The first three dates of the American tour of Norway’s rock’n’rollin’ Cocktail Slippers are in New Jersey starting September 28 in Ringwood at Live At Drew’s. The following two nights, in Hightstown, at the Randy Ellis Man Cave, they’ll perform the new “Back Where You Belong” (on Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool record label). Then, on October 11, they will open for labelmates Soraia in Denville at the Sweet Vinyl Café (the seriously cool place with great coffee).  

In support of The 502s at Asbury Lanes down the shore, Arts Fishing Club will play a full set including the first single, “Gary Busey,” off their new Supernatural Groove EP. The indie-rock band from Tennessee is fronted by Christopher Kessenich, a dude who walked for five months—over 1,600 miles—from Maine to Georgia, playing 60 shows and sleeping on the floor in the homes of strangers. 

Cuban-Venezuelan pianist-vocalist-composer-arranger-producer-educator Cesar Orozco will be performing on Cedar Lane in Teaneck at 8:00 p.m. with his trio. He’s been based in New York City for the last decade and has worked with famed sax man Paquito D’Rivera among many others, having toured extensively throughout the U.S. as well as Scotland, Mexico, Australia, Columbia, England and Holland. 

The music of Australian hard rockers AC/DC has never been more gay! Dee Snider of Twisted Sister loves ‘em and they redo AC/DC’s iconic “Bad Boy Boogie” into the ironic “Gay Boy Boogie.” Coming to Rutherford for the first time, these shockingly astute hard rockers had members of L.A. Guns, Armored Saint and King’s X on their “Highway To Hell” video.

Dirty City ain’t sayin’ their Jersey City hometown is dirty. They’ll play in Washington Park from noon to 2:00 for free. They told Jim Testa’s “Constant Listener” that their sound is “high energy, low volume [with] irresistible grooves [of] bass, drums and bedroom vocals.” 

Touring in support of the 10^th anniversary of their breakthrough Men Amongst Mountains album, which has been re-released as an expanded 36-track bonanza, Louisiana’s The Revivalists have embarked on their “All In The Family” tour with Ohio singer-songwriter Nolan Taylor opening.

In support of its 12-track Oar On, Penelope! album on Yep Roc Records, The Minus 5 will perform “Blow In My Bag,” “Words And Birds” and other selections on September 21 in Jersey City at White Eagle Hall. From Americana to Psychedelia, this collective, since 1993, has featured, within its ranks, members of R.E.M., Drive-By Truckers, The Bangles, Wilco, Death Cab For Cutie and Pearl Jam.

In a special 3:00 p.m. all-ages show, Fear Of Falling, the Hunterdon County alt-rockers, will be playing selections from their brand new 11-song cherry-red vinyl limited-edition album, Long Shadows Echo.  Visit ebay.com/itm/406121327090 to get the $20.00 ticket for $13.

It’s been 30 years Of Ugly since Life Of Agony recorded that seminal alt-metal album. Now the New York foursome will perform that second album of theirs in its entirety on a tour that will crash-land at the Starland in Sayreville. Guitarist Joey Zampella says, “everyone was expecting River Runs Red, part two, but Ugly was a left turn. People were like, `this is different!’ It took some time to sink its hooks into our listeners but when it did, it became a classic.” God Forbid will open and on this night of nights so will Jasta, the solo project of Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta. Bring earplugs.

Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz have recorded six albums together as The Lucky Losers. In support of Arrival, which arrives Nov. 7, the San Francisco blues rockers will play in Montclair at the Brewery Sept. 19.

Lily Vakili will be performing a benefit concert at the Montclair Story Salon for 1in6 Support and Mission Kid Success. As a mother of an autistic son, she has always supported organizations such as Parents Who Rock. She also serves on the Montclair Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities. She’s produced documentaries and has always considered herself a voice for the less fortunate. Her Oceans Of Kansas album drops October 17. “Hold On They Say” is the new single.

Celebrating the 10^th anniversary of his Night Surfer album, Californian Chuck Prophet is on tour and will land in Mount Ephraim at Haddon Lake Park September 17. “There are a lot of little stories on this record,” he says.

“The Ultimate Ultimate Greatest Hits Tour,” as England’s Graham Gouldman, 79, calls it, hits the Carteret PAC Sept 13. He’s sold upwards of 30 million records with 10cc, the band he started in 1972. “I’m Not In Love” (1975) and “The Things We Do For Love” (1976) still sound as fresh and vital today as when they were first released. Then there’s “Dreadlock Holiday” from the 1978 movie The Social Network. Gouldman is touring with a whole new 10cc as he switches off between acoustic and electric guitars plus bass amid drums, percussion, keyboards and mandolin. 

Those going to the Sea. Hear. Now Festival on September 13 best get there on time to see that little old band from Texas, ZZ Top, as drummer Frank beard is back after a lengthy illness. Beard issued a statement that reads in part, “The doctors did what they did so now I’m able to do what I do. Happy that it’s back to band business as usual.”

Guitarist Pete McCann has played with Manhattan Transfer and the Mahavishnu Orchestra besides plenty of others. He’s currently in eight different bands but still has time to lead his own, which he will do September 12 in Teaneck. He’s the go-to guy when CNN, the BBC and Sesame Street needs a guitar.

Here’s a good triple-bill downtown Newark at the Pru:  Pennsylvania’s Breaking Benjamin, around for 23 years, with 10 #1s and 8.5 billion streams, will be supporting its Ember album by headlining with Canadian hard rockers Three Days Grace and L.A. alt-rockers Return To Dust.

