The Nimbus Arts Center, at 329 Warren Street in Jersey City, is the site for the FREE Hudson West Fest on September 13. It’s an all-day groove to the sounds of Americana, Jazz, Folk, Country, Pop, Rock and even family square dancing.

The follow-up to last year’s Revelation, by Piper & The Hard Times, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Blues Album chart, is the self-released Good Company.

Bon Jovi’s current album, Forever, came out last year. This year it’s coming out again as Forever (Legendary Edition), re-recorded with a different guest artist on each song (plus one new song).

For those who like to dance to compositions in 7/8 time, with no radio play whatsoever, the American Northeast’s only international Progressive Rock Festival, ProgStock, happens October 9, 10, 11 and 12 at the Williams Center in Rutherford, Bergen County, an artist-run arts center, complete with cinema and comedy club.

A special concert this Wednesday, Sept. 3, has been added to the various celebrations put on by the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music (BSACAM) to honor the 50^th Anniversary of Born To Run, the album that made Bruce a star.

The scenic campus of Drew University in Madison, Morris County, is where Drew U’s 433-seat Concert Hall is nestled. The following shows have just been announced.

Cre8ive_MC, of Parsippany, has released his Make Sure They Spell Your Name Right debut. Born to an art teacher and sculptor/guitarist, Glenn Paul Simon, as he was born, has opened shows for Common, and was the featured poet at the Madison Community Arts Center in Morris County.

When Debbie Harry was being raised in Hawthorne (Passaic County), sure, she thought about being a rock star. Never once did she think of being a Comic Book Hero. But in 2023, out came Blondie: Against The Odds, a hardcover comic book, or Hardcover Graphic Novel as they’re calling it. Written by a team of 10 writers, illustrated by 13 graphic artists, in honor of the band’s 50^th Anniversary, Harry loved it because, as she said at the time, “one of the things that brought us all together as a band was comics and comic art. No matter how you slice it, Blondie has its roots deep into the genre.”

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark has announced its 2025-2026 winter season of classical music. San Francisco’s Chanticleer, “The World’s Reigning Male Chorus” (according to The New Yorker magazine), kicks it off December 6 at 3:00 p.m. with its “Chanticleer Christmas” presentation.

Very Early: Remembering Bill Evans (Joplin & Sweeney Music Company), by the Jim Witzel Quartet, is the latest tribute to one of the greatest pianists of all-time. Bill Evans was born in Plainfield, Union County, and died in 1980 at 51, a victim of his own excess. But before he killed himself with drugs, he was known for his complex melodic inventions, influential, introspective, innovative. His lyrical romanticism made what would become the biggest-selling jazz album of all-time, Kind Of Blue, in 1959, with the sextet of Miles Davis.

Free concerts have been going on at the PNC Bank Arts Center right off the Garden State Parkway in Holmdel for a few years. The Garden State Arts Foundation has now announced its fall free shows.

A free all-day fest in Jersey City with bands and beer takes place this Sunday, August 24, starting at 1:00. The Eartheart Festival is dedicated to the proposition that a well-balanced symbiosis between brain and body makes all the difference in the world.

The deadline to register for the 14^th Annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition (known as The Sassy Awards) is September 2. The finals of the competition will be held November 23 in Newark as part of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) James Moody Festival.

There’s a rest stop in Forked River (Ocean County) on the Garden State Parkway in honor of New Jersey Hall of Famer Celia Cruz. When “The Queen Of Salsa” escaped Castro in 1961, she ultimately—after brief stops in New York City and Miami—wound up in Fort Lee (Bergen County) where she lived out the rest of her life. Now her Tremendo Trio (Craft Recordings Latino), with percussionist Ray Barretto and vocalist Adalberto Santiago, long out-of-print, returns to glorious life as Craft will re-release it on vinyl October 3 in honor of the centennial of the birth of Celia Cruz.

For four hours on Friday, September 19, starting at 5:00 p.m. and eight hours on Saturday, September 20, starting at 1:00 p.m., Freedom Park on Union Street in Medford (Burlington County) will ring long and strong FOR FREE with three stages of live music featuring Remember Jones, Williams Honor, Nik Greeley & the Operators and the champions of the Philadelphia Mummers Parade, the Quaker City String Band. 

Indie-Rockers Forever King Clark, out of Asbury Park, will release its Five Dollar Yacht Club EP next week. Band leader Bobby Kallok says, “after years wading through the Asbury Park music community, we really wanted to create a release centered around the idea of belonging in the scene and beyond. That’s why we decided to combine the concept of the exclusive yacht club with the low barrier of the five-dollar entry.”

One of the 14 tracks off Buckle Up, the far-reaching follow-up to 2021’s surprising Let’s Rattle, by DD Verni & The Cadillac Band, is “Let’s Go Crazy” (featuring a sax solo by Johnny Reno from Stevie Ray Vaughan’s band). One would never think that this is the same dude who started Overkill with Bobby Blitz 45 years ago after graduating New Providence High School in Union County.

The Into The Pines Music, Arts and Culture Festival takes over the New Jersey Pine Barrons in Hammonton (Atlantic County) on Paradise Drive for three days next week August 21, 22 & 23. South Jersey fest promoter John Facchinei has been running fests for over two decades. Dude has a great ear for talent before they explode. The pet-friendly event—with kids under 14 free—has discounts for military and seniors.

Ciconte’s Restaurant Group will present The Glassboro Craft Beer Festival in Gloucester County on September 27 from 1:00 to 5:00 at the Glassboro Town Square, 1 West High Street. GoodMan Fiske will provide the live Pop, Rock, Dance, Hip-Hop, R’n’B. Country and Oldies covers. Fifty+ breweries will serve almost 100 unique craft beers amid the food trucks, local craft vendors, non-alcoholic mocktails and regional wines.

Last year, on May 28, we asked if you heard of Monte yet? She goes by the name of Monte Maybe these days. The enigmatic Red Bank songstress, at the time, was dreaming about “Cowboys,” then bemoaning her age at “23.” Now, as part of her full-length Jersey Devil debut album, she’s a “Catalyst,” a fascinating music-maker who only has nice things to say about her producer, Deana Fielding.