Free Throw and Microwave load into Starland Ballroom this Saturday

A four-band emo and punk bill hits Sayreville on Saturday, Nov. 7, in what our records show is Free Throw's first Central Jersey date.

Starland Ballroom on a Saturday night in November is a Central Jersey ritual: the parking lot off Route 35 filling up early, hoodies in the cold, and a line that starts well before doors. This Saturday, Nov. 7, the reason is a four-band punk bill headed by Free Throw.

The show starts at 7 p.m. Free Throw shares the bill with Microwave, Carly Cosgrove and Kerosene Heights, and tickets are through AXS, linked from our show page. Starland holds about 2,000, and with four bands on the card, this is a night to get there early.

It's also a first, at least by our count. There is no earlier Central Jersey show for Free Throw in our records, which makes Saturday the band's debut in the market as far as our listings go. They arrive near the end of a long fall run with Microwave, which has been billed as Microwave & Free Throw: North America 2026. Free Throw has been out since early October, through rooms like Asheville's Orange Peel and Athens's Georgia Theatre, and this week they've already hit Milwaukee, Lansing and Pittsburgh. After Sayreville, the run heads south to Hampton Roads on Nov. 10, Wilmington on Nov. 11 and Savannah on Nov. 13.

That's a band in road shape. Free Throw spent the spring on tour too, with setlists from April and May dates logged by Dork, so by the time they hit Starland they'll have most of a year of shows behind them.

Microwave is the other half of the headline. They've toured hard on their own recently, including an anniversary run for their album Much Love with Anthony Green and others, and pairing them with Free Throw gives this bill two bands with their own devoted crowds.

Starland has been through a mill, a bar called Willy's, the Hunka Bunka Ballroom and Hurricane Sandy. It's still standing.

The room has its own story. Before it was Starland Ballroom, the building was the Jernee Mill Inn from 1962 to 1982, then Willy's until 1987, then the Hunka Bunka Ballroom until 2003. It opened under the Starland name on Dec. 6, 2003. When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, the venue was shut for 10 months for repairs, and it came back almost a year after the storm with reopening shows from Taking Back Sunday, Saves the Day and Streetlight Manifesto. It's now owned and operated by AEG Presents, and for two decades it's been the place where touring punk and emo bands play when they come through this part of the state.

That lineage is why a bill like this one feels at home there. Bands like Taking Back Sunday helped build the room's reputation; Free Throw and Microwave come from the generation of bands that grew up on that music.

Practical notes: with four bands and a 7 p.m. start, the openers will be on early; Carly Cosgrove and Kerosene Heights are worth the effort if you want the full night. AXS tickets are mobile, so load them before you leave. Parking at Starland is on site but fills fast on a sold-well Saturday.

Saturday is two days away. If you've been meaning to go, now's the time to decide.

Sources: Starland Ballroom – Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); As Starland Ballroom Re-Opens, a Star is Re-Born – New Jersey Monthly (njmonthly.com); Taking Back Sunday, Saves The Day, Streetlight Manifesto to play Starland Ballroom reopening shows – Alternative Press (altpress.com); Sayreville Welcomes Back Starland Ballroom – Lancer's Point (lancerspoint.sjvhs.com); Starland Ballroom – AEG Presents (aeggp.com); Free Throw setlist, 2026-04-23 – Dork (readdork.com); Free Throw setlist, 2026-05-03 – Dork (readdork.com); Microwave announce Much Love anniversary tour w/ Anthony Green, Hunny, Into It. Over It. & more – BrooklynVegan (brooklynvegan.com); Free Throw tour dates (Microwave & Free Throw: North America 2026) (catchmovement.com); Free Throw at Starland Ballroom – JamBase (jambase.com)