Dentist will cap off a great year of national touring with shows Dec. 14 at Baby’s Alright in Brooklyn and New Year’s Eve at The Saint in their hometown of Asbury Park.... READ ON

All hail, Jenny Cat, an extremely talented singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been slugging it out in the local scene for a while, both solo and in bands. She’s finally getting her due with the excellent female punk trio Black Light Medusa, an all-star outfit also featuring drummer Kat DaVille of Tight Lipped and The Bloody Muffs and bassist Cathy Berg of Devil’s Bubble Gum and The Infamous Lost Cause.... READ ON

Makin Waves’ annual Top 10 Records of the Year list includes Experiment 34, Baron Praxis,The Anderson Council, Frank Lombardi, Cyclone Static, Chill Smith, From Good Homes, Pyrenesia, The Vansaders and Stella Mrowicki. Plus another 10 honorable mentions. Be a pal, and buy some! ... READ ON

Makin Waves’ annual Top 10 songs of the year list includes Honey Wild, From Good Homes, Jackson Pines, Arlan Feiles, Frank Lombardi, Mike Daly & The Planets, Hot Blood, The Vansaders, Experiment 34, and Stella Mrowicki.  Be a pal, and buy some! ... READ ON

Bob Makin takes a look at the latest releases by The Clydes, Daughter Vision and Baron Praxis in this month... READ ON

Includes news on The Extensions, A Very Asbury Holiday, The Pop Break, Pino’s Holiday Music Jamboree, San Tropez, The Weeklings, The Wag, The Wizards of Winter, Railroad Earth, Nefesh Mountain, Solid Bronze, Stephane Wrembel, Katie Henry, Black Light Medusa, Tallie Fest, Matt Cook, Chris Rockwell, The Band Called FUSE, Hub City Stompers, Dave & Tom, The Vaughns, Cold Weather Company, 18th & Addison, steve., Pamela Flores, Sof, Bad Blooms, Rory D... READ ON

Do you believe in the Rock Gods?  Well, they smiled upon a festival I’ve co-produced for a year called Tallie Fest that aims to bring attention to New Jersey’s many talent female and female-front acts, who often get overlooked, like the event’s namesake, Asbury Park icon Tillie’s little-known GF. Co-producer Brittney Dixon of Brittney on Fire thankfully brought the amazing new band Honey Wild into the fest, which takes place this weekend at Asbury Park Yacht Club, Langosta Lounge and The Saint. Honey Wild are playing Nov. 23 at APYC with Daughter Vision and Brittney’s brand new Band of Hard Truths, making their live debut.... READ ON

Evolving from a two-piece to a full-fledged band, New Narratives drop the in-between with “To Build a Universe,” their six-song debut EP. The collection opens with the rousing “Uphill,” which lives up to its name by starting out as jangly acoustic pop ala Suzanne Vega or Natalie Merchant and about halfway through, kicks into a more energetic indie rocker along the lines of fellow Asbury Park act Dentist.... READ ON

Brittney Dixon is the youngest person ever to win the Makin Waves Tsunami Award, this 31-year-old column’s annual nonperformer recognition of the behind-the-scenes scenester who moved and shook the scene the most that year. That was in 2016 for single-handedly saving the Court Tavern from one of many near extinctions as its general manager and main promoter with her Brittney on Fire concert promotion.... READ ON

Wow! Young Ella Ross has released her third EP in as many years. “Is Anyone Listening?” continues with the danceable alt-pop, but shows a great maturity lyrically commenting on struggles in life and art, hence the title in an age when it’s difficult to get peers to put down their lattes and give a good listen to live music above a conversational level.... READ ON