Renee Maskin’s “Wonderland” Preserves the Magic of a Lost Place

In Asbury Park, New Jersey—a town long known for nurturing its own musical legends—Renee Maskin has carved out a distinctive space. Known for her striking voice, both literal and artistic, Maskin has become a fixture in the city’s thriving scene. Her music blends indie-folk intimacy with country soul and a touch of experimental edge, balancing traditional songcraft with a delivery that feels wholly her own. After decades on the road fronting various bands, she stepped into the spotlight under her own name in 2022, quickly establishing herself as one of the region’s most compelling songwriters.

That recognition has only grown. Her 2025 release Is It Real debuted at #1 added on the NACC Folk charts, following the acclaim of her 2023 LP Shimmer, which The Aquarian named one of the National Top Albums of the Year, also honoring Maskin as “Songwriter of the Year.” Her work radiates sincerity and patience—songs that unravel slowly, inviting listeners into their quiet depth. Fans of Big Thief, Wilco, and Tom Waits will recognize kindred textures in her sound: Americana at its core, but unafraid to wander toward the atmospheric or strange.

Maskin’s path hasn’t been a straight line. Over nearly 25 years, she’s moved fluidly between genres, from hushed folk collectives to fiery prog-rock projects. Before her solo career, she fronted Lowlight, co-writing four albums that drew critical praise and led the band to open for The Pretenders on tour in 2018. Through every incarnation, her songwriting has remained a constant—unpretentious yet intricate, emotional yet unsentimental.

Her latest single, “Wonderland,” captures that spirit perfectly. The song was born from the news that Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey—an amusement park that had stood for 94 years—was closing its gates. For Maskin, who spent many summers there, the announcement carried deep personal resonance. “It felt like the end of an era,” she reflects. Threaded with nostalgia and literary nods to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the track drifts through themes of change and impermanence, guided by Maskin’s wistful vocals and emotive string work from violinist Nicole Scorsone (Bernie Worrell Orchestra / Yawn Mower).

The song’s accompanying video, directed by filmmaker and 2024 NJ State Council on the Arts Fellow John Decker, deepens that sense of farewell. Shot on Super 8mm film, it documents the park’s final days—children laughing on rides, ocean light glinting off worn signs, joy and melancholy intertwining in the salt air. Released alongside the single, the video serves as a love letter to both place and memory, a reminder that even endings can be beautiful.