Jim Testa

“Live at NLK Studio” provides musicians with a chance to display what they do best, with professional sound and lighting.

"Dancing Tony" Susco has pulled together shows at White Eagle Hall, Pet Shop and South House.

Here are some of the releases from Hudson County artists that merit your attention, in what, by any measure, has been a very good year for rock, folk, and hip-hop.

Do more than listen, though, and every single tells a story.

"The Reckoning” imagines a dark future where mankind has exhausted the planet’s resources.

'Constant Listener' will be free, though paid subscriptions with bonuses will also be available.

Rio the Messenger and Alexander Yearns may represent the yin and yang of their local music scene, but they’ll each celebrate the release of excellent new albums at a show together at Union City’s Green Space Studios on Saturday, Feb 1.

| Forget the Whale, an impressive local ensemble with seven members including trumpet, trombone and sax certainly qualifies as “indie

When I look back at my 25 years of writing about local music at The Jersey Journal, I think of Charles Dickens' “A Tale of Two Cities.” While musicians live and perform in other communities in Hudson County, my time at this newspaper has largely focused on Jersey City and Hoboken, and to pluck a line from a popular song, oh, what a long, strange trip it's been. In 1991, when I was asked to come aboard and write for The Journal's Gold Coast magazine, “local music” meant “Hoboken.” By the late 1990s, the Mile Square City supported a rock scene that included not just the iconic Maxwell's, but Live Tonight, the Goldhawk (formerly the Liquid Lounge), the Shannon Lounge, and John Vargas' Love Sexy, all hosting original music regularly.

I thank my readers, whether online or in print, for their encouragement and words of appreciation, suggestions and criticism. You learn more from your mistakes, and an angry letter means someone is reading (and cares).