Proud to call our “Up Close” subject this month, Ricky Byrd, a friend. Also proud of the job our lay-out artist Jason Brickhill does every month in making this site look so good. We’ve got another solid installment for July what with jazz great Sir Roland Hanna [1932-2002] of Teaneck in the “History” section, a “Meet…” with Sarah Manzo of Bergen County, 60 concerts in 60 days in the “Calendar” section, “Upcoming Events” for a closer look at some of the can’t-miss shows, 100 songs by 100 artists in our Hot 100 and even a sobering book about slavery in our great state in the “Jersey Bookshelf” section. As usual, “The Lowdown” lead, updated five times a week, switches off between deserving local artists, free festivals, superstar news and items about every imaginable genre. Today, for instance, spotlights the free cultural events Newark Mayor Baraka announced at a Juneteenth press conference for this summer. Plus “Visual Sound” is now up to five videos and will remain so. You’ll see Jessie Wagner’s hot “Wicked Cool,” the “Disease” of Skid Row, “One More” from The Spins, Bruce jamming with a Beatle and Jake Clemons, nephew of Clarence, imploring to “Stop The Wars.” We couldn’t agree more.