In October 2003, Gary Wien launched Upstage Magazine, a monthly print publication that covered the arts throughout Central New Jersey. The publication ultimately grew to 25,000 copies per month with distribution throughout much of the state. Upstage was well received critically and ultimately earned an Asbury Music Award for Top Music Publication in 2007, becoming the first publication other than The Aquarian to ever win the award. In addition, both the website and Wien picked up multiple Asbury Music Awards (for Top Website and Top Music Journalist) as well. Wien left the publication shortly afterwards, and Upstage ceased publishing a few months later.
In the months that followed, arts groups continued to submit press releases and materials. In 2008, Wien launched NewJerseyStage.com as a hobby to be an online news resource to continue coverage of the arts. Six years later, he decided to return to covering the arts full-time and redesigned the website to become a digital version of the old Upstage Magazine. On May 1, 2014, New Jersey Stage became a full-time resource covering the arts. On July 15, the first issue of New Jersey Stage digital magazine was released.
One year after New Jersey Stage Magazine was launched, Gary Wien was diagnosed with secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis. He uses the website and magazine as a way of fighting the disease each day. Over 35,000 articles have been posted since New Jersey Stage became official and 75 issues of the magazine were published until the pandemic of 2020 forced it to go on hiatus. Over 550,000 unique visitors come to the website each year.
The website is primary run by Wien, but it benefits from the work of writers like Danny Coleman, Bob Makin, Eric Hillis, Karen Nowosad, Al Nigrin, and Spotlight Central. All of the writers on the site are volunteers - a group who love the arts. New Jersey Stage aims to bring artists, organizations, and art councils together. In addition to regularly publishing original feature articles, interviews, and columns, we encourage organizations to send us press releases. New Jersey Stage considers itself the Garden State's Arts Newswire and home of original arts journalism.
A writer and an AI software designer battle to create the next great play in this cautionary tale about the impending intersection of technology and creativity.
A writer and an AI software designer battle to create the next great play in this cautionary tale about the impending intersection of technology and creativity.
From his childhood in St. Louis to the global blues-rock circuit, Mike Zito has always kept it real. He began playing guitar at age five and by his late teens was a fixture on the St. Louis music scene. For Zito, honesty, authenticity, and integrity aren’t just part of the brand, they’re the foundation. “I have nothing to hide; it seems my honesty is what people relate to most,” he once told Vintage Guitar.
The 45th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place between September 4-October 4, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid as we will be presenting it online as well as doing select in-person screenings at Rutgers University. Almost all the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person shows when both are offered. This program is only available Online for 24 hours on this show date!
A writer and an AI software designer battle to create the next great play in this cautionary tale about the impending intersection of technology and creativity.
The 45th Bi-Annual New Jersey Film Festival will be taking place between September 4-October 4, 2026. The Festival will be a hybrid as we will be presenting it online as well as doing select in-person screenings at Rutgers University. Almost all the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person shows when both are offered. This program is available Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 5PM. This in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ.
Known for her confessional lyrics and raspy, smoky vocals, Melissa Etheridge (“I’m the Only One” “Come to My Window,” “I Want to Come Over.”) has remained one of America’s favorite female singers since bursting onto the scene in 1988. Etheridge performs songs from her new album, Rise, and her hits.
Dion and his music have long represented a special time and place, reflective of a moment when a song could mean so much. When a singer could sum up what it means to be young, in love and on top of the world. Dion is more than a cherished memory as critic Dave Marsh noted, “Dion is the only artist from the 1950’s who has remained creative and relevant into the 2000s.” In 1958 he had three top-forty hits. In 2008 he was nominated for a Grammy. In 2020, is releasing new studio album Blues with Friends, joined by Joe Bonamassa, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Jeff Beck, Billy Gibbons and many other rock luminaries. In the ’50s he was one of a handful of innovators who defined rock ‘n’ roll and that’s still very much the case.
