This Week in Music: Apr 21–27

New Jersey’s live-music week is built around a Thursday-to-Saturday run, with featured shows in Summit, Tuckerton, Morristown, Princeton, Montclair, and Carteret. (newjerseystage.com) New Jersey Stage’s April 21 roundup says its weekly music preview covers concerts across the Garden State, plus some shows in the New York City and Philadelphia areas. The current package was published Tuesday, April 21, and points readers to featured events, previews, listings, and “coming soon” notices. (newjerseystage.com) The week’s featured calendar starts Thursday, April 23, with Vivid Stage’s “Old Friends,” a cabaret starring vocalist Charles Thomas and pianist Rick Knutsen at Oakes Center in Summit at 7 p.m. Friday, April 24 then stacks three highlighted stops: Jonatha Brooke at Lizzie Rose Music Room in Tuckerton at 7:30 p.m., The String Queens at Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown at 8 p.m., and Sweet Honey in the Rock at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton at 7:30 p.m. (newjerseystage.com) Saturday, April 25 shifts the focus to veteran headliners. New Jersey Stage spotlights Rhett Miller of Old 97’s at Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair at 8 p.m. and Clint Black’s “Back On The Blacktop Tour” with Gareth at Carteret Performing Arts and Events Center at 8 p.m. (newjerseystage.com) The mix shows how broad New Jersey’s club-and-theater circuit is in one weekend: cabaret in Summit, folk-rock in Tuckerton, a string trio in Morristown, a long-running a cappella ensemble in Princeton, alt-country in Montclair, and mainstream country in Carteret. The venues range from intimate rooms like Lizzie Rose to larger performing arts centers such as Mayo, McCarter, and CarteretPAC. (newjerseystage.com 1) (newjerseystage.com 2) (newjerseystage.com 3) (newjerseystage.com 4) Several of the acts arrive with long résumés that explain the billing. Sweet Honey in the Rock is described by New Jersey Stage as a Grammy-nominated ensemble with more than 50 years of work, while Rhett Miller is identified as the longtime frontman of Old 97’s, which received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Americana Awards. (newjerseystage.com 1) (newjerseystage.com 2) The weekly preview is also a map of how New Jersey Stage organizes arts coverage. The site says preview articles are free for organizers who send press releases, while featured listings sit in the site calendar and paid event pages start at $10 per event; banner ads run from $50 to $100 per event. (newjerseystage.com) For anyone choosing one night out before the weekend closes, the clearest read is this: Friday, April 24 is the busiest featured date, and Saturday, April 25 brings the biggest-name solo headliners. The full venue-by-venue list runs through Sunday, April 27 on New Jersey Stage’s weekly music page. (newjerseystage.com)