originally published: 08/18/2025
(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Outpost in the Burbs presents Hiss Golden Messenger (solo) on Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 8:00pm. The concert will take place at the First Congregational Church in Montclair.
Describing the Durham-based Hiss Golden Messenger is like trying to grasp a forgotten word: It’s always on the tip of your tongue, but hard to speak. Songwriter and bandleader M.C. Taylor’s music is at once familiar, yet impossible to categorize: Elements from the American songbook - the steady, churning acoustic guitar and mandolin, the gospel emotion, the eerie steel guitar tracings, the bobbing and weaving organ and electric piano - provide bedrock for Taylor’s existential ruminations about parenthood, joy, hope, and loneliness- our delicate tightrope balance of dark and light - that offer fully engaged contemporary commentary on the present.
And then there’s an indescribable spirit and movement: Hiss Golden Messenger’s music grooves. There’s nothing else quite like it.
Tickets are $38 and available for purchase online. The First Congregational Church is located at 40 South Fullerton Avenue in Montclair, New Jersey
Tickets can also be purchased at Watchung Booksellers (54 Fairfield Street), Montclair, New Jersey.
Outpost in the Burbs is a nonprofit outreach organization in Montclair dedicated to building community through music and volunteerism. For over 38 years, the Outpost has presented concerts by internationally known artists such as Judy Collins, Roger McGuinn,, Jorma Kaukonen, Jimmy Webb, Richie Havens, The Jayhawks, Nick Lowe, and Dar Williams as well as supporting emerging and local artists.
In addition to presenting concerts, Outpost volunteers have donated their time through programs affiliated with Toys for Tots, the Human Needs Food Pantry of Montclair, MESH (Montclair Emergency Services for Hope), and a Community Food Program run by Outpost volunteers in Orange, NJ. The Outpost has also supported local students with a monetary gift to a graduating music student at Montclair High School as well as mentoring students from Montclair State University’s ‘Hawk Communications’ class.
COLUMNS
Lighty's Corner: April 13, 2026
I’m one of those guys who hates it when people say that rock and roll is dead. That there’s no good new music today. I actually think there may be more good music now than ever, but it’s just harder to find. Since we get a ton of new music sent to us at New Jersey Stage each week, I decided to try something new - a recorded DJ hosted radio show and a column spotlighting new works. The plan is to have a new one every two weeks.
