No one has epitomized the essence of feel-good summer-time beach music like Nashville singer-songwriter-producer Mark Mulch. Originally from Toms River in Ocean County, his music will put a smile on your face and a strut in your step. Like Elvis with “Slicin’ Sand” (which Mulch should cover!), like the Beach Boys of “Catch A Wave,” like Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville,” his music is a balm for the soul in these troubled times. Now he’s come Full Circle with an album filled with such pleasures.

The legends of jazz knew if they wanted the best, they’d have to cross the Hudson from New York City to Hackensack. Rudy Van Gelder [1924-2016] was a sound scientist. Coltrane, Monk, Miles, Ellington, Ray Charles, Sonny Rollins, they all made the trip. The studio is in Englewood now, run by Maureen and Don Sickler. And it’s still producing gems.

Chris Vincent follows up last year’s Good Crook with The Chicken Mart EP, a collaborative effort wherein the New Orleans songwriter/guitarist/singer got some of his Louisiana friends in the studio to bash out two new originals at Grammy Award-winning Jake Eckert’s Rhythm Shack studio. Originally from Bayonne, Vincent plays a mean slide and demonstrated such at the recent New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. (See him below showing off his funky fretwork live on WWL-TV.)

They’ve been on the road for what seems like forever but the follow-up to their Killing The Bear debut comes out next week. Three singles from the upcoming album are out now. Check out “Crows In Camouflage” here.

There’s only one state in the U.S. that does not have a state song. Ironically, it is New Jersey, a state filled with music and musicians. We have been given permission to post Richard Lee’s strong argument—published in the prestigious journal American Music Perspectives in 2004 and updated by Lee last month—why the time is right for “Born To Run” by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band to, indeed, be The State Song Of New Jersey.

There’s only one state in the U.S. that does not have a state song. Ironically, it is New Jersey, a state filled with music and musicians. We have been given permission to post Richard Lee’s strong argument—published in the prestigious journal American Music Perspectives in 2004 and updated by Lee last month—why the time is right for “Born To Run” by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band to, indeed, be The State Song Of New Jersey.

On June 7, the Mahwah Museum will host the “Les Paul 111^th Birthday Celebration,” an afternoon tribute show with Tom and Sandy Doyle. Festivities will include an audience question-and-answer session.

Split between Middlesex and Hudson counties, the hard rock’n’roll of Black Rose Rebellion will be unleashed Friday via Pavement Entertainment. Hail The Rebel Queen is a shock to the system, a debut so direct and unsparing in its explicit and profound heaviness (without actually being metal) that it will be hard to ignore.

Despite the March 30 death of bassist Chris Morino, 63, a founding member of Bergen County punk band Mourning Noise, Serpent Lip Service came out last month to melt minds with its ferocious approach. In fact, the single, “Melted Minds,” according to vocalist-guitarist Robby Bloodshed, “is a lens into an altered reality, a synopsis of how your brain, heart and soul can play tricks on you, how it could make you believe something is so real, when it is so clearly an illusion in front of your own eyes.”

Montclair’s Jason Didner has always been known for his Jersey-centric music and sense of humor. From “You Can’t Get There From Here In Jersey” and “Deliver Me From Nowhere” to “People Against The Abuse Of Acronyms” and “Underwater Basket Weaving,” Didner has graced his rockin’ side with good vibes and his introspective side with worthy wisdom. Now comes Asbury Heart, a full-length that longtime Jersey reporter Jim Testa called “fast, fun and catchy.”

Longtime Union County singer-songwriter-guitarist J. Howard Duff has released two full albums in an effort to “hand something down to my kids when I’m not here anymore.” Back in 2024, we went “Up-Close” with him and his “This Misery” is still in our “Hot 100.” Legacy: The Road is the first of the “The Best Of J. Howard Duff.”

Princeton-born Palmyra Delran is part of the new “Magic In The Air” (Little Steven’s Wicked Cool Records) by Dan Miraldi. “I like to leave interpretation to the listener,” Mirandi says, “but to me, it’s about finding joy in everyday life. The world can get you down, but every now and then something mundane can feel miraculous and empowering. Sometimes you really have to wrestle with songs but this one felt pretty effortless.

There’s no telling what boogie-woogie piano man Johnny Iguana will do next. His ten fingers are all over Garage Glamour by The Claudettes, due June 5, particularly the sexy “Touch You Back.”

Mike Daly can write. Plus, he’s got the kind of voice Elvis Costello strives for. He always did. From bands Every Damn Day to Mike Daly & The Planets, to his longtime Aquarian Weekly Editorship, he has maintained a level of musical and journalistic excellence. Lately, the 64-year old has been plowing through the detritus of his career, songs that are simply too damn good not be heard again. The latest discovery is “Wishing Hoping Wanting.”

James Mastro of The Bongos and Ian Hunter’s band will reunite with fellow Bongo Richard Barone on May 30 back in their Hoboken hometown at The 503 Social Club to pour forth songs from their recently re-released duo album, 1983’s Nuts & Bolts, originally produced by Mitch Easter (R.E.M.). Iconoclassic Records has now re-released it for the first time on CD.

Pianist-Composer Bill Evans [1929-1980] left Miles Davis after recording Kind Of Blue—the best-selling and most influential jazz album of all-time—in ‘59. Zev “The Jazz Detective” Feldman has resurrected both sets for Bill Evans Live At The BBC (Elemental Music). It’s his 15^th collaboration of long-lost jazz with the Evans estate, thus keeping the flame burning bright for the man who many consider one of the greatest piano players ever.

Bob Bert was the drummer of Sonic Youth and Pussy Galore. On June 12, Bar/None Records will be releasing his solo effort, Beach Bongo Bloodbath, recorded in Hoboken at Deep Sea Studio. The six originals and eight covers includes Mountain’s iconic 1970 “Mississippi Queen” and 1977’s “Love Comes In Spurts” by Richard Hell & The Voidoids. But there’s a catch.

In celebration of indigenous music in America, The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music will team up with Hard Rock International (which is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida) to present a free concert called “The Native American Music Experience” on June 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Pollak Theatre of Monmouth University at 400 Cedar Avenue in West Long Branch. The show kicks off a week of festivities surrounding the new digs of the Center.

Southside Johnny Lyon’s voice always contained the kind of soul and grit that The Jersey Sound is all about. Unfortunately, in 2024, the 77-year old legend retired from live performances, citing health reasons. Yet on May 6, at The Elbow Room in Bradley Beach, he quietly stepped up to the microphone to sing with his old friend—and bandmate in the Asbury Jukes from 1986 to 2000—Bobby Bandiera.

Princeton’s Blues Traveler has been teaming up with Arizona’s Gin Blossoms on tour and on television. They recently performed together on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (see below) and will also appear tonight on the three-hour season finale of American Idol.