Join us on Saturday, February 4th, for Mike Pfeiffer's 70s-inspired music themed night, starting at 9:30 p.m.  Click here for all the details.

As if everything we already have planned isn't enough, we are so pleased to announce that Tuesday Trivia is off and running, thanks to our good friend, Russ Coen.  November 1st marked the 25th night of Trivia at The National Hotel!!!  He and our General Manager, Marlon Aranha, launched Tuesday Trivia on December 28th, and it was a huge success.  We can't wait for what other Tuesdays will bring!  Join us every other Tuesday from 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. at The Rat for Tuesday Trivia.

WE'RE SO EXCITED ABOUT OUR NEW SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE SERIES, right here at The Rat--every Saturday night, 9 - 11 p.m.  Thank you Mike Pfeiffer for organizing this and helping us launch this special program on October 2nd!  Don't miss:

The National Hotel's music calendar is now chock-a-block with wonderful musicians we're sure you'll enjoy on the following Sundays:

In our Restaurant upstairs, from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.:

• Jan. 29 - Gary Reed
• Feb. 5 - David Falcone
• Feb. 12 - Chris Bauer
• Feb. 19 - David Mascarone
• Feb. 26 - Andrea Carlson
• March 11 - Rob Viola
• March 25 - Arnie Baird
• April 1 - David Turner
• April 15 - Scott McClymont
• April 29 - Eastern Hellbenders
• May 6 - Arnie Baird
• Check back for additional listing of line-up of artists. 

Don't forget about our weekly Open Mic Night, "The Frenchtown Underground," renamed by one of the originators of the evening, Alex Wolfson. The National Hotel launched it's Open Mic Night on Thursday, February 4th, organized and hosted by Alex Wolfson, Banjo Bill, Jesse Ketchel, and a few other dedicated musicians who selflessly keep this going in The Rat. Every Thursday night since that first night has been fun and entertaining, even though different artists often take the mike. With great entertainment and good company, Thursdays are always fun! Come on down, to perform or just relax. Join us every Thursday with sign-ups starting at 8:30 p.m. and the performances at 9 p.m. Join us next Thursday for yet another entertaining Open Mic (a.k.a., Open Mike) Night. Click here if you'd like to add your name or are interested in more information. You don't want to miss it! Come by next Thursday, whether you are an artist looking for a venue to share your talent, or if you just want to enjoy the music and spend an evening with music filling the room of The Rathskeller Pub Lounge.

Click here to email us if you’d like to add your name to our list of performers / participants. You could be a musician, performer, poet,
writer - we’d love to see you at our next Open Mic Night.

Click here to email us if you would like to be added to our email list. We’ll send you notices of upcoming events and programs.
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Our past performers include:  

January 2012!!  Happy New Year everyone!  It's been a great way to start the year, featuring Scott McClymont on January 22nd, George Thompson on January 21st, Matt Schmidt of Quimby Mountain Band on January 15th, Mike Pfeiffer on January 14th, Arnie Baird on January 8th and Beannacht on January 7th.

December is packed with great performances, including the December 23rd installment of our monthly themed music nights, featuring Mike Pfeiffer performing holiday tunes everyone knew and loved, Joshua Breakstone (with a special jazz performance) on December 18th, Jesse Ketchel on December 17th, Dennis Mascarone on December 11th, Shawn Byrne on December 10th, Carrol Thompson on Harp - Special Christmas Performance - on December 4th, and Gary Reed on December 3rd.

Thanksgiving may be over, but it's a great chance for us to say thank you to our November performers, from David Falcone to Creek Snakes to Road to Ruin to Gary Reed to Arnie Baird to Scott McClymont.

Thank you to Mike Pfeiffer, who helped us launch our new monthly theme nights.  On November 12th, Mike kicked off this new program with a 60s themed night.  Guests came with great songs they requested, many wearing 60s costumes, and enjoyed a great night downstairs in the Rat. 

November is full of wonderful music at The National Hotel.  We hosted Gary Reed on November 6th upstairs in our Restaurant & Bar, following on the heels of George Thompson on the 5th, who played blues and folk music in the Rat.

Thank you to all of you who came out on November 3rd and who helped us celebrate our 2nd Anniversary during our weekly Open Mic Night.  It was 2 years ago that The National Hotel opened its doors and some of our very first guests entered through the Rat.  It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces, along with some new patrons who joined in the fun.

