Jersey Rock Band of the Week: Soraia

Rocking the Ocean Of Love Billboard Radiothon Jersey Rock Kick-Off Show on 9/18!

Soraia never slows down. Between national and international touring, they are always hard at work on their next creative venture.  When the weather is warm they rock; when it is cold they write.

It's a cycle that has produced a steady stream of killer releases and crowd-pleasing performances. With Winter approaching the band will transition into writing mode but not before making the most of the Fall.

Over the next few months, Soraia will tour overseas and rock NYC and Philly in November. However, before they do any of that they will donate their talent for a great cause this month in Toms River.

Don't miss Soraia at the Ocean Of Love Billboard Radiothon Jersey Rock Kick-Off Show on Monday, September 18 at 1331 Hooper Avenue in Toms River!

They will join Indigo Sky and Intruder 424 under a four-story billboard that Gotts will call home for four days! The event has become a traditional part of RAT Radio's annual endeavor to raise over $109,000.00 for Ocean Of Love, which provides financial and emotional support to Ocean County families with children battling cancer.

Soraia has been interested in lending its power to this effort for a while now.  Lead singer ZouZou Mansour said:

Catch them for an epic unplugged set on September 18 and then see them in all of their electric glory at Milk Boy in Philadelphia on November 3 and Berlin Under A in New York City on November 4.  Check out all of their upcoming dates HERE.

Soraia's latest album "Bloom" is available now.  Released last fall, it has produced a number of high-octane singles and achieved national radio airplay.  Find it along with all of Soraia's music HERE.

Soraia has a brand-new single coming out this Friday!  Just in time for spooky season, it's a haunting cover of "Black Magic Woman."  Speaking on the cover, ZouZou Mansour said:

The single hits all streaming platforms and the music video hits YouTube on Friday.  Learn more HERE.

Tune to Jersey Rock on 95.9 The RAT Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 11:30 p.m. to hear the latest from Soraia.  ZouZou Mansour will call into the show each night!

Learn more at soraia.com.

Check out the video for "I Seek Fire"!

I started riding my bicycle in the woods when I was about 8 years old.  My dad got me a classic BMX bike, ironically it was black and yellow just like the WRAT logo colors, and I immediately got it out into the woods and ride-aways near my house.  I'd be out there for hours, building ramps and jumps and berms.

These days, my mountain bike is black and red and I ride it on the trails of Allaire State Park, Hartshorne Park, and other fun local spots.  For about a decade or so, I've heard of a place in Vermont that had a hundred miles of linked mountain biking trails called "Kingdom Trails".  I always wanted to make a trek to this area but the distance (almost 8 hours by car) and my life hadn't allowed me the chance.  Well, 2023 was the year that I seized the opportunity, and - holy moly - am I glad I did.

My favorite ski film producer, Warren Miller, has a famous line that he put in every one of his ski films, "If you don't do it this year you'll be a year older when you do."  

What I found at Kingdom Trails were super cool and welcoming people, a lifestyle of fitness and bicycling, pretty good restaurants, fantastic local beer, and the best network of mountain bike trails I have ever found.  I've ridden a lot around here in my local Jersey Shore stomping grounds and enjoyed every muddy moment but this trail network is totally sick.  I'm not even sure the pictures on this page do it justice.

What is "Kingdom Trails"?  KT is a network of connected mountain bike trails in and around the town of East Burke, Vermont.  A few years ago some mountain biking enthusiasts met with local landowners and convinced a lot of them to allow mountain biking trails on their land.  The trails would be maintained by the KT organization, a non-profit, with the goal of attracting crazy mountain bikers like me to the area; thereby supporting the local economy.

They claim to have over one hundred miles of connected mountain bike trails set over two or three ridges in an area of Vermont called, "The Northeast Kingdom".  The trails are really well marked with signage similar to a ski area.  They have a pretty sick app, part of the Ondago system, so it's fairly easy to find your way.

Here are a few short fun facts from my summer trip.

I stayed at the Wildflower Inn.  Comfy bed, a little outdated; but comfy bed.  Great sunsets and an on-site bike shop with a bar out the back window.

I stopped by a few local restaurants that I enjoyed including this one, this cool market made a killer club sandwich, and this one was okay, and this market had a good local beer selection.

My favorite local brewery was Frost Beer Works.

And, I hope to be back one day because I barely got to half of the hundred miles of trails during my short stay.

Well, there's my version of the, "What I did on summer vacation" report that I used to hate in school.  Hope you had a great summer too!

Some of the trails use the edges of local property owners like this trail that hugs a farmer's cornfield.