Sea Hear Now Competition Brings Stevie Nicks, Inexperienced Day, Extra to NJ Seashore

Not lengthy into her headlining set on the primary day of the fourth annual Sea Hear Now pageant in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Stevie Nicks had a query for the 1000’s stretched throughout the seashore.

“Is that this the world of Bruce Springsteen?” she requested to enthusiastic cheers. “OK, we’re driving by, and there’s a road signal and I requested that very same query and no person actually answered, at the least such as you guys simply did.”

Springsteen is definitely part of the tapestry of the city, and was well-represented in photographer/pageant organizer Danny Clinch’s artwork tent. However the metropolis has an ever-evolving musical scene, and the beachside setting was its personal draw on a weekend of heat, stunning days and picturesque nights, with an ocean breeze enveloping Nicks and her flowing scarves, creating an atmosphere — or as she described it, a “fairytale” — solely Mom Nature can present. A crimson crescent moon peeking by the overhead clouds added to the mystique on the ultimate weekend of summer time and starting of the autumn season, or as Nicks — in a nod to her followers donning witch hats and Stevie-attire on the sand — framed it: “it’s virtually Halloween.”

“I wish to thank Danny Clinch for placing on this superb pageant,” Nicks mentioned. “To have a pageant proper on the ocean is fairly spectacular. I dwell on the ocean so for me I really feel like I’m proper at dwelling.”

Sunday headliner Green Day has some historical past in Asbury Park, having first appeared on the Stone Pony when live shows had been in a tent, supporting “Dookie” on the time, and afterward performing inside Conference Corridor. Singer Billie Joe Armstrong embraced the seaside setting fervently, difficult followers to provide summer time one final hurrah with an invitation to go “skinny dipping” after the present.

Stretched out over three levels, the pageant gave followers the chance to race up and down the seashore, boardwalk and a grassy park space to savor a lineup of acts that included Tradition Membership, Billy Strings, Wet Leg, My Morning Jacket, Gary Clark Jr., the Head and the Coronary heart, Idle, Courtney Barnett, Tai Verdes, Skip Marley, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Cimafunk, Aly & AJ, Peach Pit, the Backstreet Lovers and extra. Skilled surfers participated in a “‘North Shore Rumble,” however the ocean was calm on Saturday and Sunday, with jet skiers deployed to create waves for the event.

The Asbury Park scene was represented by native rising star Fletcher, Dentist and Canine in a Pile entertaining on the Sand and Park levels, with “American Idol” alum Cole Hallman, a Manasquan resident who labored summers on the Stone Pony, supporting within the viewers. Clinch, born in Toms River, even will get in on the motion performing on the Pony yearly on the primary evening of the pageant together with his personal group, Tangiers Blues Band. 

Whereas this 12 months’s crowd wasn’t as large because the earlier 12 months when Pearl Jam headlined, VIP wristbands offered out. On the Sand Stage for the Backstreet Lovers’ set, VIP and Platinum wristband holders needed to wait their flip to entry the premium space because it reached capability on the facet stage. 

The pageant is produced by C3 Presents, the staff behind Lollapalooza, together with Clinch and Tim Donnnelly.

Listed below are the highest 10 moments of the pageant:

Fletcher 

The Asbury Park born-Fletcher — first launched on the primary season of “X-Issue” when Simon Cowell paired her with different contestants to kind the group Lakoda Rayne, beneath Paula Abdul’s steerage —celebrated the discharge of her new album, “Woman of My Goals,” with a present on the Sand Stage that included the brand new tune “Becky’s So Sizzling” and a nod to Springsteen with “I’m on Fireplace,”  thrilling her fan base who got here with indicators of help. A nod to Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Woman” ignited the efficiency.

Tradition Membership honors George Michael

Boy George of Tradition Membership captivated the viewers, joking early on that he knew that the group wasn’t there for the band however “fucking can be by the top of the set.” Hits like “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya,” “Miss Me Blind,” a gradual model of “Do You Actually Need to Harm Me” and “Karma Chameleon” dominated the efficiency=. A gap cowl of the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Satan” and a later salute to T. Rex with “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” drew cheers. Nevertheless it was the combination of “Church of the Poison Thoughts” mixed with Wham’s “I’m Your Man” that tugged on the emotional heartstrings from the group remembering George Michael. Including to the enjoyable was “Actual Housewives of Beverly Hills” star and Tradition Membership supervisor Paul “PK” Kemsley taking in all of the motion side-stage, taking selfies with followers and grinning from ear-to-ear.

Billy Strings 

A part of the attraction of the pageant is the motion on the Park Stage, situated off the seashore. The acts on the Park Stage had been an eclectic array of leisure, with Billy Strings and his band performing his mix of bluegrass for energized followers all-in for a musical fiesta that included “Brown’s Ferry Blues,” “Crown of Thorns,” “Dos Banjos” and steady musical interludes that stored the group on its ft. 

Gary Clark Jr. shares an Asbury Second

Clark rocked a number of guitars, together with a really cool Flying V, for his set that included a bluesy jam with pageant founder Danny Clinch on harp (“we’re going to play the blues,” Clark mentioned). Clark’s set was a stellar illustration of all the musical flavors that excite musicians: blues, soul, R&B and loads of tasty licks creating moments inside each riff. None was as candy as when Clark bought sentimental, revealing that his first date together with his girlfriend/now-wife was on the Stone Pony. The horny jam “Our Love” was an actual deal with to listen to as summer time magic continued so near the top of the season.

