concert” concept built around movie soundtracks – Dirty Dancing, Grease, and A Star is Born among them – suited to theatrical concert nights.
Formed in 2011, the band logs approximately 100 shows per year, per their official bio, across theaters, concert halls, corporate events, weddings, and clubs. Mulcahy’s Pub and Concert Hall in Wantagh, NY – one of Long Island’s established concert venues – is the strongest single documented credit. Other appearances on record include the Town of Hempstead Summer Concert Series at Newbridge Road Park (July 2024), the Dix Hills Performing Arts Center, Stony Brook Cancer Center’s National Cancer Survivor’s Day celebration, and a fundraising gala for Favarh at The Riverview in Simsbury, CT.
Papadatos reviewed the Mulcahy’s set in November 2017, rated it an A, and named Decadia to his Digital Journal “Top 10 Tribute Bands on Long Island of 2017” the following month. On WeddingWire (5.0 out of 5.0, three verified reviews, as of May 2026), a 2019 wedding reviewer described every guest staying on the dance floor through the night and the crowd’s reaction to the range of material. The band’s own wedding testimonials page includes a client account of guests dancing in the aisles.
Well suited to weddings and corporate galas where dance floor volume matters, and to fundraising events, themed 80s celebrations, class reunions, and concert-style theater nights. The Blockbusters concept gives them a distinct option for venues looking for something beyond a standard cover-band booking.
LINK: https://decadialive.com/home
Jessie’s Girl NYC
Jessie’s Girl NYC is a New York-rooted 80s tribute built for New Jersey rooms that want the full Back to the Eighties Show rather than a casual cover set. The strongest local proof is Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, with another New Jersey date listed at Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.
The public roster leans on multiple lead voices: Destinee Monroe, Mark Rinzel, Jerome Bell-Bastien, and Jenna O’Gara are listed on vocals, with Eric Presti on guitar and technical direction, Mike Maenza on drums, Drew Mortali on bass, and Karlee Bloom on keyboards and keytar. That setup matters for 80s material, where Madonna, Journey, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Queen, Prince, and Bon Jovi all ask for different kinds of front-person swagger.
The songbook is loaded with neon-era singalongs: “1999,” “Any Way You Want It,” “Your Love,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “Footloose,” “Billie Jean,” “Jessie’s Girl,” “Like a Prayer,” “Under Pressure,” “Africa,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” all show up in the band’s official sample list or recent setlist records.
The show reads more like a concert-party hybrid than a jukebox. Public coverage describes the act as a seven-artist NYC cover band with bright clothes, rotating lead vocalists, and a wide 80s genre spread, while venue copy notes that no two Jessie’s Girl shows use the same mix of hits.
Credibility is the easy part. The band’s official bio cites 20-plus-year NYC music-scene veterans, private events around the U.S., and appearances tied to The Theater at Madison Square Garden, The Goldbergs, Jamie Foxx, Neil Patrick Harris, and a Coca-Cola/Buffalo Wild Wings event opening for Smash Mouth.
Ticketmaster lists Jessie’s Girl at 4.6 out of 5 from 169 reviews, including recent comments from 2025 and 2026. One Count Basie reviewer said the room stayed on its feet, and another referenced seeing the act since its NYC residency years.
For planners, the most useful confirmed flexibility is song-request accommodation: the official songs page says the band has played dozens of additional titles and can handle requests with enough notice for private events. Public listings also show private-event dates, and the booking contact is routed through ML Presents.
Best fit: 80s-themed corporate events, fundraisers, casino nights, class reunions, theaters, festivals, and larger private parties where the goal is a dance floor with costumes, keytar, arena choruses, and big shared hooks.
LINK: https://www.jessiesgirlnyc.com/
Class of 84
Class of ’84 is a Philadelphia-based 80s tribute band with real South Jersey reach, working the PA/NJ/DE tri-state circuit with a set built around dance-pop, new wave, rock, hair-band hooks, and a little old-school rap.
The current lineup gives the band more than a basic bar-band footprint: Amanda Bee and Kim Graf-Offner are both listed as lead vocalists, with “Diamond” Doug Eagar on drums, Mike Wessner on guitar, Adam Martin on keys and vocals, Mike O’Neill on Wooden & Synth Bass, and Chris Tarrach handling sound.
Their sample setlist reads like an MTV time capsule with range: “1999,” “A Little Respect,” “Africa,” “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Don’t You Forget About Me,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” “Jessie’s Girl,” “Jump,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Love Shack,” “Take On Me,” and “Working for the Weekend.”
