Montclair’s Conall Gorman will compete with Clifton’s Haley Mia to earn a spot in The Top 24 of American Idol. The good-looking Dylanesque singer-songwriter, 19, with fluid lead guitar chops like Paul Simon, performed an original, “Backseat.” Gorman graduated Seton Hall Prep in West Orange before moving to Tennessee to attend Belmont College.

Emanating out of Mozart Studio in Little Falls, Passaic County, comes an absolutely delicious platter of sweets buoyed by drummer Jason Marsalis, he of the First Family of New Orleans Jazz. It’s bassist-composer Christian Fabian’s date yet it’s keyboardist Matt King who gives this party its heft. Highlighted by some discreet picks to interpret, ‘Hip To The Skip’ is as rhythmic and funky as its title (say it five times fast).

They came out of Portland Oregon in 1994 and eleven albums later, the alt-rock darlings of The Dandy Warhols got one of their heroes—New Jersey’s own Debbie Harry of Blondie—to sing on “I Will Never Stop Loving You.”

Posters for the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market’s “Spring Fling” at the Cure Insurance Arena—81 Hamilton Avenue—April 6 and 7 says “Calling all friends! Families! Punks! Goths! Geeks! Freaks! Emos! Nerds!” Promising hundreds of vendors, artists from across the country, dozens of fresh-food trucks, live disc jockeys, celebrity guests (including Richie Stotts of The Plasmatics), sideshow performances, live tattooing, author signings and scavenger hunts, the event rambles on for seven hours each day from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Express Newark is hosting a multi-media exhibition in honor of Poet-Educator-Activist-Producer-Actor-Orator Amiri Baraka [1934-2014] downtown Newark at 54 Halsey Street through July 19. The event keys in on Baraka’s groundbreaking 1963 book ‘Blues People: Negro Music in White America,’ written when he was still known by his “slave name,” as he used to say, LeRoi Jones.

Drummer/Composer Lenny White, who in the 1970s set the standard for prog-rock jazz in the pioneering Return To Forever, a longtime resident of Teaneck in Bergen County, can be heard on ‘Live At Dizzy’s Club: The Music of Elvin & McCoy’ (Woodneck Records) by bassist Gerald Cannon.

“Thank You Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” is a four-part warts-and-all docu-series with balls debuting on Hulu April 26. Cameras follow the band on its 2022 tour with Jon sharing never-before-seen photos and letting the viewer in on his most vulnerable fears and apprehensions.

They’re billing it as “The Festival Only New Jersey Can Handle.” June is going to be crazy when the second annual North To Shore Festival comes back to over 100 venues in three cities—Asbury Park, Atlantic City and Newark—with over 300 acts including Gary Clark, Jr., Band Of Horses, Lake Street Drive, Bleachers, Steve Forbert and many others in Asbury Park (June 10-16), Atlantic City (June 17-23), and Newark (June 24-30).

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen and singer/ songwriter/ healing arts practitioner Lauren Monroe started the Raven Drum Foundation 21 years ago to benefit First Responders, Firefighters and Veterans. Tomorrow night, March 14, they will co-host an all-star benefit concert at The Cutting Room in New York City with Friends of Firefighters.

Sea Hear Now, New Jersey’s largest homegrown rock festival, is set for September 14 and 15 with shows in Asbury Park and Bradley Beach. Over 25 bands will strut their stuff like last year when Foo Fighters, The Killers, Weezer, The Beach Boys and Sheryl Crow performed. This year Noah Kahan headlines Saturday and some rock group called Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band headlines Sunday.

They called it “Celebration of the Suds” back in 2006 when this annual event started with 29 breweries hosting almost 3,000 adults with no music, just beer. In 2012, music was added. In 2024, 101 breweries with 400 flavors of beer will fill the Atlantic City Convention Center on April 12 and 13 for the estimated 18,000 21+ adults with no babies, animals or kids allowed.

It’s called “Move On Up” and it’s the inaugural “Gospel and Praise Team Sing-Off” celebrating gospel choirs and praise teams, awarding money to the winning ensembles.

Bergen County singer-songwriter-guitarist Rory D’Lasnow has a way with words. His latest two original tunes—“Maybe Tonight” and “Real”—come complete with multi-tracked harmonics.

He was devilishly funny, with a wit and a sardonic side that tempered his laughs with profound truth. Raised in Bergen County, Richard Lewis succumbed to a heart attack at 76 on February 27.

She stood fearlessly on the American Idol stage and belted out a song by one of the judges—“Rise” by Katy Perry. Clifton resident Hailey Mia, 16, a student at Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne, will continue on the show during its Hollywood phase.

The Sheraton Parsippany will be taken over by the freaks, weirdos, vampires, zombies, metal-boys and goth-girls of Dark Fest April 19, 20 and 21. It’s an Industrial-Gothic Music Festival complete with 35+ bands, 100+ vendors, club events, a costume contest, sideshow performers, activities and panels.

Rachel Zegler, the Hackensack-born, Clifton-raised singer has starred as Athena in Shazam! Fury Of The Gods and as Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds. In the only awards show in which the fans get to vote, she beat heavy favorites like Keanu Reeves, Jason Momoa and Gal Gadot.

Jazz Giant Rufus Reid, 80, of Teaneck, not only helped build the Jazz Studies program at William Paterson University (WPU) in Wayne into one of the most renowned jazz education programs in the world, but was the go-to bassist/composer in the bands of other legends: from trombonist JJ Johnson and tenor saxophonist Stan Getz to pianist Kenny Barron and trumpeter Art Farmer.

From onstage backing John Denver plus Peter Paul & Mary to in the studio with Aerosmith and Bowie, it’s small wonder Stevie Van Zandt tapped Marc Ribler to be Musical Director for Little Steven & The Disciples Of Soul. It's all come full circle with his terrific band Story Road with drummer Charley Drayton (Dylan/Keith Richards) and bassist Jack Daley (Lenny Kravitz/Spin Doctors). The latest single from their ‘Armageddon’ album (Wicked Cool Records) is “Dick Cavett” and it’s a hoot!

It’s right on the beach. Over 40 artists on five stages are slated to appear over four days—June 20, 21, 22 and 23—in Wildwood. It all kicks off on the first day of summer that Thursday at 3:00. Then at 1:00 p.m. for three straight days with each day ending at 11:30 p.m.