Well, needless to say that this "week's" blog is a bit late, but I did not forget to recap some of the things that went on at Roselle Park's sixth Arts Festival that took place on Saturday, September 25. While I'm not going to be able to pinpoint everything that happened that day, I will talk about the highlights as this week's playlist adds are the strongest in some time, and they include two of the artists that performed that day.
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| "Roselle Park Loves Arts", a festival containing various arts, was held on Saturday September 25. |
First of all, I have to say that I love festivals like this. In contrast to big-ticket rock concerts, or even festivals on the scale of, say, Lollapalooza or SXSW, these local gatherings are an excellent place to catch "up-and-coming" artists. While many towns have celebrations like this, I have gone to the occasional ones. And although I haven't attended on in a while (even before the pandemic era), the Rosendale (NY) Street Festival was a great one that combined local talents with some well known acts. The Big Takeover, for example was one of those bands that I had discovered there. A more local festival was Maplewoodstock (Maplewood, NJ) which I had been to once, in which Rachel Allyn played there, along with other bands that I had added to my playlist back then. There was also the WNTI Summer Stage, that continued the success of the larger Riverfest, in Knowlton; that lasted a few years and I was able to catch bands like The Doughboys, Los Straitjackets, as well as locals like Paul Czekaj; plus more popular acts like The Smithereens and Marshall Crenshaw headed that Summer Stage which hasn't taken place since 2016.
Compared to those events, Roselle Park's Arts Festival is rather small, but is slowly gaining a foothold when it comes to arts of all kinds, from fine arts, dance, and , of course, musical acts. While this festival has been going on for six years, this is the first time I had gone. Having grown up in this small town which sits in eastern Union County, it was nice to see this being put on year-after-year and growing in stature. The town's main street, Chestnut Street was blocked off between two side streets, and there were two stages: One near the town's library, the other at its town square, Maui Park near a gazebo. Unlike the other festivals, parking wasn't a problem at all as I got a spot just half a block from the main stage.
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| Johnny Woods kicked off the festival with his country-rock stylings, along with his band. |
I arrived around 12:30, a half hour after opening. Much of the artisans and craft vendors were set up; there were several food trucks parked as well. I strolled up and down there before heading to the main stage for the first act, The Johnny Woods Band, who went on around 12:50. The band played a mix of folk, and country-rock, as well as some originals, such as "Life on Mars" (not the David Bowie song), and "Last Glass of Whiskey" (which I added this week). Covers such as Pure Prairie League's "Amie" were well done as well. Since it was early in the day, there were just a handful of people there to catch their performance. They did a fine job.
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| Blog faves ScreenAge once again proved why they have a bright future ahead of them, with an awesome set at Roselle Park's Arts festival. |
But let's face it: The raison d'etre for me was the second band that took the stage, ScreenAge. Of course, this is a band that made their mark at the previous Arts festival two years ago and came back by popular demand. It is also a band that I have been following since that time. I ran out of superlatives about these four a long time ago, but apparently, others are now taking notice. While the last time I had seen them, at Farmingdale back in July, they were another band's "guests"; this time, they rocked the stage for an hour. And once again, this band showed how awesome they are with their live performances, playing a mix of covers and originals. While the songs from both of their albums, Station 42, and LDR were featured---including great performances of "Think Again" and "Going Back" (a song they introduced at the festival two years ago), both of which resurge on my current chart, their choice of covers was astounding, covering the likes of Hippo Campus, Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" and even The Knack's "My Sharona" (my #1 song of 1979 adeptly covered by the band that had my #1 song of 2020....cool)..
ScreenAge has won over a few of my friends as well, including one of my geocaching buddies who got into their music thanks to my blog (selfish plug there, but thanks, Chris Furlong!). One of my high school friends and classmates, Barbara Roche, had a booth nearby and saw and heard them, and agreed with me that they are very good. While I had met the band last time out, as well as front woman Emily MacMahon and her mother, Rowena, I also got to meet her father Winston as well. During their performance, there was a booth set up for Music Beats Cancer, an organization that raised money for both awareness and making new treatments for the disease a reality.
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| Alexis Morrast, a native of Newark by way of Plainfield, 20-years-old, performs with her band, mixing classic jazz and blues with plenty of soul. |
While I pretty much expected ScreenAge to rock out and deliver the goods, the next act, was a very pleasant surprise. Alexis Morrast, like the Screeners, all of 20 years old, much like that band, sounds like she has been around the block for ages. Born in Newark and currently living in Plainfield, Ms. Morrast combines vintage jazz, combines it with blues and R&B, and pretty much was the hit of the festival. With the soulful singing, she reminds me of a young Sarah Vaughan. Her backing band included backup singers, one of which was her mother. She communicated with the audience very well, talking about her background, including singing from the age of 3, to the audience which was pretty much gathered around the gazebo park. You pretty much felt captivated with every song she sang.
