New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

BlowUpRadio.com's New & Notable NJ Music 3/13/23


By Lazlo

originally published: 03/13/2023

Lazlo, founder of BlowUpRadio.com (an online radio station based around New Jersey artists), shines a light on some of the many new releases from NJ based musicians each week with this column. This week Lazlo takes a look at releases by Sam Tunkel, Ferocious Designs, and Strange Talking Animals.

Sam Tunkel - "Your Daily Dose". Sam Tunkel's debut EP, "Your Daily Dose", is a somber, deeply introspective collection of songs. It is quite powerful and moving.

Ferocious Designs - "Looking For The Light". Ferocious Design's debut full length album is not so much a retro 80's synth-prog-pop-rock album, as an album that is influenced by that sound. Some songs would easily pair well in a set with certain songs from the era & genre, but "Looking For The Light" would also easily pair well with certain current songs. The album is beautiful, gave me a warm feeling inside, and songs like the title track and "Years Go By" (as 2 examples), made me dance around awkwardly like David Byrne (I am not a good dancer).

Strange Talking Animals - "FAWM 2023 + Black Friday Connections EP". Every year I am amazed at the quality of music that comes out of people doing FAWM (February Album Writing Month), where people are challenged to write 14 songs in 28 days. Well Strange Talking Animals went one further, as the first 15 tracks of this collection were all written for FAWN 2023. The final four tracks are the Black Friday Connections EP part, an EP that work began on on Black Friday 2022. The 19 songs are a wonderful collection of progy-synth-chamber-pop/indie-rock, some leaning heavier on prog-synth, other on indie-rock.

That's all for this week. Remember BlowUpRadio.com, plays these and many other New Jersey based artists on our internet radio station, so please check us out. #SupportGoodMusic - If you like any of the above artists, please purchase their music from their site. And if you would like to part of BlowUpRadio.com's New & Notable, please send downloads or contact Lazlo at Lazlo-at-BlowUpRadio-dot-com. We're also on Mastodon at https://mstdn.social/@BlowUpRadio




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Lee

Lee Brice: Acoustic

Friday, January 23, 2026 @ 8:00pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: music


 

Matt

Matt O'Ree Band

Friday, January 23, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

Candlelight

Candlelight Concerts - Featuring Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and More

Friday, January 23, 2026 @ 7:00pm
Monmouth University - Pollak Theatre
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: music


 

Light

Light of Day 2026 - Songwriters in the Round

Saturday, January 24, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Outpost In The Burbs
40 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair, NJ 07042
category: music


 

Lee

Lee Brice Acoustic

Saturday, January 24, 2026 @ 8:00pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: music


 



Advertise with NJ Stage for $50-$100 per month, click here for info





 

EVENT PREVIEWS

New

New Jersey Youth Chorus Presents Winter Concert Featuring Young Talent on February 1st

(BASKING RIDGE, NJ) -- The New Jersey Youth Chorus (NJYC), a program of Wharton Arts, invites the community to its Winter Concert on Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 4:00pm at The Pingry School in Basking Ridge. Now in its 34th season, NJYC continues its tradition of musical excellence with a program that brings together young singers in a richly expressive and globally inspired performance.



Asbury

Asbury Park Theater Company moves Remember Jones' 20-Piece Mad Dogs & Englishmen Celebration to Count Basie Center

(RED BANK, NJ) -- Join Asbury Park Theater Company as they celebrate Joe Cocker's groundbreaking live album and tour, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, on Saturday, February 14, 2026 on the Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre stage at the Count Basie Center for the Arts. The show, previously announced as a two-night event at Ocean Grove's Jersey Shore Arts Center, makes a sudden surprise move to the Basie due to special demand and limitations for audience and production at the OG venue. An exciting move for the growing and evolving theater company, this is the first time Remember Jones will bring this show to the Basie stage.



Carteret

Carteret PAC presents Max Weinberg's Jukebox on March 20th

​​​​​​​(CARTERET, NJ) -- New Jersey rock & roll icon Max Weinberg brings his high-energy, interactive, audience-driven show Max Weinberg's Jukebox to the URSB Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 8:00pm.



The

The Levoy Theatre presents Dead On Live

(MILLVILLE, NJ) -- Grateful Dead tribute band Dead On Live comes to the Levoy Theatre on Saturday, January 31, 2026. The band is celebrating 16 years of recreating the Dead's iconic albums. Doors are at 7:00pm, showtime is 8:00pm.



The

The Lords of 52nd Street return to Newton

Tickets range from $44-$59 and are available for purchase online.  The Newton Theatre is located at 234 Spring Street in Newton, New Jersey.