Label Head/Producer/Keyboardist/Composer Marco Benevento—from Livingston in Essex County—is at it again. Last year, he formulated an incredible afternoon in the Hudson Valley of New York called “Follow The Arrow.” This year, on June 17, at Arrowood Farms in Accord NY, he’ll do it again with the Benevento Family Band, Rubblebucket, The Barr Brothers and Scott Metzger (so far).

Those metal punks from Lodi in Bergen County known as Misfits have announced a mini-tour of three cities with singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig, bassist Jerry Only, lead guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, guitarist Acey Slade and legendary drummer Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Testament, Suicidal Tendencies, Mr. Bungle and Fantomas).

President Joe Biden bestowed the National Medal of Arts on March 21 in the East Room of the White House to honorees that included Bruce Springsteen as well as singer Gladys Knight, actor Julia Louis Dreyfus, authors Colson Whitehead and Amy Tan, comedian Mindy Kaling and designer Vera Wang.

The Delmore Recording Society will re-release and re-master Tricycle, the long out-of-print 1994 Wild Carnation debut with bassist/vocalist Brenda Sauter of The Feelies, guitarist Rich Barnes and drummer/vocalist Chris O’Donovan of Grey District. The limited 500-copy pressing on white vinyl will be ready by Record Store Day April 22.

Longtime Jersey Rocker John Eddie has teamed up with Priscilla Presley to create Agent Elvis. Netflix’s new 10-episode animated series is funny, outrageous, action-packed and already has pissed people off. Movie Star Matthew McConaughey voices the Elvis character while dropping as many F-Bombs as possible.

We have to hand it to Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac for instituting the best annual tradition ever in Middlesex County. How about five-nights-a-week of free concerts starting June 3 and continuing all the way to September 20. Unheard of!

On May 11, the Count Basie Center for the Arts will present “Shore To Rock Hunger,” a benefit for the Fulfill Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

Kenny Vance of Jay & The Americans will be honored with the “Spirit Of New Jersey” Award at the Garden State Film Festival on March 25 in Asbury Park.

“Live Jazz Every Night” proclaims its website. Open 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., Brvsh Cul7ur3 (pronounced Brush Culture), 482 Cedar Lane in Teaneck, will offer dinner, drinks and more affordable prices than Manhattan clubs.

Free shows are rare. But the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel will be presenting British Invasion act Herman’s Hermits and Tommy Roe on June 8. The Soundtrack of Our Lives with Deborah Rennard and Al Sapienza will open. Legendary disc jockey Cousin Brucie will host.

Halsey, Demi Lovato, Santana, Alanis Morisette, Stephen Colbert, Jim Gaffigan, Bill Burr, Marisa Monte, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Brian Fallon, The Smithereens, The B-52s, Natalie Merchant and Jay Wheeler are among the attractions.

The history of music in New Jersey traverses an unusually long and circuitous path. And it starts with the Lenni-Lanape tribe, known as the “ancient ones” as their lineage dates back almost 10,000 years.

The day after the first leg of the Bruce Springsteen tour ends in Newark April 14 at the Prudential Center, Stevie Van Zandt, Darlene Love, Steve Earle and Sam Moore will be honored by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University.

Ricky Byrd’s latest single—“Glamdemic Blues” with the hippest cover of a Four Tops song you’ll ever hear (“Reach Out”) on the flip side—spent a week as the “Coolest Song In The World” on Little Steven’s Underground Garage (Sirius XM).

For his 29th album, recorded in Middletown, Little Falls and Paramus, vibraphonist/keyboardist/arranger/composer/producer Joe Locke, 63, leads his quartet—with pianist Jim Ridl, bassist Lorin Cohen and drummer Samvel Sarkisyan—through some acrobatic arrangements, challenging in their complexity.

He charged out of Newark to change the face of modern jazz. Tenor saxophonist Wayne Shorter, over the course of seven decades, was one of the most influential musicians in history. He died March 2 in Los Angeles.

Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs continues to be the place where great jazz is born…and Time Bandits, by trumpeter/composer John Bailey, is no exception. In this one legendary studio, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard, Thelonious Monk, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Memphis Slim and hundreds of other greats made their best recordings.

New Orleans is a state-of-mind. Every year around this time of year, Mardi Gras is an explosion of joyousness. You don’t have to travel down to Louisiana to feel it. Its spirit resides in Mercer County, in a little town called Ewing, where Joe Grillo leads The Gumbo Gumbas on a Cajun holiday all year round.

Our Jersey Festival Line-up: Bamboozle, Adjacent Music Festival, Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival, Barefoot Country Music Festival, Tidalwave Music Festival, Sea. Hear. Now.

“Bruce? That’s a tough one, because I like the guy. But the music…I don’t know. I’m the toughest taskmaster of all time. I’m going to annoy a lot of people. Bruce? To me, it’s pretentious.”