As previously reported, the Box Of The Year comes June 27 when Tracks II: The Lost Albums will contain seven complete never-before-heard Springsteen albums in one massive package. One of the albums is the highly anticipated 10-track Streets Of Philadelphia Sessions.

The 60 nominees in six categories for the 2025 New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony later this year have been announced. You can vote as of now by using the link below (which contains capsule biographies on all 60.) You have until April 15.

The year was 1956. Roosevelt Stadium at Droyer’s Point in Jersey City was a minor-league baseball park open since 1937. It was torn down in 1985 to make room for the Society Hill housing development. Before that, it hosted hundreds of great rock concerts by the likes of Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, J. Geils Band, Kinks, Santana, Joe Cocker, Allman Brothers, ELP, Eagles, Yes, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Doobies, Kiss, Bob Seger and dozens more. Then came the infamous press conference by Jersey City Mayor Bernie Berry and Commissioner Larence A.

German label Ear Music has re-mastered and will re-release Revolutions Per Minute, the fifth album from Skid Row (originally from Toms River in Ocean County) on May 30.

Jem Records will release The Shroud of Touring: Live in 1985 on CD May 23. Recorded at The Tradewinds in Sea Bright, this sole Bongos live album was originally intended for an RCA Memorial Day ’85 release but has somehow remained unreleased until now.

British label Ace Records will release Springsteen’s Country on May 30. The label had previously released in 2022 Ladies Sing The Boss with The Patti Smith Group, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Bettye LaVette, The Cowboy Junkies, Darlene Love, Lucy Dacus, Jessie Kennedy, Deana Carter, Solas, Piney Gir, Soccer Mommy, Moa Holmsten, Hem, Shovels & Rope, Thea Gilmore, Kerry Hart, Anna Calvi and Aoife O’Donovan.

Jessie Wagner has been the “Voice-In-Demand” for Lenny Kravitz, Chic and Duran Duran, but when she stepped out solo from her vocal perch in Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul, it resulted in her 2020 Shoe’s Droppin’ debut on Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool label. She followed that up with her exquisite rendition of Soloman Burke’s 1962 “Cry To Me” in May of ’23. Now comes news that her long-anticipated follow-up album—originally slated for last year—will land April 25.

A hint as to the direction of the upcoming album by The Spins can be heard on “It’s Me,” the new single from this Warren County band.

Deep in the bowels of Passaic County, Frog March has set an ambitious plan in motion. Recording in their home studios for about a decade, the alt-rock band from Pompton Lakes has morphed into dance-pop territory with plans to release a series of upbeat singles. 

The lineup has been announced for The Garden State Arts Foundation’s FREE concert series at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel. It all starts on May 8 at 1:30 in the afternoon with The Duke Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Duke’s son, Mercer Ellington.

It's already been in movie theaters but starting April 29, Janis Ian: Breaking Silence will be available on streaming services. In the film, directed by a British filmmaker Varda Bar-Kar, Arlo Guthrie, Lily Tomlin, Joan Baez and others sing her praises. Packed with film clips of the various eras in which she rose to become an icon, it’s a testament to her bravery in the face of unbelievable hatred and ignorance.

He calls it “modern progressive metal.” When guitarist Steve Dadaian graduated from Cresskill High School in Bergen County, he was immersed in classical music. His new album, Revenant City, drops May 9, but one track, “Garden Of Stars,” with Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess, can be digested here.

The 15^th annual “Rock, Ribs and Ridges Festival” is set for June 27, 28 and 29 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta. Orleans and the Atlanta Rhythm Section perform on Friday. The Matt Coffy Band, Six Gun Sally, the Artimus Pyle Band, Black Stone Cherry and Grand Funk Railroad are scheduled for Saturday.

Seven never-before-heard Bruce albums will be released for the first time on June 27.  Rumors have abounded for years that Bruce had recorded more albums that were shelved, only played for friends and family of the artist. Now we’ll all get to hear them.

The Jazz Arts Project of New Jersey will honor Rahway trumpeter Warren Vache, Jr., 74, on April 30 at Triumph Restaurant & Brewery in Red Bank. Vache, in his long and illustrious career, has played with the Benny Goodman Orchestra and backed up singer Rosemary Clooney.

Attention Northeast Punk Rockers:  get ready for the New Jersey Punk Rock Flea Market’s “Spring Fling” IN 10 DAYS April 12 and 13 at the Cure Arena in Trenton. They are promising “the raddest, baddest, most chaotic celebration of punk, DIY and alt-culture this side of the Turnpike!”

NFL star quarterback Eli Manning stood before a packed house of Jonas fans at American Dream on Route 3 in East Rutherford last Sunday to announce that the popular boy band from Wyckoff in Bergen County, The Jonas Brothers, will be inducted as part of the 2025 ceremonies later this year.

Besides playing some Jimi on the Experience Hendrix tour, Zakk Wylde, 58, from Bayonne, who made Ozzy sound better and also shredded in his own Black Label Society, will be on stages around the world with Pantera. Billed as “The Heaviest Tour Of The Summer,” opening acts have just been announced:  King Parrot (July 31 to September 13), Snafu (July 15 to July 23), Shock Narcotic (July 25 to July 29) and Flesh Hoarder (Sept. 2, 3).

The next generation of jazz stars will be on display at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark April 26 when over 100 of them will perform for free in honor of International Jazz Day on April 30.

The 60 nominees in six categories for the 2025 New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony later this year have been announced. You can vote as of now by using the link below (which contains capsule biographies on all 60.) You have until April 15.