The show is built for neon singalongs and packed dance floors, but the song choices cut across more than one lane: Prince, Whitney Houston, Journey, Simple Minds, Erasure, The B-52’s, Van Halen, and Loverboy all sit comfortably in the same night.
Class of ’84 has been performing since 2015, with public credits that include clubs, private parties, weddings, wedding after-parties, class reunions, fundraisers, outdoor festivals, an 80s theme night at a Phillies game, and repeat Musikfest appearances. Venue proof includes Musikfest’s Festplatz Stage, World Café Live, TLA in Philadelphia, Citizens Bank Park, Lot 323 Woodbury, Mudhen Brewing in Wildwood, and Galloway Food Truck Festival.
On The Bash, the band is listed with a 5.0 rating from 2 reviews and 2 verified bookings. One verified Hammonton, NJ community-event reviewer said they were looking forward to hiring the band again, while a wedding after-party reviewer noted that Doug shared the full song list and helped shape a priority playlist for a 2-hour set.
For planners, the practical pieces are there: The Bash lists travel up to 100 miles, their own equipment and sound, virtual services, online payment, and a starting price of $2,000 per event. Their official site also provides client resources, including a stage plot and input list, and accepts inquiries for club/bar, private party, festival/outdoor, and other events.
Best fit: South Jersey 80s theme nights, wedding after-parties, class reunions, fundraisers, community concerts, outdoor festivals, corporate socials, and private parties that want the synth hooks, arena choruses, and big crowd vocals of the decade.
LINK: https://classof84band.com/
High In The Mid 80’s
High in the Mid 80s, also known as HITME, is a New Jersey 80s New Wave and pop cover band centered on the early-to-mid-1980s club era. Think synth hooks, sharp pop choruses, and dance-floor radio staples rather than a broad all-decades party mix.
The band is presented publicly as a seven-piece, with booking copy noting three lead vocalists and male and female vocal coverage. The official site lists Kevin Werbel, Pam Cutler, Jon Provan, Kristen Angood, Ken Sidotti, Bruce Gatewood, and John MacDonald, though individual current roles are not fully verified.
Their official song list is packed with recognizable MTV-era material: “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Take On Me,” “Burning Down the House,” “Call Me,” “Come On Eileen,” “Don’t You Forget About Me,” “I Ran,” “Love Shack,” “Rebel Yell,” “Rio,” “Whip It,” and “You Spin Me Right Round.”
The show’s angle is faithful 80s New Wave and pop, with public booking copy pointing to 80s-style clothes, choreography, and arrangements meant to stay close to the original recordings. That makes them a useful fit when the goal is a full-room singalong with a specific decade identity.
Credibility is anchored by longevity and venue proof: the band’s official materials say it formed in 2010, and The Stone Pony billed High in the Mid 80s as an “Ultimate ’80s Pop and New Wave Tribute.” Their public calendar also shows municipal concerts, festivals, breweries, bars, and private parties across New Jersey.
Social proof is modest but visible: Facebook shows 4,361 likes and a 100% recommend score from 5 reviews, while Gig Heaven currently shows 0 user ratings.
For booking logistics, Gig Heaven lists PA and lighting included, travel availability, and pricing from $1,500. Public event listings show both two-hour concert slots and three-hour bar or brewery dates.
Best fits include township summer concerts, breweries, clubs, 80s theme nights, class reunions, private parties, festivals, and fundraisers where the crowd knows the words before the first chorus lands.
LINK: https://www.highinthemid80s.com/
Decadence
Decadence is an 80s pop/rock tribute with a Jersey-to-Florida footprint, built for the kind of night where the room wants big hooks, bright nostalgia, and choruses people already know by heart.
The public lineup is a four-piece: Angel on main vocal, Bruce on guitar and vocals, PJ on bass, and Steve on drums. That keeps the setup lean enough for bars, private parties, and town-concert stages without turning the show into a backing-track costume act.
The setlist is the clearest selling point. GigSalad lists “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Separate Ways,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Crazy Train,” “I Love Rock and Roll,” “Don’t You Forget About Me,” “Here I Go Again,” “Jump,” “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Come On Eileen,” “Love Shack,” “Footloose,” and “Summer of ’69.”
