April Smith is a singer-songwriter from New Jersey with incredible vocals. She performed in the 2000s and then settled into family life. Hopefully we will hear from her again someday.
This album took her on quite a ride from the stages of Lollapalooza to winnning A Prairie Hom Companion's Battle of the Bands. "Colors" from the album was an NPR Song of the Day and won Best Pop/Rock Song at the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards. "Terrible Things" was featured in the TV shows Weeds and Dancing with the Stars. And the album was featured in Billboard, Paste, and Esquire. It came in at #30 in my book about the Top 100 Albums by New Jersey Artists from 2001-2010.
In 2005, I interviewed her while she was working on her debut album. That article is available here.
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 with this column. This week Lazlo takes a look at new releases by Des & the Swagmatics, Bamberdost, Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves, Jonny Couch, Sean Henry Tonight!, and Ava LaMonte. Plus a look back at "Duluth" by Particle Zoo.
(FORKED RIVER, NJ) -- In honor of Patriot Day, the Lacey Branch of the Ocean County Library will host "The Soundtrack of Resilience: Music and 9/11" on Thursday, September 10, 2026. The event begins at 2:00pm.
(OCEAN GROVE, NJ) -- Split Level Concerts at the Jersey Shore Arts Center (JSAC) in Ocean Grove has announced the full concert lineup for its third season. All shows will take place beginning at 8:00pm in JSAC's Palaia Theater. The season lineup includes Willie Nile, John Gorka, Dan Bern, Catie Curtis and Band, Stephen Kellogg, Abbie Gardner, Heather Maloney and Band, and Kim Richey. As they have done in prior years, artists from the Asbury Park music scene will open many of the shows.
