OVER THE LAST 15-PLUS years of doing this blog, and actually the over sixty that I've been following popular music, there have always been "centers" of music where many artists emerge from. Of course, the most popular are Liverpool England across the pond, and here in the U.S. we have Memphis, Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco and many others. And if you've read this blog in recent years, you know there's a music center right here in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (and my Top Debut song is all about that; see below).
But my home state of New Jersey is no slouch in that department, either. The most popular music centers are Hoboken/Jersey City, New Brunswick, and of course, Asbury Park. As I discussed several years ago, Ridgewood seems to be home to a few acts that drew attention as well. And heck yes, even my hometown of Roselle Park has had some talented musicians emerge, most notably Alan Pasqua who has performed with several bands, including Santana, and Giant, which had a top 20 hit in 1990. Tom Corea of Hounds of Winter and Bad Attitude fame, and up-and-comers like Charlotte Sessions also hail from the town I grew up in.
However, there's another part of the Garden State that has been successful in producing music: Red Bank, down in Monmouth County. Probably the most famous musician was bandleader and jazz pianist Count Basie (1904-1984), who was born here, and has a performing arts center in town named for him.
But he wasn't the only one who called Red Bank home. Country singer Clint Black who was popular in the early 1990's, hails from there, as well as Sebastian Bach, who gained fame with the hair-metal band Skid Row, with two top 10 songs ("18 and Life", "I Remember You"). Red Bank, being close to Asbury Park, is also responsible for spawning some E Street Band members. Early member David Sanctious hailed from Red Bank (and for a time, lived on E Street in Belmar, giving Bruce Springsteen's band their name), and while the late Clarence Clemons wasn't born there, he had spent some time there as well, including opening up his venue "Big Man's West", and fronting his band Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers (Clemons was often called "The Big Man" due to his size as well as his outgoing personality).
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| Phoebe Ryan (L) and Dw Dunphy of Orbis Max are two of the latest musicians to have called Red Bank NJ, home. |
That legacy is continued by two artists who have lived or still live in Red Bank. Dw Dunphy, the lead singer of Internet band Orbis Max, represented on this week's SNS 100 with current single "Don't Lose Me Now" at #29, and prior single "Not Getting Back with You" right behind at #30, grew up in nearby Middletown and now resides in Red Bank. Then we have Phoebe Ryan, though born in Texas, but grew up in Red Bank, with her comeback single "Something to Hope For" moving up to #26 this week. Ms. Ryan has tasted success, as I mentioned a couple weeks ago, both as a performer and songwriter.
Both of these singers, in different ways, embody the Jersey spirit. Dunphy, who is the voice of a band whose members span the country (and even the world), has that voice so much borne in the Garden State; coming on as a cross between the likes of Jon Bon Jovi (although he may not care to admit it!) and Bruce Springsteen. And while Phoebe's sound and texture point to what's been going on in current pop music, her innovative approach to artistry and songwriting are an homage to the town and state.
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| The Singer-Songwriter Capy May event, going on March 27 and 28 will feature acoustic artists at various venues in the New Jersey town |
WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT of Jersey towns, we head south to Cape May where this weekend, where the "Singer-songwriter of Cape May" festival will be held. Many artists will be performing there this weekend, including singer-songwriter Sarah Teti, sometimes member of The Hounds of Winter. It's sort of New Jersey's answer to North Myrtle Beach's "Sounds of the Strand" events, with the artists performing at various venues in Cape May. Sarah will be performing at Elaine's there on March 28th (along with Al Reynolds). Other venues will include The Mad Batter, The Boiler Room at Congress Hall, Delaney's Irish Pub, Fins Bar and Grille, Exit Zero, and The Rusty Nail. The festival will be taking place March 27 (today as I write this) and 28th. During the two days, there will be panels and workshops going on as well.
For more information, check out this link: Singer-Songwriter Cape May Conference Set for March 27-28 – AcousticMusicScene.com
HOT 100: Getting back to the national scene, "Choosin' Texas" by Ella Langley holds on to the #1 position for a fourth week overall, and is the first song since January to hold the position two weeks in a row. "Man I Need" by Olivia Dean is still #2, it's been either there or #3 for several weeks now. Ms. Dean also enters the top 10 (finally) with "So Easy (To Fall in Love)", which I think is a much better song, at #9. Bruno Mars holds at #3 with former chart-topper "I Just Might". Then, in the "give it up, already!" category, "Ordinary" moves up to #4, and "Golden" to #5. C'mon people, broaden your music horizons already and move on!".
