ASBURY PARK, NJ (Upstage Magazine) -- Four years ago, Upstage Magazine made its debut at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey. On November 11th, the magazine returned to the legendary club of
Bruce Springsteen fame with a big announcement about its future and came home with 3 Asbury
Music Awards as well.
Upstage Magazine, a monthly arts & entertainment publication based in Spring Lake, won awards for Top Music Website, Top Internet Radio Station, and Top Music Journalist, which was won by Gary Wien for the third straight year.
"It is a tremendous feeling to be recognized by the local music scene as the top journalist," said Gary Wien. "In an area with daily newspapers and several entertainment magazines, we have always tried to be known as the publication with the best writing but it is the quality of the local music scene that provides us with the content. While other publications focus mainly on national acts, we believe that the New Jersey music scene is as strong as ever and want to highlight its rising stars."
Upstage Magazine has had an impressive record in spotlighting the scene's upcoming talent. Three artists (Rick Barry, Matt O'Ree and Status Green) who were cover stories within the past few years also took home Asbury Music Awards. Rick Barry won Top Acoustic Act; Matt O'Ree won for Top Blues Band and Top Guitarist; and Status Green was among the big winners of the night with awards for Top Pop Band, Top Live Performance and Top Male Vocalist (Lou Montesano). In addition, two artists (April Smith and Days Awake) who have previously been featured in Upstage also won awards. In previous years, artists featured on the cover of Upstage included such Asbury Music Award winners as deSol, Matt Witte & New Blood Revival, Republic, and Val Emmich.
One thing that makes Upstage Magazine stand out among the local competition is their use of the Internet. Upstage is the only local publication in the area to have its own Internet Radio Station (UpstageRadio.com) and its local music website (AsburyMusic.com) and magazine website (Upstagemagazine.com) have become the area's leading online arts communities.
The big announcement for Upstage is a merger with Black Potatoe Entertainment (Clinton, New Jersey), which will take the publication to new heights. The merger will allow Upstage to dramatically increase its circulation and begin distribution across the entire state. In the process, Upstage will become one of the state's largest entertainment publications.
"Last November, Upstage Magazine's website began the movement towards becoming a statewide publication," said Wien. "As part of the Black Potatoe Entertainment family, we will finally begin distributing the monthly magazine from Cape May to Bergen County. Black Potatoe shares our beliefs in the New Jersey arts scene, we couldn't have asked for a better partner. "
Black Potatoe Entertainment is the company behind the annual Black Potatoe Music Festival in Clinton, NJ; runs the Black Potatoe record label; and recently introduced DYIradio.com - an online radio station promoting independent artists.
