On Saturday, September 29th and Sunday, September 30th, the inaugural Sea.Hear.Now Festival took place in the famous beach town of Asbury Park, NJ. The two-day event hosted a diverse lineup of artists across two stages two stages—one right the sandy beach adjacent to the historic Convention Hall and another stage across the street in the grass of Bradley Park. The event also featured a surf contest and a mélange of art displays and workshops including surfboard shaping, live painting, and a pop-up “Transparent Gallery” by local photography legend and festival co-founder, Danny Clinch. An estimated 20,000 people kicked off their shoes to enjoy fried oreos and cold beer on an autumn day that was reminiscent of a summer weekend.
The festival’s opening day featured performances from The Battery Electric, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jesse Malin, Clinch’s Tangiers Blues Band, SOJA, English Beat, Carl Broemel, Blondie, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Deer Tick, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Brandi Carlile, and Highly Suspect alongside headliners Incubus.
The second day of music offered sets by locals Parlor Mob and Deal Casino. Sea.Hear.Now’s second and final day also included performances from The Original Wailers, Nicole Atkins, Rayland Baxter, Lettuce, The Menzingers, Langhorne Slim and the Lost at Last Band, Kaleo, The Front Bottoms, G. Love and Special Sauce, Milky Chance, and Twin Peaks.
As the day kept moving along, Social Distortion delivered perhaps the most memorable set of the weekend. After opening with a partial cover of Tom Petty‘s “Last Dance for Mary Jane”, the band cut into a ripping “Reach for the Sky”. Toward the end of their set, fans on the beach were treated to a big surprise as local legend Bruce Springsteen joined the band onstage for three songs including “Bad Luck”, “Misery Loves Company”, and a punk rock cover of Johnny Cash classic “Ring of Fire”.
Social Distortion w/ Bruce Springsteen – “Bad Luck”, “Misery Loves Company”, “Ring of Fire” [Johnny Cash Cover]
[Video: rdeal1999]
“The Boss” remains omnipresent in Asbury Park, always with a watchful eye on his beloved city’s resurgence and a finger on the pulse of the oceanfront town. Springsteen delivered a celebratory show at the re-opening of Asbury Lanes earlier this summer. His name has been synonymous with the city ever since the release of his 1973 debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park. Even more appropriate was the cover of Cash’s “Ring of Fire” (Social Distortion recorded on their third self-titled album), as Johnny Cash was once part owner of Asbury’s legendary Berkeley-Carteret Hotel which loomed stoically in the western horizon a mere block from the beach as they played.
To close the festival, Jack Johnson played a mellow set including many originals laced with a handful of covers of his own. Johnson, who was seen surfing and hanging out all weekend, provided a down-to-earth vibe that matched the festival’s toes-in-the-sand, barefoot feel. Johnson mashed “Sittin’, Wishin’, Waitin’” with The Cars‘ “Just What I Needed” and ran through Sublime’s “Badfish”. Milky Chance joined Johnson onstage for a smooth rendition of Johnson’s original tune, “Taylor”. He also welcomed Preservation Hall Jazz Band to join him onstage for a brassy version of “Mudfootball” and invited G. Love join him for “Rodeo Clowns/ Good People”. Watch some clips from Jack Johnson’s performance below:
Jack Johnson – “Sitting Waiting Wishing”/”Just What I Needed” [The Cars cover]
[Video: Alex Neff]
Jack Johnson w/ Milky Chance – “Taylor”
[Video: pwm112]
Jack Johnson w/ Preservation Hall Jazz Band – “Mudfootball”
[Video: pwm112]
The entire festival was a complete success, with art sales contributing toward charities and the feeling of goodwill clearly visible in the smiles on all the faces in the crowd. This festival marks a historic point in this town’s revival. Nearly ten years ago, Convention Hall was falling apart and there wasn’t a person in sight, summer or winter. It was deemed unsafe, and the crowds avoided the town in favor of “safer” trips to Long Branch’s Pier Village or Seaside’s boardwalk. However, with the money allocated to rebuild the shore, this city was able to maintain its artistic drive and focus on the ideas that have always been the heart and soul of this town. Art, music, and top-notch cuisine are part of Asbury Park’s DNA, and the future is currently being molded back into the creative, bohemian sanctuary that it was once back in the sixties and seventies—the “Glory Days”, if you will.
Congratulations to those responsible for bringing Sea.Hear.Now. to the shores of Asbury Park. The weather was pleasantly sunny, the line-up encouraged spontaneous cross-pollination of the artists throughout both nights. As anyone in attendance could reaffirm, this festival was a complete success, and we look forward to what upcoming years bring to our festive crown jewel city of Asbury Park.
The post Bruce Springsteen Joins Social Distortion, Jack Johnson Welcomes Several Guests At Asbury’s Sea.Hear.Now [Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
