A New Orleans blues-rock duo that drove 1,300 miles across 11 states will close out a statewide music festival right on Church Street in Millburn on Sunday, July 19.
The Geminii Dragon Duo joins Rev. Eyesha Marable for a free Jesus & Jazz service at Mt. Zion AME Church, 56 Church St., at 11:30 a.m. The service marks the grand finale of the 2026 Reimagined 24 Hours of Music Jamboree, an eight-day celebration that stretched from Jersey City to the Jersey Shore.
The duo set out from New Orleans days before the festival, documenting their cross-country trek through photos, videos, and road-trip reflections posted to the Jamboree's social media channels. After arriving in New Jersey, they performed Saturday, July 18, at the 5th Annual Jazz, Health & Food Truck Festival in Orange.
Sunday's service doubles as a community send-off. The congregation plans to offer a blessing and safe-travel wishes before the duo begins the long drive home to New Orleans immediately after the 1 p.m. close.
"From the Jazz, Health & Food Truck Festival to this Jesus & Jazz Service, Geminii Dragon has poured their soul into our community," Rev. Marable said. "We thank them, we celebrate them, and we send them home wrapped in our prayers."
Rev. Marable, an ordained itinerant elder and trained dancer, leads Mt. Zion AME's sacred-arts programming and serves as assistant vice president of community engagement at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The monthly Jesus & Jazz series, held on the fourth Sunday of each month, blends worship with jazz tradition, blues storytelling, and cultural expression.
Gregory Burrus, founder of Gregory Burrus Productions and a member of NJPAC's Jazz Advisory Committee, curates the series and organized the broader Jamboree. The festival launched in 2017 in South Orange as a continuous 24-hour music marathon, moved online during the pandemic in 2020, and returned as a hybrid event in 2021 before expanding into its current week-long format.
The 2026 edition kicked off Sunday, July 12, with a 17-piece big band and included stops in Cranford, Bradley Beach, Newark, Morristown, and Orange before landing in Millburn for the finale.
In a 2023 interview with Rock the Joint Magazine, the duo described their sound as "blues rock, swinging the pendulum towards the blues side of rock," with nods to Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, and B.B. King. Geminii Dragon also headlined festival dates in Italy before making the cross-country drive to New Jersey.
Admission is free. Residents can RSVP by emailing [email protected] or through the event's Eventbrite listing.