Cimafunk kicks off Sunday 

Hailing from Cuba, Cimafunk and his band, the Tribe, set the bar excessive for the Park Stage, mixing Caribbean rhythms, horns, funk, dance strikes and a full-fledged get together inviting viewers members on stage to bounce with the band. It was not possible to withstand dancing, and the longer the set went, the extra followers ran over to the stage to affix the get together. Sitting in his trailer after the present, Cimafunk — who simply performed a non-public present within the Hampton attended by Paul McCartney — assessed the day as a win for the band. “It was tremendous good,” he mentioned. “When the music begins, they begin to groove and so they they begin to get nuts and get loopy, and get on this tribal state — that type of vibe, once you simply begin grooving and neglect about every part and simply being a part of that.” The singer, dripping with sweat, celebrated the present with a swim within the ocean.

Moist Leg goes for the document of the World’s Longest Scream

The buzziest band on the invoice didn’t disappoint Sunday, as Moist Leg introduced vitality to the Park Stage with a set that included “Grocery store,” “Moist Dream” and the group’s various hit “Chaise Longue” to an viewers that held on each phrase uttered by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers. The band’s mixture of energy chords, deadpan supply and main ’80s enjoyable — how might one not discover the humor in “I Wanna Be Kidnapped By a UFO”? — entertained the group, who fortunately obliged when a grinning, cat-eared Teasdale challenged them to have the longest recorded scream at a pageant. The cheerful name and response between the band and viewers on “Chaise Longue” (“excuse me… what?”) capped what was simply one of the enjoyable units of the pageant.

The viewers will get within the act

The Surf Stage was the place to be to get some on-stage love from the artists. Michael Franti and Spearhead introduced good vibes early, telling the viewers holding fingers was a greater option to meet individuals than Tinder. He went one other step ahead, encouraging a beach-side Do Si Do. Franti additionally invited a fan from Maryland to sing onstage, and gave children the highlight for “Say, Hey, I Love You,” feeding them the lyrics to sing a line every. He additionally invited Jared Clemons, the son of late E Road Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, to share a second within the solar in the course of the set. Franti by no means missed a beat, even with a technical situation shorting out the sound on the seashore.

The Head and the Coronary heart do double obligation

Simply earlier than the Head and the Coronary heart closed out the Park Stage, the band performed an intimate present with a Q&A for followers within the Clear Clinch pop-up artwork gallery. The gallery — which featured images and art work contributed by the artists (Tre Cool of Inexperienced Day embellished snare heads with art work, whereas images from Stevie Nicks fetched $3,000) — additionally included two blue canvas work created by members Matt Gervais and Charity Rose Thielen. The art work echoed the band’s new album, “Each Shade of Blue,” which the band closely featured in a wonderful set that included the one “Virginia (Wind within the Night time)” and the fan favourite “‘Rivers and Roads.” “The colour blue to me was form of like this clear and pure and easy approach of creating, virtually like a temper ring, so many several types of feelings with one coloration,” mentioned singer Jonathan Russel. “I simply felt like we went by the entire spectrum of feelings within the final two years.” Russel mentioned taking part in the pageant was a deal with. “I’m such a freak for the water,” he mentioned. “I used to be swimming round within the ocean throughout Shakey Graves’ set, who we’re doing a co-headining tour with now. I used to be simply type of floating across the ocean. It’s been phenomenal.”

Stevie Nicks honors Tom Petty

Tom Petty is gone however by no means forgotten so long as Stevie Nicks is worried. Tom’s spirit was within the air on the pageant as Nicks and guitarist Waddy Wachtel recreated the duet “Cease Draggin’ My Coronary heart Round,” the primary single off “Bella Donna.” Stevie additionally handled the group to her new cowl of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Price,” with a historical past lesson, that the tune was written about clashes with younger individuals on the Sundown Strip over a proposed 10 p.m. curfew. “The belongings you write songs about, proper? So I simply thought that typically music can save the world, and this might be a superb tune for proper now,” she mentioned. Chic variations of “Gold Mud Lady,” “Gypsy,” Goals” and “Landslide” (devoted to god-daughter Tessa Fleetwood, the daughter of Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood, in attendance on the pageant) framed the evening, capped by a rousing Led Zeppelin cowl, “Rock and Roll,” to carry Saturday evening’s festivities to a rousing conclusion.

Inexperienced Day jams with followers

Inexperienced Day closed out the pageant with a decent and thrilling set that included hits “Basket Case,” “Welcome to Paradise,” “Vacation” and the punk-rock opera “Jesus of Suburbia,” together with “American Fool” and the becoming “Wake Me Up When September Ends” to carry summer time to its pure conclusion, though it was nonetheless 85 and sunny on the present. Billie Joe Armstrong was at his hyperactive finest with repeated shouts to New Jersey and mugging for the cameras by covers of the Isley Brothers’ “Shout” and “‘Rock and Roll All Night time” by Kiss. Nevertheless it was when he invited a fan to the stage to sing “Enemy” and a younger boy named Luke to jam three energy chords when Armstrong actually hit his stride, even gifting the boy with a guitar to take dwelling “as a result of it’s all downhill from right here.” The band’s set didn’t save the fireworks for the top of the present; the pyro went off a number of occasions, a lot to the delight of the packed seashore and boardwalk.