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Makin Waves Song of the Week: "The Town" by Young Orange


By Bob Makin

originally published: 05/05/2023


“The Town,” Lacey-based singer-songwriter Young Orange’s latest single and video, is the Makin Waves Song of the Week. PHOTO BY DONNIE JACOB

Hailing from Lacey, buzzing singer-songwriter-rapper-guitarist-keyboardist-producer-engineer continues to lay a path of acclaim with his latest single and video.

The independent-minded “The Town,” which features some fine pickin’ for a “rapper,” is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.

As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “The Town” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on May 5 on “Radio Jersey” at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin or MixCloud.

For “The Town,” Young Orange also added bassist to his typically long list of credits.




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“I had a lot of fun working on ‘The Town,’” said Young Orange, who got his nickname in middle school. “I played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, bass synth, and piano on the song! That was the first time I played bass guitar on a song! I feel like all of those components fit really well together! And on it, I talk about real stuff from my life. This one means a lot to me, and I’m glad it’s finally out in the world!

For the flight to the music video production, Young Orange brought his guitar on an airplane for The impromptu on-location clip with director Donnie Jacob also was a blast, he said.

“We just found out about this scenic spot called the Top of the World in Laguna Beach, Calif.,” Young Orange said. “We went there and shot everything in under an hour!

“I’ll never forget when I could not stop laughing when the director was hiding behind a bush operating the drone, and he said, ‘I flew it 2 miles out,’” he continued. “I think that was the final shot that he did! That whole area is beautiful! I’m really hyped with how the video came out! Donnie went crazy on this one!”

Only 24, Young Orange has built a huge online following with 24,708 monthly Spotify listeners and 143,000 YouTube subscribers.

Taking the title of his 2019 debut EP, “Don’t Waste Time,” to heart, the multi-hyphenated talent since has released his 15th single with “The Town.” During the past six years, he’s dropped a total of two dozen singles and three videos!

The singles include his personal favorite, the cathartic “Found.”




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As you can hear in “The Town,” Young Orange is itching to tour.

In the meantime, visit him on Instagram.

Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at [email protected]



New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.

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