Montclair-based singer-songwriter Olivia Rohlfs is premiering the new video for her debut single, “June 8th,” with Makin Waves at NewJerseyStage.com. Also featured are The Grip Weeds,  Pino's,  The Clydes, Windows of Understanding, Leah Jenea, Bulletproof Belv, The Beagles, Oh Elis, Mikell’s Plot, Connor Bracken & the Mother Leeds Band, Tyler Veit, Cook Thugless, Jackson Pines, Houston & the Dirty Rats, Ezra Caspi, Jon Caspi & the First Gun, Ella Ross, Howl Peak Productions, Dinosaur Eyelids, and Mike Frank & Friends... READ ON

Gypsy jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt is a masterful musician’s musician who has influenced head Deadhead Jerry Garcia and his bluegrass buddy David Grisman, abandoned Allman Brother Dickey Betts, the classical axe of Julian Bream, session everyman Chet Atkins, and fellow jazz greats Wes Montgomery and Charlie Byrd. In May in little ol’ Maplewood, NJ, that influence once again will be celebrated with Django disciple Stephane Wrembel’s annual Django a Go Go, a guitar gathering that brings together players from all over the world. This year, the six-string summit will culminate in an all-star concert on May 9 at New York City’s Town Hall.... READ ON

Irvington-raised sacred steel guitarist Robert Randolph is nominated for his sixth Grammy Awards, which will take place Jan. 26 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Nominated in the Best Contemporary Blues Album for his “Brighter Days” LP, he is vying for his first win. ... READ ON

Power-poppin’ super-group The Weeklings will celebrate the release of their third studio LP, “3,” Jan. 17 at the Stone Pony in their home base of Asbury Park, the final date on their Light of Day Winterfest tour that includes stops in Montclair, Philadelphia, New York City and Asbury’s Paramount Theatre. ... READ ON

The Makin Waves Dirty Jersey Dozen are the 12 Garden State original unsigned and extremely independent rock acts who made the most waves in 2019 by touring at least regionally and releasing impactful videos and singles in support of a great, well-received recording released within the past 24 months. They also are most likely to make the most waves in 2020 by remaining the New Jersey music scene’s most creative and productive artists. ... READ ON

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Candace Schur has that irresistible combination of Marilyn Monroe-like qualities: charming, cute, sweet, sexy, beautiful, naughty and trashy. The fact that she is surrounded by a band of burly, bearded macho men in Candy Cavity makes her even more fascinating.... READ ON

Asbury Park alt-pop singer-songwriter Blaise is among the many artists performing at Telegraph Hill Records’ annual What a Wonderful Year celebration at the Wonder Bar. Co-presented by Asbury Park Music Foundation, the two-day Makin Waves-sponsored event will be Dec. 26 and 27. Blaise will play the latter date.... READ ON

Bob Makin takes a look at the latest releases by Honey Wild, Black Light Medusa, and New Narratives.... READ ON

My annual holiday gift to the New Jersey music scene is a salute to what I thought were the state’s best independent artists of 2019. To qualify, acts have to be based in New Jersey. Members can live in surrounding states, but not farther away than that and not shared with another state. ... READ ON

When I was a young upstart in the New Jersey music scene during the alternative-rock boom of the late-’80s into the mid-’90s, four bands rattled my spine a bit more than most others: Monster Magnet, Nudeswirl, Big Nurse and Godspeed.... READ ON