Onstage, Decadence works the neon side of the decade: synth-era dance hits, pop-rock anthems, big choruses, and party pacing. The booking profile also lists full sound, lighting, and stage props, which helps the act read like an 80s night rather than just a cover-band set.
For New Jersey proof, their 2026 calendar includes Towne Centre Summer Concert Series in Cliffside Park, The Green Knoll in Bridgewater, The Beacon in Hopatcong, and Mr Crabby’s in Randolph. MyBergen also listed the band at Shannon Rose in Ramsey.
The public review footprint is thin, so this profile should not lean on ratings. The stronger planning evidence is practical: named players, a published song list, listed set lengths from 45 to 240 minutes, and a four-piece setup that needs a standard 20-amp circuit plus reasonable stage or floor space.
Decadence fits 80s theme parties, class reunions, birthday parties, casino nights, bar and restaurant events, town concert series, and private celebrations where the goal is familiar songs and a dance-floor push.
LINK: https://decadence80sband.com/
Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip is a South Jersey 80s glam rock and hair metal tribute with a female lead vocal center and a set aimed squarely at monster riffs, power ballads, and big chorus nostalgia.
The public lineup found lists Farrah Barbarics on lead vocals, Aaron Barbarics and Pete Laquitara on guitar/vocals, Eric Guerra on bass/vocals, and Joey Lampassi on drums. An older lineup post listed Chip Michael on bass, so planners should confirm current personnel when booking.
Their song trail hits the hard-rock side of the decade: “Panama,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Here I Go Again,” “Eyes of a Stranger,” “Lick It Up,” “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” “18 and Life,” “Metal Health,” “Nothin’ But a Good Time,” and “Talk Dirty to Me.”
The show reads like a club-tested hair-band night: dual guitars, leather-and-hairspray attitude, power-ballad breathing room, and enough chorus firepower for an 80s crowd that wants more than background nostalgia.
Public listings place Sunset Strip at South Jersey rooms like The Laughing Fox Tavern, Pic-A-Lilli Inn, Alisha’s 5 Star Dive Bar Atco, and Villari’s Lakeside, with broader proof including Garfield Township’s Century Field summer concert series and Bourbon Street on the Beach in Ocean City, Maryland.
Best fit: 80s rock nights, casino lounges, taverns, summer concerts, festivals, class reunions, and private parties where the crowd wants glam-metal hooks, power ballads, and guitar-forward singalongs.
LINK: https://www.facebook.com/sunsetstripbandNJ/
Kids In America Band
Kids In America is a touring 1980s tribute band based in Charlotte, and we book shows throughout New Jersey for planners who want the decade in full color. Our lane is broad and very MTV-era: new wave, pop, dance, rock, hair metal, and power-ballad singalongs.
Our six-piece lineup features Shannon Remley on lead vocals, Ray Hartsfield on lead vocals and guitar, Doug Grabowski on bass and vocals, G K Via on lead guitar and vocals, Rob Bowser on keyboards and synths, and Mike Graci on drums and electronic percussion.
Our setlist is built for fast recognition, with songs like “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Burning Down the House,” “Come On Eileen,” “Footloose,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Like a Prayer,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” and “Take On Me.”
We build the show as more than a jukebox of 80s songs. The performance brings together live vocals, melodic harmonies, guitars, synths, drums, electronic percussion, teased hair, spandex, props, costumes, and crowd participation, all without relying on tracks.
Our venue and event history includes The Fillmore Charlotte, Cohoes Music Hall, Orlando World Center, Tybee Island Post Theater, Don Gibson Theatre, botanical gardens, and Matthews Alive Festival. Gig Heaven states that we have been active 9 years, average about 100 shows a year, and have played about 1,000 shows.
Our booking-platform reviews give planners another checkpoint. The Bash lists Kids In America at 5.0 from 7 reviews with 12 verified bookings, member since 2017, and 3 awards/badges. Entertainers Worldwide lists us at 5.0 from 8 reviews and 2 confirmed bookings.
For logistics, we can provide 3-hour coverage with a 30-minute break, flexible 2-hour straight sets, outdoor performances when covered, optional sound and lighting, and formal attire when the event calls for it. The Bash lists travel up to 500 miles, while Gig Heaven and Entertainers Worldwide list broader worldwide travel.
We are a strong fit for 80s theme nights, weddings that want a throwback dance floor, corporate parties, festivals, theaters, casino nights, class reunions, fundraisers, and private events where neon pop and guitar-driven arena choruses both need room to work.