SNS 100: Speaking of Bruno Mars, he returns to the top of the Scenes 'n' Soundwaves chart with "I Just Might" for a second, non-consecutive week. It's been a very competitive top portion of the chart lately, in fact, the top 25-30 positions are great songs but can only move up a notch or two (with or without bullets) even though they're still advancing. The Womack Sisters' "I Just Don't Want You To Love Me More" moves up to #2 but very close to the top. Stephen Sanchez, stuck at #2 on several Triple-A charts (behind Noah Kahan's "The Great Divide"), moves to #3 with "Sweet Love", followed by two artists who combined have half the top ten---Brooke Combe at #4 with "This Town" and The Jay Vons' "It Was Wrong to Love You" at #5. Ms. Combe is also at #8 with her former blog-topper "How Can I Tell You (To Love Me More)" and #9 with "A-Game", and The Jay Vons' "Changing Seasons" at #10. Last week's #1, Starbuck's "Robusto" drops to #6, and Bradley Denniston's "Backbone Lover" moves down a notch to #7.
In the second twenty is still very tight with nine of the ten songs still moving up. There are no NEW songs in the top 20, but one song inches back up from #21, thus garnering (again) the Impact award. That would be North Tower's "Pretty Lady", which had a record-setting twelve week run at the top, and is STILL topping a couple of beach charts (and moving back up on a couple more). It's also the longest running song on my chart at 27 weeks.
There is a tie for Mover of the Week. "Catch a Ride" from The Pink Slips, moving 39-29, and last week's Top Debut, Bruno Mars' album track "Something Serious" (75-54).
DEBUTS: As I mentioned last week, this is the season for new beach music releases, and capturing the Top Debut is the latest from The Tonez, "NMB SC (Where I Wanna Be)". The title, of course, stands for 'North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina', that is the "beach music center". Laura Kepley is back as lead singer. With an "Under the Boardwalk"-type info, the sax comes in, following by Laura's soulful voice. Very compatible with Jennifer James' recent "Carolina's Home", Ms. Kepley sings of the virtual of this awesome town. It's sort of a travelogue of sorts of the town. I am looking forward to spending some time at the OD Pavilion and other places in town. Excellently done, and it enters the chart #76.
Right behind at #77 is the latest from Toronto's Harley Olivia, singing of the virtues of "San Francisco". The artists, communicating with her fan via social media has a great alternative rocker here. A very well-constructed song and her vocals are out front and center, and the instrumentals is very much in the alternative lane. Let's hope she makes inroads south of her native Canada.
Rhonda McDaniel recently scored with three top 10 songs from her current album (including the #1 "Sad Girl"), and follows it up with "It Will Stand". It's from the tribute album to the late, great General Johnson who led one of the biggest beach groups of all time, The Chairmen of the Board, Tribute to the General. Coming in at #78, the song, written by Johnson (who passed in 2010) is a great representation of what this soulful band accomplished.
Rounding out the new entries, we have the latest from The Fray, "Ice Cold Lakes", a nice slice of heartful alt-pop; the combo of New Monarchy and Off Guard, the band fronted by Matt Weiss, "Get Out', a dramatic slice of alt-pop to start, which evolves into Weiss' emotional up-tempo vibe and a harder sound than what you'd expect from them; Harry Styles' "American Girls", similar to "Aperture", a bit low-key; Mark Ward's "Point Blank", a piece about the Minneapolis' ICE shootings in a palatable alt-rock, presentation observed by someone who was right there when it happened; and finally "Let's Do It Again" by The Last Dinner Party, a British all-female quintet, a mid-tempo slick of art/baroque pop, that has potential...the band definitely is having a good time with this one.