What a way to close out October, with a fabulous Halloween celebration on the 29th, featuring none other than Raibow Fresh.  And this great band followed the October line-up we featured, including Dan Daccardi on the 22nd, Jesse Ketchel on the 15th and George Thompson on the 8th.  As the leaves began to fall, we welcomed the autumn season with great music from Ray McGeehan on October 2nd and Mike Pfeiffer on October 1st.

Incredibly, the summer is over, but September proved to be a wonderful conclusion to the warm weather, especially with Robin Stone & Friends on September 25th following the performance by Chris Schutz on September 24th, The GOHEN Brothers performing on September 10th and Jesse Ketchel on the 11th, followed by Arnie Baird on the 18th.

Our August music line-up had only one interruption with the arrival of the uninvited guest, Hurricane Irene, which prevented Gary Reed from performing on Sunday, August 28th.  However, the rest of the month was a stellar musical month, including Shawn Byrne on August 27th, John Sonntag performing on August 21st,  Chris Shutz on August 20th, Julia Hudak performing on August 13th, David Mascarone on August 7th, and Mike Pfeiffer taking the mike on August 6th, part of our Saturday Night Live Music series and our Sunday Musical Afternoon series.

July's music calendar has proven to be a hit, with Arnie Baird performing on July 31st and Jesse Ketchel performing on July 30th, The Royal Arboretum performing on Sunday July 24th, and Creek Snakes taking the microphone on Saturday night, July 23rd.  David McBride performed on July 17th, and we featured Sandy Mentals on July 9th.  July 2nd's Saturday Night Live Music series performance by Mike Pfeiffer was followed on July 3rd by Sunday Musical Afternoon's entertainment, David Falcone. 

On June 25th, we were pleased to have welcomed Steph Hayes back, part of our Saturday Night Live Music series, followed by Gary Reed on the 26th and Arnie Baird  on the 19th, who entertained our dining patrons in our Restaurant & Bar.  Arnie followed the wonderful performance by Mia Johnson on the 18th. On the 12th, we welcomed Jeff and Karen, (a.k.a., Driftaway Duo), part of our Sunday Musical Afternoon series, following on the footsteps of  Steven the Storyteller on June 11th, who performed downstairs in The Rat, part of our Saturday Night Live Music series.

Well, we started the month of June off with The National Palooza II...and it did not disappoint!  CC Coletti, Pawnshop Roses, Citizens Band Radio, and Top Soil, kept everyone entertained and on their feet from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.!!  

May isn't done yet, but so far, it's been unbelievably busy, featuring James McBride and Friends on May 29th, concluding our month's Sunday Musical Afternoon series, Mike Pfeiffer on May 28th, part of our Saturday Night Live Music Series, and The Delton Walker Band on May 14th, one of our few "ticket required" events that has hugely successful and well-received, quickly followed by Dallas Vietty on May 15th and 15 Keys on May 22nd, part of our Sunday Musical Afternoon series.

It's been  a busy few weeks, especially featuring Delton Walker Sax performing on May 1st, Dennis Mascarone performing on April 17th, Alexandra Day performing on April 10th, Christy Jefferson performing on April 3rd, David Falco performing on March 27th during our Sunday Musical Afternoon series, and Karen Payumo performing on May 7th, Jenn Star performing on April 23rd, Jaime Stem performing on April 9th,  Mike Pfeiffer on April 2nd and Cynthia Rees on March 26th, part of our Saturday Night Live Music series.  And, March 19th was no slacker:  it was a great day to follow-up on St. Patty's "good feel" celebration.  We hosted another edition of our Saturday Night Live Music series, and Christy Jefferson entertained us from 9 p.m. - 11 p.m. downstairs in the Rat.

We extended our St. Patrick's Day celebration through the weekend after the 17th, with great Irish-themed Additions to the Menu and music on our porch, featuring Clan Suibhne, whre authentic Irish music was heard all afternoon and into the evening on Saturday night the 19th.  We hope you had a chance to join us.

