North Jersey Blues Society

The key is not to do anything understated. Slight, nuanced and restrained have no place here either. After all, Mack Orr has long reigned as king of Memphis bruiser blues, the kind that clobbers on a few different fronts. In blunt terms, “Daddy Mack” is brute force incarnate.

“An Answer for Isaac” unleashed its full power inside a wind tunnel fit for jet turbines. Or so it sounds.

Have you ever heard Chicago bluesman Jim Brewer? Or perhaps let’s back up and start at: Have you ever heard of Chicago bluesman Jim Brewer? Granted: It’s not exactly a fair question given that Jim remained one of the city’s great insider secrets, hiding in plain sight outside at the Maxwell Street Market as well as inside the No Exit coffeehouse for decades on end.

Last Saturday, April 27th, The Stanhope House buzzed with the vibrant energy of blues music during the NJBS Blues Competition. This event...

Typically, these conditions would clearly come under the purview of blues: hearts sunken, busted, and torn by grieving loss. Not tonight, though. Definitely not tonight.

Creedence Clearwater Revival, Nirvana, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley, White Stripes, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty. Oh, and don’t forget Ram Jam: They all can’t be wrong in that a Lead Belly song—be it “Cotton Fields” or “Midnight Special” or “In the Pines” or on and on—is simply too hard to pass up. The temptation to translate him for rock ears is just too great.

Something is about to hit. You can sense the magnitude, its impending force. So much so that the air tensely vibrates, audibly buzzing. And then …

March 8, 2025, was a day to remember, as it marked International Women's Day and Women in Blues. The North Jersey Blues Society hosted...

Into the gutbucket we go.

Little Brother Montgomery could sniff out a piano. Any place. Any time.

The music scene is buzzing with excitement, and all eyes are on the latest album from The Bob Lanza Blues Band, titled Breadman's Blues.

In a beautiful collaboration between the NJBS and Blues Alive, a unique musical journey recently took place, celebrating MLK Jr.

Long, long, long before electricity, there was the groove. And blues came even before that. Héritage puts such prehistory back into play.

By its inherent—and infamous—nature, the location encases any recordings that make it out of its clutch within an aura: The sound haunts.

Eliza Neal's latest album, Colorcrimes, is a continuation of her exploration of important social themes and personal growth.

North Jersey Blues Society presents the Women’s History Month Celebration: Women in Blues Showcase Series on 3/8/2025 at The Stanhope House.

Last week, the blues world came alive as the 40th International Blues Challenge (IBC) unfolded in Memphis, Tennessee. Artists, fans, and...

Welcome to murderers’ row. For the next 40some minutes, gritty, old Chicago sends up one killer track after the next—as heard in the 1950s.

Live, BLUES People command the room: a wall of sound pushing out from the stage. Now, that same experience punches out from The Skin I'm In.

Reflecting on the Impact: 2024 North Jersey Blues Society Year in Review