Brian Culbertson brings The Midnight Tapes Tour to Borgata's Music Box on April 9

The keyboardist and bandleader returns to Atlantic City for the first time since 2024, trading an arena for a 1,000-seat room on a Friday night.

The last time Brian Culbertson played Atlantic City, he was in an arena. When he comes back in the spring, it'll be a room a fraction of the size, at 9 p.m. on a Friday, which is about the right hour for music like his.

Brian Culbertson plays Borgata Music Box in Atlantic City on Friday, April 9, 2027, at 9 p.m. The date is billed as part of The Midnight Tapes Tour, and tickets run $77.90 to $230.85 through Ticketmaster. The show was announced Oct. 19. The Music Box holds 1,000.

It's his first South Jersey show since Sept. 21, 2024, when he played Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena down the Boardwalk. Going from an arena to a 1,000-capacity room is a real change for anyone who saw that show, and for a player whose music lives in feel and groove, it's arguably an upgrade.

Culbertson has been on a busy run of new music and touring since then. In 2025 he took his Day Trip Tour across the country, with stops like Atlanta Symphony Hall in October (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra) and the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale (Broward Center). *Day Trip* arrived as a new studio album with that tour, following 2023's *Brian Culbertson Presents: Sleep*, according to AOL. The spring 2027 run now carries a new name, The Midnight Tapes.

From an arena to a 1,000-seat room: for music built on groove, that's an upgrade.

The working habits go back a long way. Culbertson signed with Mesa Records in 1994 and made his debut, *Long Night Out*, supervising the production and playing most of the instruments himself, per Encyclopedia.com. Two decades later he revisited it with *Another Long Night Out* in 2014 (All About Jazz). By 2020's *XX*, he had reached his 20th solo record (Wikipedia), and the pace hasn't let up since.

That catalog sits at the meeting point of jazz, funk and R&B, and his shows tend to be built for people who like to hear a band lock in. A 9 p.m. start at the Music Box gives the night some breathing room: dinner first, then the show, then whatever's left of Friday.

April is early in the Atlantic City season, before the summer weekends get crowded. If you've been waiting for a reason to come down the Expressway before Memorial Day, this is a good one.

Get tickets while the better seats are still there, and plan for a late night. The tour's name is a hint.

Sources: Brian Culbertson Brings His Day Trip Tour to Atlanta in October (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra) (aso.org); Brian Culbertson – Day Trip Tour (Broward Center) (browardcenter.org); Celebrated Jazz Artist, 52, Drops 30th Studio Album, 'Day Trip' (AOL) (aol.com); Culbertson, Brian (Encyclopedia.com) (encyclopedia.com); Another Long Night Out for Brian Culbertson (All About Jazz) (allaboutjazz.com); Brian Culbertson (Wikipedia) (en.wikipedia.org); Tickets – Brian Culbertson: The Midnight Tapes Tour (Ticketmaster) (ticketmaster.evyy.net); JamBase show listing (jambase.com)