We're off and running with so many great memories from the terrific performers who came to The National Hotel to share their talent with us.  Thank you to Kenny Cunningham, Russell Norkevich, Ray McGeehan, and Dave Reid who entertained our dining patrons on March 13th, March 6th, February 27th, and February 20th (respectively) during our Sunday Musical Afternoon session, The Great Afternoon, Beannacht and Yuri Gohen who performed on March 12th, March 5th and February 19th (respectively) during our Saturday Night Live Music series, David Mascarone who performed on February 13th, part of our Sunday Musical Afternoon series, and last but not least, thank you to Chris Shutz who took the "stage" on February 12th and Mike Pfeiffer on February 5th, both performing during our Saturday Night Live Music series.

2011 arrived and we just couldn't be happier with the performances of the talented musicians who have already entertained our patrons, including Chuck Schaeffer, who celebrated his BIRTHDAY with us on January 30th, part of our Sunday Musical Afternoon series!!!   We also had the pleasure of seeing Jesse Ketchel and Teri Rambo on January 22nd, Tim Butler on January 15th, and Steph Hayes on January 8th, part of our Saturday Night Live Music Series.  And on January 5th, The Dead Kings helped us start the New Year properly as they participated in our By the Fireplace singer/songwriter series.

December is off to a great start.  Julia Hudak took the mike on December 12th, for our Sunday Musical Afternoon series, following on the heels of Mike Pfeiffer's Satruday Night Live Music series performance downstairs in cellar pub, on the 11th.  Beannact performed during our By the Fireplace Wednesday night singer/songwriter series on December 8th, and Yuri Gohen performed on Saturday, December 4th, part of our Saturday Night Live Music series.  And on Sunday, the 5th, David McBride entertained our dinner & bar patrons upstairs in our Restaurant & Bar, part of our Sunday Musical Afternoon series.

The last weekend in November featured two of our patrons' faves:  The Alex Wolfson Band on Saturday, November 27th, downstairs at The Rat, and David Falco on Sunday, November 28th, upstairs in our Restaurant & Bar.  What a way to close out the month!

We hope  you had a memorable evening with Rainbow Fresh Wednesday evening for a pre-Thanksgiving night of fun  downstairs in The Rathskeller Pub Lounge.   For a little taste, check them out on youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kdb-2P6FzU.  Our Sunday Musical Afternoon series' performer Julia Hudak on November 21st, mesmerized all our guests who came into The National Hotel's Restaurant & Bar.  She followed Matthew Rude's performance on November 20th, part of our Saturday Night Live Music series.  Just wonderful!  On November 13th, we were so pleased to introduce Christina Ward and Justin Pope, featured performers of our new Saturday Night Live Music Series to our patrons, followed by Arnie Baird on November 14th, part of our Sunday Musical Afternoon Series

We kicked off our By The Fireplace series on Wednesday, November 3rd, featuring Steph Hayes, and on November 10th, we had the pleasure of listening to the sounds of Janet Hudak downstairs at the Rat.  And on November 6th we had the pleasure of welcoming Jim Seward to our Saturday Night Live Music series, as well as on November 7th, welcoming David McBride to our upstairs Restaurant & Bar as he entertained our dinner and bar patrons for our Sunday Musical Afternoon series session.

October is over, but boy oh boy, was it a great month.  We closed it out with The Mike Pfeiffer Band on October 30th, performing during ourHALLOWEEN PARTY.  And what a party it was!  We were pleased to welcome Steph Hayes on October 23rd, enjoyed the music of returning artist, David Falcone on October 24th, and introduced Kenny Cunningham to our Restaurant & Bar patrons on October 17th, as well as to once again feature Steve Jones on October 10th.  He delighted our dinner guests as he played from 5 - 7 p.m. in our upstairs Restaurant.

Did you catch  our Sept 26th Sunday Musical Series performer, Ray McGeehan?  He's been back a couple of times and is always a crowd pleaser.  If you want to see one of our webclips of him, check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUo6_KKQdEY on our "The National Hotel NJ" youtube channel. On Sept 19th, we were pleased beyond words, to be able to host Mike Pfeiffer's performance.  Mike is now a "regular" at our Thursday Open Mic Night sessions, and it's a privilege to be able to enjoy his solo performance during our Sunday Musical Afternoon series.  Check out some of his clips on our youtube channel...here's a link to one of them:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKSn5Z_pg1g.