Earlier I mentioned that my longtime friend Barbara was into ScreenAge; her brother Al, was one of the organizers of the festival and was responsible for bring Ms. Morrast to the stage. Her and her band jammed for over an hour, captivating all.
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| Swingadelic, featuring RP grad Dave Post on stand-up bass, played their blend of swing-era jazz and blues. |
I continued to stick around the festival. At times, I walked on over to the library stage to briefly check out some of the acts there, before returning to the main stage to catch Swingadelic, which, similar to Alexis Morrast, was a throwback to that great jazz era, although the contingent, headed by Roselle Park High School grad Dave Post, is more of a swing contingent in contract to the soul stylings of Ms. Morrast. Still, Swingadelic performed a nice set, with songs from their eight albums as well as jazz classics like "Goody Goody".
Halfway through the set, however, a friend wanted to get together at a bar in town, thus I had to depart; as a result, I had to miss the final, headlining act, Afro Dominicano, but from what I heard, they rocked the park as well, with their melding of many styles. Hopefully I can catch them somewhere soon.
Aside from the music, there were paintings going on nearby, as well as dance troupes and lessons. It was a well rounded event, and a success. Without a doubt, I will be back next year.
FREE AS A BIRD: Jade Bird returns to the top spot on the SNS 100 with "Now is the Time". She becomes the second act to grab multiple blog-toppers in 2021, following "Headstart" which ruled earlier this year. The only other multiple-number one act? None other than ScreenAge who've hit the summit four times this year. Last week's leader, Ed Sheeran's "Bad Habits" drops to #2, followed by the reconstituted Vivian Girls, with "Sick" (6-3). A Place to Bury Strangers and Maneskin round out the top five, and are close to the top spot, any of these could grab the brass ring next week.
The top 20 as a whole is very active, but the big news is the resurgence of two ScreenAge tracks. "Think Again" returns to the upper echelon and grabbing Impact honors for the second time. "Going Back" also regains its bullet in a 19-15 rebound. With "Questions" still at #17, the band again has three songs in the top 20. In fact, this is the 20th week in a row that the Jersey quartet has had more than one song there. Joining them with multiple entries is another Jersey band, Vivian Girls, whose "Something To Do" joins "Sick" in the top 20. Swingadelic is still strong with "Gonna Build Me A Playhouse" moving 50-38 in a week that featured acts from the festival.
NEW AND NOTEWORTHY: The debuts this week are the strongest in several weeks. While two acts featured at Roselle Park's festival debut, it is two bands that have been faves of mine that lead the debuts. The Top Debut goes to Fleet Foxes, with "Featherweight". This is the follow-up to "Sunblind" which was #1 for five weeks this spring and is also from their latest album Shore. If you thought the band couldn't possibly top that prior song, "Featherweight" makes a great effort to come close. Once again with their dreamy brand of surreal pop, it gives me the chills as the prior song did. The harmonies, while sounding "distant" are in full force. This is another winner from an album I should check out more. The title track, incidentally, is another awesome song.
Also entering the playlist is the latest from Winnetka Bowling League, "Pulp". Their previous song, "Barcelona" was the Matthew Koma-led band's first to miss the top 20, peaking at #22, but this one should put them back onto the top listing. Easily the band's best since "Kombucha", it's their most rocking song since, with great guitar work mixed in with a bit of EDM. Koma's vocals are his best in a while and unlike recent efforts blend right in with the instrumentation. The uptempo song should give the band renewed vigor; hopefully it will put them back on the national charts as "Kombucha" and "CVS" did.
Glass Animals have been unlikely hanging around the top region of the Billboard Hot 100 with their "Heat Waves" which also continues to be an alt-rock hit, but the song only reached #32 here. Their latest, "I Don't Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance)" is much better, in my opinion. The British indie rockers have been fixtures here for a while, but "Heat Waves" is their best charting on my blog. The new one, however should top that with this rhythmic and infectious song. Should not alienate the pop fans who embraced the last one, but for me it's a lot more catchy and I like its prospects.