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
March 22, 2026
|
This Week |
Last Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks on List |
|
1 |
2 |
NUMBER ONE:  Album: The Romantic (2 Weeks at #1) |
10 |
|
2 |
3 |
8 |
|
|
3 |
5 |
9 |
|
|
4 |
7 |
7 |
|
|
5 |
8 |
7 |
|
|
6 |
1 |
11 |
|
|
7 |
6 |
11 |
|
|
8 |
4 |
10 |
|
|
9 |
10 |
7 |
|
|
10 |
13 |
7 |
|
|
11 |
9 |
8 |
|
|
12 |
11 |
8 |
|
|
13 |
12 |
10 |
|
|
14 |
15 |
8 |
|
|
15 |
16 |
7 |
|
|
16 |
18 |
6 |
|
|
17 |
19 |
5 |
|
|
18 |
17 |
7 |
|
|
19 |
14 |
9 |
|
|
20 |
21 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  (Single Release) |
27 |
|
21 |
24 |
6 |
|
|
22 |
23 |
10 |
|
|
23 |
22 |
10 |
|
|
24 |
25 |
7 |
|
|
25 |
26 |
5 |
|
|
26 |
32 |
3 |
|
|
27 |
20 |
17 |
|
|
28 |
34 |
7 |
|
|
29 |
39 |
4 |
|
|
30 |
28 |
12 |
|
|
31 |
27 |
22 |
|
|
32 |
33 |
11 |
|
|
33 |
35 |
9 |
|
|
34 |
37 |
6 |
|
|
35 |
38 |
8 |
|
|
36 |
30 |
11 |
|
|
37 |
41 |
5 |
|
|
38 |
43 |
4 |
|
|
39 |
49 |
CO-MOVER OF THE WEEK:  (Single Release) |
3 |
|
40 |
29 |
17 |
|
|
41 |
31 |
19 |
|
|
42 |
40 |
9 |
|
|
43 |
46 |
4 |
|
|
44 |
44 |
11 |
|
|
45 |
45 |
7 |
|
|
46 |
52 |
3 |
|
|
47 |
53 |
3 |
|
|
48 |
54 |
4 |
|
|
49 |
36 |
8 |
|
|
50 |
51 |
Rev. Bubba D.
Liverance and the Cornhole Prophets - Wish You Were Here |
6 |
|
51 |
57 |
5 |
|
|
52 |
55 |
6 |
|
|
53 |
42 |
12 |
|
|
54 |
75 |
CO-MOVER OF THE WEEK:  Album: The Romantic |
2 |
|
55 |
47 |
8 |
|
|
56 |
65 |
4 |
|
|
57 |
64 |
4 |
|
|
58 |
48 |
15 |
|
|
59 |
61 |
6 |
|
|
60 |
68 |
5 |
|
|
61 |
70 |
3 |
|
|
62 |
50 |
10 |
|
|
63 |
73 |
3 |
|
|
64 |
67 |
12 |
|
|
65 |
80 |
2 |
|
|
66 |
62 |
6 |
|
|
67 |
84 |
2 |
|
|
68 |
85 |
2 |
|
|
69 |
72 |
9 |
|
|
70 |
83 |
3 |
|
|
71 |
82 |
3 |
|
|
72 |
77 |
4 |
|
|
73 |
63 |
6 |
|
|
74 |
74 |
31 |
|
|
75 |
87 |
2 |
|
|
76 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT:  "NMB
SC (That's Where I Wanna Be)" (Single Release) |
1 |
|
77 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
78 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
79 |
59 |
11 |
|
|
80 |
90 |
2 |
|
|
81 |
79 |
5 |
|
|
82 |
58 |
10 |
|
|
83 |
92 |
2 |
|
|
84 |
56 |
8 |
|
|
85 |
60 |
7 |
|
|
86 |
66 |
19 |
|
|
87 |
71 |
20 |
|
|
88 |
93 |
2 |
|
|
89 |
88 |
22 |
|
|
90 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
91 |
98 |
2 |
|
|
92 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
93 |
78 |
5 |
|
|
94 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
95 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
96 |
69 |
9 |
|
|
97 |
76 |
7 |
|
|
98 |
99 |
11 |
|
|
99 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
100 |
81 |
25 |
Murmurs:
Courtney Barnett - Lotta Love
Murmurs: Songs which are in the queue for future adds onto the Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist.
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week
●Songs garnering 25 plays
on Spotify (“Scrobbles”) according to Last.Fm (effective October 2024) ▲ Songs garnering 50 plays.
Songs
on the SNS 100 are included on the following public Spotify playlists
Scenes
‘n’ Soundwaves Top 40: Contains songs in positions 1-40 on the SNS
100
Scenes
41-100 and Newbies Songs in Positions 41-100 on the SNS 100 plus
new additions
Scenes
Recurrents: Songs which had been in
the top 20 and/or songs on the chart 25 weeks or more, that have dropped off
the SNS 100.
(Rob Sheldon
is a music fan who has followed music trends the past 60 years, and covers new
and classic music, specializing in pop, rock, alternative, beach, soul and
country genres). He can be contacted
at rsheldonx4804@gmail.com
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