Another weekend has come and gone, and we are so grateful to have hosted David Falcone on September 12th!  His music left us all wanting more.  Just a few more performances left for the month of September...

We were so happy to host Steve Jones on Sunday, September 5th.  A consummate professional, wonderful entertainer, and talented musician, Steve's music filled our establishment with new friends and regular patrons, all together, enjoying a wonderful Sunday filled with music from Riverfest outside, and Steve's terrific program inside.  What a great way to close out Labor Day weekend!

August 29th brought a new friend to our premises, Russell Norkevich.  But he's not new to our town...he used to visit The National Hotel as a child.  How wonderful to have him join us on Sunday, August 29th at our upstairs Restaurant & Bar.  He entertained us with his beautiful voice and his skillful piano playing.  What a day!

Chuck Schaeffer wowed the crowd, again!!!  He performed at our upstairs Restaurant & Bar on August 22nd, and brightened everyone's Sunday with his rockabilly music and wonderfully engaging stage presence.  We can't wait to see Chuck again!

For a second time, Ray McGeehan has joined us upstairs in our upstairs Bar.  Ray's range immediately engaged everyone in the room and he was able to help all of us travel through numerous generations of music and styles.  His performance was part of our Sunday Musical Afternoon series on August 15th.  Can't wait to have him back!

Mike Pfeiffer, a recent "regular" at our Thursday Open Mic Night sessions, performed for the first time at The National Hotel's upstairs Restaurant on August 8th. He was an instant hit.  It was a pretty awful day outside, but our patrons took refuge inside, enjoying Mike's wonderful music.  We look forward to having him return to The National Hotel for our Sunday Musical Afternoon series.

What a treat...we were taken back in time to the 1940s, or to a dark & luscious club in SoHo, by listening to wonderful sounds of Kristen and Lee, the Royal Arboretum, on Sunday, August 1st.  Their performance is part of our Sunday Musical Afternoon series.  Before we knew it, the Restaurant was packed with patrons mesmerized by their seductive jazz duet.

The National Palooza, our all-day (noon - midnight) live music festival on July 3rd was a complete SUCCESS, thanks to YOU!!!  Thank you for celebrating with us as we welcomed numerous musicians and ended the night with Dancing-Under-the-Stars. What a day!  12 full hours of absolute bliss!

The Tom Hyland Trio, featuring Thomas Hyland, Doug Miller and Bernhard Geiger, performed in our upstairs Restaurant & Bar on June 13th.  What fun!

On June 6th, we had the pleasure of hosting  Dan McCluskey, as he brought music into our upstairs Restaurant from 5 - 7 p.m.  He was a joy to witness as he demonstrated an incredible love for acoustic music.

Jeffrey Fadden brought his signature style to entertain a full house on Sunday, May 30th, from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. upstairs in our Restaurant.  The entire building resonated w/his smooth jazz sounds and the beautiful voice of his partner, Lori.  Truly a great way to enjoy this special holiday weekend.

Ray McGeehan, singer/songwriter, entertained our patrons on Sunday, May 23rd, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  It was a dreary and overcast day outside, but Ray's beautiful voice and songs, kept everyone smiling inside our Restaurant & Bar upstairs.

Dennis Thatcher Trio performed on May 16th upstairs in our Restaurant.  His music enthralled and entertained all whom were present, as he played cover music and his own originals, from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.  It was wonderful to be able to have him return to The National Hotel.

Teri Rambo returned to The National Hotel and was joined by other musicians, as she performed her unique and delightful music on Sunday, May 2nd, from 5 - 8 p.m.  She is a singer/songwriter featuring Indie/Folk music.  She was the featured artist of the night at our Upstairs Restaurant.

Jay Wilensky was joined by Marie Trontell, on April 25th, where they performed their unique sounds of their duet, Circle Round the Sun, highlighting their singer/songwriter approach to folk music.    They performed from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. at our upstairs Bar, where they entertained patrons who braved the rainy weather that Sunday.

On Sunday, April 18th, we had the joyous experience of listening to the unique sounds of Chuck Schaeffer, who featured contemporary music, rockabilly, americana, and folk music.  He performed from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. at our upstairs Bar, and it delighted one and all...standing room only!