Next is the latest from Kings of Leon, "Time In Disguise". You cannot say a bad thing about this band, especially after ScrreenAge covered one of their big songs at the festival. The new one is what you'd expect from the band, and that's a good thing
I couldn't find anything from festival sensation Alexis Morrast; however she is featured vocalist on jazz musician Jake Leckie's "After the Flood", featured on Leckie's album The Abode. While perhaps it is only in a featured role, you can tell Ms. Morrast adds so much to this song. Not surprisingly, it's the most popular song on the album according to iTunes. Festival performer Johnny Woods follows with "Last Glass of Whiskey" which he and his band performed there. The song is a slow, country-rock excursion with the occasional fiddle, which could make inroads as it is compatible with today's leading country artists. Finally, Frances Forever, coming off a blog top ten with "Space Girl" comes back with "Paranoia Party". More bluesy than the prior song, it might take a few listens to get into it, but it is persistent and has potential.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
September 26, 2021
|
This Week |
Last
Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks
on List |
|
1 |
2 |
NUMBER ONE:  Album: Different Kinds of Light |
11 |
|
2 |
1 |
12 |
|
|
3 |
6 |
8 |
|
|
4 |
7 |
11 |
|
|
5 |
8 |
6 |
|
|
6 |
3 |
14 |
|
|
7 |
10 |
8 |
|
|
8 |
11 |
11 |
|
|
9 |
4 |
10 |
|
|
10 |
13 |
7 |
|
|
11 |
15 |
7 |
|
|
12 |
16 |
11 |
|
|
13 |
24 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  Album: DNR |
21 |
|
14 |
18 |
7 |
|
|
15 |
19 |
17 |
|
|
16 |
21 |
8 |
|
|
17 |
14 |
17 |
|
|
18 |
20 |
8 |
|
|
19 |
5 |
18 |
|
|
20 |
27 |
10 |
|
|
21 |
9 |
13 |
|
|
22 |
26 |
8 |
|
|
23 |
25 |
12 |
|
|
24 |
12 |
11 |
|
|
25 |
17 |
19 |
|
|
26 |
34 |
4 |
|
|
27 |
29 |
11 |
|
|
28 |
44 |
3 |
|
|
29 |
33 |
Christina Alessi and the Toll Collectors - Stone Meets the Sea |
9 |
|
30 |
42 |
5 |
|
|
31 |
22 |
16 |
|
|
32 |
28 |
13 |
|
|
33 |
35 |
10 |
|
|
34 |
40 |
8 |
|
|
35 |
37 |
12 |
|
|
36 |
39 |
8 |
|
|
37 |
23 |
18 |
|
|
38 |
50 |
4 |
|
|
39 |
45 |
5 |
|
|
40 |
30 |
13 |
|
|
41 |
32 |
13 |
|
|
42 |
49 |
12 |
|
|
43 |
54 |
5 |
|
|
44 |
38 |
22 |
|
|
45 |
52 |
5 |
|
|
46 |
48 |
7 |
|
|
47 |
31 |
18 |
|
|
48 |
55 |
6 |
|
|
49 |
36 |
17 |
|
|
50 |
61 |
3 |
|
|
51 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  Album: Shore |
1 |
|
52 |
59 |
3 |
|
|
53 |
41 |
17 |
|
|
54 |
43 |
15 |
|
|
55 |
53 |
16 |
|
|
56 |
81 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  Album: Cali Roots Riddim 2021 |
2 |
|
57 |
51 |
9 |
|
|
58 |
46 |
11 |
|
|
59 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
60 |
70 |
4 |
|
|
61 |
66 |
5 |
|
|
62 |
74 |
4 |
|
|
63 |
71 |
6 |
|
|
64 |
47 |
19 |
|
|
65 |
58 |
6 |
|
|
66 |
67 |
12 |
|
|
67 |
73 |
7 |
|
|
68 |
77 |
3 |
|
|
69 |
64 |
15 |
|
|
70 |
78 |
3 |
|
|
71 |
56 |
12 |
|
|
72 |
62 |
16 |
|
|
73 |
79 |
4 |
|
|
74 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
75 |
63 |
17 |
|
|
76 |
60 |
14 |
|
|
77 |
91 |
2 |
|
|
78 |
57 |
10 |
|
|
79 |
75 |
15 |
|
|
80 |
89 |
2 |
|
|
81 |
65 |
6 |
|
|
82 |
85 |
9 |
|
|
83 |
86 |
3 |
|
|
84 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
85 |
69 |
13 |
|
|
86 |
87 |
3 |
|
|
87 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
88 |
84 |
4 |
|
|
89 |
95 |
2 |
|
|
90 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
91 |
72 |
20 |
|
|
92 |
76 |
17 |
|
|
93 |
80 |
5 |
|
|
94 |
88 |
6 |
|
|
95 |
97 |
2 |
|
|
96 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
97 |
94 |
2 |
|
|
98 |
68 |
14 |
|
|
99 |
82 |
17 |
|
|
100 |
98 |
2 |
|
|
Songs with the greatest increase in
favorite points over the prior week. ●
Songs with
25 or more plays on iTunes/iPods ▲ Songs with 50 or more plays.
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