Ohio’s The Plot In You—singer Landon Tewers, guitarist Josh Childress, bassist Ethan Yoder, drummer Michael Cooper—will embark on a headlining tour with support acts Northlane, Invent Animate and Windwalker, prior to opening for Bring Me The Horizon.  Their Volume #3 EP is out, and like their first two records, it hopscotches between alternative, electronica, hard pop and whiteboy soul.

They’re calling it the “God Is A Weapon” tour. Last summer, their Jelly Roll duet, “All My Life,” hit #1. This tour, they’re supporting “All My Women” with Slaughter To Prevail and Hollywood Undead opening. Last year’s Popular Monster album went gold, thus big venues like this one and then the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel on September 16 are the order of the day for them now and there’s no looking back.

Composer-Educator Andy Bianco will take time out from his guitar perch for Elle Varner to lead his band into Teaneck on Cedar Lane September 5 at 8:00 p.m. He’s played hot spot Smoke in New York City, the Essence Festival in New Orleans, the Black Entertainment Television Awards, the Richmond Virginia Jazz Fest and throughout Japan.

Singer-Songwriter Remember Jones will be performing two free sets in Highlands (Monmouth County) at The Seafarer Bar on Atlantic Street starting at 4:00 p.m. In the past, he’s performed tributes to everyone from Dean Martin and Dionne Warwick to Amy Winehouse, Joe Cocker and Queen. He has also positively nailed material from such disparate sources as Jeff Buckley, The Who, the Broadway show Hair, Kanye West, Meat Loaf and Tom Jones so there’s no telling what he and his nonet will perform. 

Remember “Teenage Dirtbag”? That was Wheatus, a ‘90s rock’n’roll band formed in the mean streets of New York City’s Lower East Side by singer-songwriter-guitarist Bendan B. Brown. Twenty-seven musicians have come in and out of their ranks since but Brown remains, leading a sextet through selections from their five albums, the latest of which is The Valentine (2013).  Opening will be Tug Of War Machine and Late Cambrian. 

Longtime Asbury Park resident Steve Forbert will bring his words and music to Terhune Park in Matawan on August 28, supporting his terrific Daylight Savings Time album (Blue Rose Music). American Songwriter magazine said of Forbert, “like Zevon, Petty, Parsons, Dylan and Springsteen, Forbert has left his unmistakable imprint on the landscape of American music.” He busted out of Mississippi in 1976 with one of the greatest alt-folk debuts of all-time, Alive On Arrival. His second album, Jackrabbit Slim, contained his biggest hit, “Romeo’s Tune.” Rosanne Cash, Keith Urban, Marty Stuart and Webb Wilder have covered his songs. In 2017, so did 21 artists on a tribute album.

Those going to see Blackberry Smoke at the Bergen PAC in Englewood on August 27 best get there early because rockin’ Tennessee troubadour Bones Owens will be previewing tracks from his upcoming Best Western album, due September 19 from the Thirty Tigers label. Its first single is “Old Time Low,” which Bones describes as “that familiar down-in-the-dumps feeling, the attempt to self-medicate it away, and the peaks and valleys that follow.” 

Celebrating the release of their first new music in four years, the multi-platinum Chevelle hits the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park on August 23. The Chicago brothers Loeffler have been in this band for three decades, enjoying 12 major hits in its impressive alt-rock history. Opening will be Asking Alexandra and Dead Poet Society.

Legendary hip-hop group Cypress Hill is on its “Dank Daze of Summer” tour in support of the recently-released Black Sunday Live at the Royal Albert Hall album with the London Symphony Orchestra, a reworking of its 1993 Black Sunday. Atmosphere, Lupe Fiasco and The Pharcyde are also on the bill. 

Paper Doll (Rounder Records) is out and Samantha Fish is supporting its release with a national tour that will take her to the Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival on August 16. This gal’s the real deal. She Shreds. Bigtime. Her Death Wish Blues with Jesse Dayton was one of the best damn albums of 2023 in any genre. There’s a reason that the Stones, Clapton and Slash have all asked her to open their shows. She rocks. “It’s taken me years to finally find my voice in a studio setting,” she says of Paper Doll, “but with this record I took everything I had and slammed it right on the table.” 

He’s won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Grammy. He’s sold upwards of 200 million records. A.R. Rahman—composer for 150+ films (including Slumdog Millionaire)—will stop in Newark August 16 at the Pru for his “Wonderment Tour.” The Bollywood superstar is amongst the most iconic of any artist from India. He blends classical, electronica and Indian folk-music in an all-encompassing theatrical presentation. 

If you’re going to see Train at the Hard Rock in AC, you best get there early enough to catch singer-songwriter Edwin McCain, on the road in support of his eleventh album, Lucky, his first album in 14 years.

After successful appearances in new York City at Birdland, The Blue Note, Lincoln Center,  Smalls, Smoke and Mezzrow, Maryland jazz guitarist-composer-educator Andrew Latona brings his trio to Teaneck on August 15. Gospel and that Washington DC strain of what they call go-go music resonates in his mix. Now based in Brooklyn, he’s the brother of Christopher Latona, the rising jazz drummer-pianist.

Half British-Half Boston Blues Band Bees Deluxe return to the Lizzie Rose Music Room in Tuckerton August 15 by popular demand with Asbury Park singer-songwriter Renee Maskin opening. They’ll be headed to Memphis in January to compete in the International Blues Challenge with their mix of New Orleans funk, psychedelic acid-rock and deep Chicago Blues. They color outside the lines with versions of everything from Billie Holiday to Jimi Hendrix. Lead guitarist Conrad Warre went to school with the late Paul Kossoff of Free. He toured throughout Europe with Joe Jackson.