By Bob Makin
originally published: 11/26/2020
Here’s a look at the 10 best independent New Jersey songs to cross my desk in what surprisingly was a great year for record music from the Garden State. All are self-released unless indicated by an indie label.
If you’re spending money on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday or Giving Tuesday, invest in these great Jersey artists:
1. Foxanne, "Opportunity" -- Foxanne takes something as fanciful as a trip to Mars and makes the loneliness and sense of abandonment bone-achingly real. Like a great animated family movie, “Opportunity” blurs the lines between man and machine because your heart is breaking for a Mars Rover, the unlikely narrator of the emotional tale. Disney should come knockin’ on Foxanne’s door to expand this tune into a feature or at least a short.
2. The Milwaukees, “The Calling” (Mint 400 Records) -- The closing piece de resistance of The Milwaukees’ first album in nine years is the plaintive, piano-driven title track. “The Calling” exquisitely summarizes the album’s hopefulness in the face of hardship, especially heartbreak, with a tale about how music (or any passion) can heal the hurt it often causes.
3. Stella Mrowicki, “Without Me” -- Sunny, piano-driven, banjo ‘n’ fiddle-flavored opening single to Stella’s impressive EP, “Pine Trees and Wildflowers.”
4. Stella Mrowicki, “High St.” -- Soul-stirring song that sounds like Emmylou Harris singing at New Orleans jazz funeral.
5. Bruce Tunkel, “I Can Do Better” -- Bruce at his one-man best, especially the haunting, tubular-sounding guitar work. But what makes this track the standout among 22 songs released on two records this year are powerful Springsteenesque lyrics.
6. Rick Barry, “No Smoking” -- Pretty piano-driven, string-spiced chronicle of the United States’ decline since the 9/11 terrotist attack that makes a fascinating comparison between the freedoms that smokers lost when driven out into the cold to the disregard for science of self-proclaimed patriots who refuse to a wear a mask during the pandemic.
7. Mike Montrey Band, “Spirit of Youth” -- Haunting, rousing, soulful single featuring a splendid pedal steel by Jack Stanton that glides alongside Mike & Jen Augustine’s stirring vocals.
8. Mike Montrey Band, "New Mexico” -- Standout EP track that would make a Flying Burritos Brother fan cry in their beer.
9: Originaire, "Off the Ship" -- Exquisite duet as powerful as it is lovely, especially CiBon’s otherworldly vocals and fantastic fiddler Valerie Vuolo’s beautiful bowing.
10. Candy Cavity, "Fuck Boy" -- Toxic entanglement that finds an unsuspecting lass infatuated with an Asbury Park player, a fate Candy compares to “swimming with the sharks.” Lead guitarist Steve Markow plays fantastically with a searing, seething solo on this Nirvana-like menacing but melodic track.
Bob Makin is a reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK and the former managing editor of The Aquarian Weekly, which launched this column in 1988. Contact him via email and like Makin Waves on Facebook.
New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.
EVENT PREVIEWS
MPAC presents Forever K-Pop - A Celebration Concert
(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) presents Forever K-Pop - A Celebration Concert on Friday, April 3, 2026 at 7:30pm. Inspired by the worldwide K-Pop phenomenon and recent smash-hit film KPop Demon Hunters, this high-octane production brings today's biggest K-Pop hits to life on stage in a spectacle unlike anything audiences have seen in a tribute concert before.
The Folk Project's Troubadour Acoustic Concert Series presents Mike Block Trio and Lynne Hanson
(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- The Folk Project's Troubadour Acoustic Concert Series presents Mike Block Trio and Lynne Hanson on Friday, April 3, 2026 at the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. Showtime is 7:30pm.
Roy's Hall presents James McMurtry
(BLAIRSTOWN, NJ) -- Roy's Hall presents singer-songwriter James McMurtry on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 8:00pm. He's been called "one of this generation's most unflinchingly potent and powerfully erudite recording artists" by American Songwriter.
State Theatre New Jersey presents Yellow Brick Joel: The Tribute Concert—Elton John & Billy Joel
(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey presents Yellow Brick Joel: The Tribute Concert—Elton John & Billy Joel on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 8:00pm. David Clark performs as Billy Joel along with Bill Connors as Elton John in a tribute show celebrating the two greatest piano men of our generation.
SOUP CAN Magazine to Celebrate Five Years With a Monumental Canniversary Event
(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- On Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 6:00pm, SOUP CAN Magazine will mark five years of magazine magic byhosting its annual "Canniversary" with a night engineered to feel like a main‑stage, stadium‑level celebration of the community that built it. Wild Air Beerworks will host the event, but the scale of the evening reaches far beyond the venue — this is a full‑force thank‑you to the readers, performers, and neighbors who transformed Soup Can from a DIY idea into one of New Jersey's most vibrant creative movements. In a show of collective power, the Canniversary aims to break their standing record of food donations by gathering over 1,100 pounds in a single night, all to benefit Mercy Center of Asbury Park.
Avenel Performing Arts Center presents singer-songwriter Steve Forbert
(AVENEL, NJ) -- Avenel Performing Arts Center presents singer-songwriter Steve Forbert on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 7:30pm. Limited tickets remain.
Prudential Center presents B2K and Bow Wow
(NEWARK, NJ) -- The Black Promoters Collective presents B2K and Bow Wow with The Boys 4 Life at The Prudential Center on Sunday, April 5, 2026. The lineup also includes Amerie, Yung Joc, Crime Mob, Franchize Boyz with special guests Pretty Ricky.
MPAC presents Women of Americana: A Celebration of American Music
(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Coinciding with the United States' upcoming semiquincentennial, Women of Americana: A Celebration of American Music, produced by Eli Wolf, comes to Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) on Thursday, April 9, 2026 at 7:30pm.
Morris Museum presents Cerus Quartet on April 9th
(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- The Morris Museum presents Cerus Quartet on Thursday, April 9, 2026 at 7:00pm. Founded in 2022, the Cerus Quartet is dedicated to showcasing the dynamic and versatile sound of the saxophone quartet.
