Mike Montrey Band premiere “Spirit of Youth,” their first single and video from their forthcoming EP, “In the Middle of Hope.” PHOTO BY PHIL SILVERBERG
The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "Spirit of Youth," the first single and video from Central Jersey-based Mike Montrey Band's forthcoming EP, "In the Middle of Hope." As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “Spirit of Youth” can be heard 5 and 11 a.m., 5 p.m. and midnight on ThePenguinRocks.com and at 6:45 PM on Friday and Monday on its “Radio Jersey” show. Here is a media premiere of the video for “Spirit of Youth”:
The new clip was directed by Phil Silverberg, also a photographer and musician who has worked with a variety of local artists, including Sony recording artist Evangelia.
At 6 tonight, Mike Montrey Band will celebrate the release of "Spirit of Youth" with a Facebook watch party at their page and in the 30,000-member Busking Down the House group that will include a few live performances by them.
The band will release a second single next month before dropping "In the Middle of Hope" in September. The EP was written entirely by Mike and co-produced by him and engineer Tom Askin at GD PonderRosa Studios in Lafayette.
Mike’s young son, Jack, created the cover art for the EP, which also is being used for all of its singles. ARTWORK BY JACK MONTREY
Mike Montrey Band also will perform as a duo featuring backing vocalist Jen Augustine on July 13 in a livestream from Rockwood Music Hall in New York City with singer-songwriters Nate Walker and Tom Wardell, and as a full band on Aug. 29 at East Brunswick Community Arts Center and Sept. 5 at Smyrna at Night Music Festival in Delaware. They also are booking Curbside Concerts at https://mikemontreyband.curbsideconcerts.rocks.
Mike is the 2018 Makin Waves Male Artist of the Year, and his band's previous outing, the 2018 LP, "John Street." was one of the year's best Jersey releases. Here are a couple of favorite tunes from that great album:
Bob Makin is a reporter for MyCentralJersey.com and the former managing editor of The Aquarian Weekly, which launched this column in 1988. Contact him via email and like Makin Waves on Facebook.
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