April 11th:  We were proud to welcome back The Jericho Mountain Grass ("The Grass"), featuring the “High and Lonesome” sounds of blue and new grass as they played in our upstairs Restaurant, from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
 
The Grass blends traditional ballads and new-grass tunes. The Grass consists of Carl Klingler on mandolin, Toby Hoffman on banjo, Pete Kane on fiddle, John Stetson on bass and John Gehman on guitar.  

The Rovin Hooligans performed in the upstairs Bar on Sunday, March 21st, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., following a performance in the Restaurant, on Sunday March 14th.  A great time was had by all, listening to their great Celtic tunes done with a folk-rock edge.  The Rovin Hooligans, a Celtic Americana duo, featuring Chet Smith on guitar and vocals, along with Chris O'Sullivan on bodhran, harmonica, and backing vocals entertained and got us all into the spirit of St. Patty's Day.   

Live in the Restaurant, back by popular demand, The Jericho Mountain Grass ("The Grass"), performed Sunday, February 28th, from
4 p.m. - 7 p.m.  The Jericho Mountain Grass ("The Grass") featuring the “High and Lonesome” sounds of blue and new grass played at The Rathskeller Pub at The National Hotel, Frenchtown, NJ on Sunday December 6 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
 
The Grass blends traditional ballads and new-grass tunes. The Grass consists of Carl Klingler on mandolin, Toby Hoffman on banjo, Pete Kane on fiddle, John Stetson on bass and John Gehman on guitar.  Super talented and fun to watch.
 
Teri Rambo  performed on Sunday, February 14th at The Rathskeller Pub Lounge, from 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.  Teri Rambo has written her own music and is an indie/folk musician.  The Rat Lounge was packed!!!  We had standing room only at one point, and people kept coming.  What a treat!!!
 
Dennis Thatcher  ("Den") performed on Sunday, January 24th at The National Hotel's Rathskeller Pub Lounge in Frenchtown, NJ, from 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.  If you joined us, you know how lucky we were to be able to feature Den at The National Hotel.  
 
Den plays classic cover rock, including James Taylor, Lifehouse, Poco, Crosby/Stills/Nash, Dave Mason, Elton John, America, Bob Seger, Bread, Stone Temple Pilots, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan, Simon/Garfunkel, Emerson/Lake/Palmer, and many, many more!!!
 
Sandy Zio has honed her vocal and piano style by playing hundreds of concerts over the past eight years, and and delighted our guests on Sunday, January 17th at The Rathskeller Pub Lounge, from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m.

With regards to Sandy's original music, in the words of famous drummer Manu Katché (who has performed with Sting, Peter Gabriel, JoeSatriani), “cool stuff, nice voice!!”  Zio has also been fortunate enough to have shared the stage with such well-known performers as Richie Cannata (Billy Joel), Julio Fernandez (SpyroGyra), Tony Beard (Paul McCartney), Joel Rosenblatt (Spyro Gyra), Glen Burtnik (Styx), Bobby Bandiera (BonJovi), Teddy Royal (Fats Domino),and Liberty Devitto (Billy Joel).  Zio has released her debut CD available on CDBaby.com, I-tunes, Amazon.com, etc. Currently Zio is playing several acoustic solo shows and she is also performing with the local band, the Mojo Mystics as well as other projects including the Saloon Chicks, The Reock N Roll Revue, and of course, the Sandy Zio band.  
 
The Jericho Mountain Grass ("The Grass") featuring the “High and Lonesome” sounds of blue and new grass played at The Rathskeller Pub at The National Hotel, Frenchtown, NJ on Sunday December 6 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
 
The Grass blends traditional ballads and new-grass tunes. The Grass consists of Carl Klingler on mandolin, Toby Hoffman on banjo, Pete Kane on fiddle, John Stetson on bass and John Gehman on guitar.  The Grass returned to Frenchtown after playing for the past four summers at the Stockton Inn. The Grass has played throughout Hunterdon and Bucks County, PA since 1980 from venues as various as the Tinicum Arts Festival and Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve to The Inn at the Hawk in Lambertville and The Bridge Café in Frenchtown.
 
“We’re thrilled to be playing at the reopened National Hotel in Frenchtown,” stated Carl Klingler, mandolinist.

 
Thank you for joining us these past Sundays downstairs in The Rathskeller Pub Lounge to welcome our participating musicians.  We hope to see you again at The National Hotel to listen to our next performer.