The newest discovery of Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records is The Bayonets from Los Angeles: Lucrecia Lopez Sanz, Brian Ray and Oliver Leiber (whose dad was one-half of the legendary Leiber/Stoller songwriting team who wrote almost every great song of the 1950s).

Stevie Van Zandt, Darlene Love, Steve Earle and Sam Moore were honored by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University April 15 in Long Branch.

Keyboardist Joe McGinty and his merry band of New York City rockers called The Loser’s Lounge will headline the free Hoboken Arts & Music Festival on May 7 at 4:30 p.m.

As Rock’n’Roll Hall of Famer Ricky Byrd told us himself in April’s “Up Close,” his string of singles for Stevie Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records will continue. Now, on the heels of his delicious “Glamdemic Blues”/”Reach Out (I’ll Be There”) comes “Alien.”

Wow. That’s all one could say upon hearing ‘That You Not Dare To Forget’ by M.E.B. (formerly Miles Electric Band). This amazing amalgam of hiphop and jazz is a stunning reminder that Miles Davis [1926-1991] never looked back, always looked forward to the next musical adventure which would capture his soul.

Blue Rose Records will be re-releasing Steve Forbert’s 1988 ‘Streets of This Town’ album on June 2. Long out-of-print, it marks the first time in 28 years this classic album—produced by the E Street Band’s Garry Tallent in Long Branch—will be available on CD and vinyl. Rolling Stone called it “arguably the best record he has ever made.” The Washington Post called it “the most moving and consistent album of his career.” Remixed and remastered, it sounds better than ever.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame is now accepting votes for the 2023 televised Induction ceremony. Vote now!

Those original “Jersey Boys”—Rock’n’Roll Hall of Famers Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons—have sold a staggering 175 million records since 1960 after being named after a bowling alley in Union. ‘Working Our Way Back To You’ (Madfish/Snapper Music), due June 2, is a monster boxed set containing 44 CDs and one vinyl LP with 195 singles, 31 newly remastered studio albums, alternate versions of well-known songs, demos, in-concert moments, even a failed Motown audition tape, over 800 tracks in all.

The Pride of Passaic, Donald Fagen, is set to remaster Steely Dan’s groundbreaking 1973 second album ‘Countdown To Ecstasy’ for a May 26 re-release on Geffen/UMe. This includes the album—with original versions of such Steely stand-outs as “Bodhisattva,” “My Old School” and “Show Biz Kids”—returning to vinyl. It’s all part of an extensive reissue program of the records made within the ABC and MCA catalog.

One thing you can unequivocally say about Stevie Van Zandt is the cat has ears. Everything he puts out on his Wicked Cool Records label is certainly worth hearing. The same can be said for his Sirius Satellite radio show Underground Garage. So when news came out about “Secrets” by Kurt Baker, my ears widened in anticipation.

Factory Records, in Dover of Morris County, is reinventing what record store patrons have been missing for years: a place to browse through hundreds of titles in a non-stressful environment, strong on vinyl in every imaginable genre. What’s most newsworthy here, though, is its special events with artists like Joe Bouchard of Blue Oyster Cult, Vince Martell of Vanilla Fudge, Richard Lloyd of Television, Carmine Appice of Rod Stewart’s band and Kasim Sulton of Utopia.

Paul Simon, born in Newark 81 years ago, goes ever on. His new album, Seven Psalms (Sony Music), due May 19, is one 33-minute piece in seven movements meant to be digested whole.

The pride of Paterson, vocalist-guitarist John Pizzarelli, will release Stage & Screen, April 21 on Palmetto Records. “In thinking about some of the songs that I really love to play,” he says, “it struck me how many of them come from either a Broadway show or from a movie.”

Americana singer-songwriter-guitarist Dan Montgomery, from Pennsauken in Camden County, who already has six acclaimed albums to his credit, has decided to return to the sounds of his youth in crafting album #8, recorded in Memphis with producer Robert Mache.

When Bruce Springsteen’s sixth album, ‘Nebraska,’ came out in 1982, it was a shocking reminder just how profound the singer-songwriter could be. Now comes ‘Aoife O’Donovan Plays Nebraska’ (Yep Rock Music Group) in which the Brooklyn songstress digs deep inside these lyrics to ferret out even more meaning…this time from a feminine perspective.

Born and raised in Paterson, singer-songwriter Jalisa Rey’s seven-track So Personal debut EP is an affair of the heart. Her versatility is now squarely in the forefront after three singles starting with “U Ain’t Shit,” followed up by “It Ain’t Fair” and “True Colors.” The gal’s got balls.

She came out of Detroit with both barrels smoking in the 1960s but she’s been a Jersey Girl for decades. With one of the most iconic voices in music history, as produced by drummer/label head Steve Jordan on songs all written by Randall Bramblett, ‘LeVette!’ won’t be released until June 16 but you can hear one song, “Plan B,” here.

Seven-string Guitar Hero Steve Bello—from Ramsey in Bergen County—hits home hard on Mood Swings. Dedicated to Neil Peart of Rush, the CD rocks like a bitch, is just the right amount of heavy, and features Bello’s searing, slashing electric leads and chugging rhythms juxtaposed against drummer/producer Mike Sabatini’s all-out bombast (he of metal band Attacker).

Darryl McDaniels of legendary rap group Run DMC and metal guitar hero Dan Lorenzo from Paramus of Hades, Non-Fiction and Patriarchs In Black are guests as thrash drummer Tom Hunting of Exodus steps out front for his ‘Hunting Party’ solo debut of some of his favorite songs.

They’re calling it post-rock. It sounds like the soundtrack to a horror film where you just know the heroine is going to get her head chopped off but you don’t know when. The Royal Arctic Institute—with members from Hoboken and Weehawken—have no singer and that’s why they’re special. The follow-up to their 2021 From Catnip To Coma is a languid chill affair accentuated by the production of Yo La Tengo’s James McNew.