Words by Audra Tracy | Photos by Rod Snyder
Well, it finally happened. Since the event’s inaugural year in 2018, every Jersey girl (and boy) has manifested Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band headlining Sea Hear Now. The Garden State was granted its wish on Sunday, and a sold-out crowd showed up in Asbury Park to bear witness.
But, before we get to the main event, Day 2 of the festival also featured an eclectic mix of musical genres to explore all day long. From a rapping chef (Action Bronson) to funk legends (Kool & The Gang), to a Grateful Dead drag show (Bertha), Sunday’s line-up had some serious BOSS energy.
Here are the highlights from Day 2 of Sea Hear Now 2024…
Bertha
“Got any Deadheads out here?”
Judging by the growing crowd both on the beach and the boardwalk, the answer was a resounding ‘yes’. Bertha: A Grateful Drag, the Nashville-based tribute act, came to the Sand Stage all decked out in colorful wigs and stockings, and ready to jam. Barefoot and under blue skies, flower children of all ages danced together in the sand to Grateful Dead classics like ‘Loose Lucy’, ‘St. Stephen’, and ‘Eyes of the World’. The band is currently on their ‘Bertha Does America’ tour, with Sea Hear Now marking their 11th show ever.
Joy Oladokun
Next, at the Surf Stage, singer/songwriter Joy Oladokun was performing a lovely set of what she called ‘songs I wrote while stoned in my attic’. Much like the ocean itself, Oladokun’s dreamy music had a calming effect, so it was only natural that she performed with the North Beach as a backdrop. Waves lapped up on the shoreline while fans swayed along to tracks from her 2023 release, Proof of Life, including ‘Taking Things for Granted’ and ‘Keeping The Light On’.
Kool & The Gang
“Can we take you back to the 70’s?”
Later in the afternoon, the beach was brimming with fans lined up to party with Jersey City’s own Kool & The Gang. The 2024 Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Inductees took over the Surf Stage at 3:25, and their set seemed like a true kick-off to the ultimate Sunday Funday. ‘Fresh as a summer breeze’, Robert ‘Kool’ Bell & The Gang kept the hits coming, filling their set with ‘Too Hot’, ‘Jungle’ Boogie’, ‘Ladies Night’, ‘Get Down On It’, and of course, ‘Celebration’. It was the perfect show to loosen up (and limber up) for the good times ahead…
Action Bronson
Not many rappers employ a live band when touring, but Action Bronson is no ordinary artist. Hailing from Queens, New York, Bronson held court at the Sand Stage on Sunday evening, bringing along some instrumentalists from Brooklyn and New Jersey, too. The slow burning set found the rapper/chef/TV personality rhyming over some very chill, jazz-inspired melodies, like on ‘The Chairman’s Intent’ and ‘Sergio’. Bronson recently released a new album – Johann Sebastian Bachlava The Doctor – and you can catch him performing at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City this October 27.
Trey Anastasio Band
“I heard Bruce might show up.”
Every year at Sea Hear Now, the classic rumor spreads around these festival grounds, but this weekend, the hype was very real. After reminiscing to the crowd about his first Springsteen concert at age 14, Jersey boy and Phish frontman Trey Anastasio invited his childhood hero on-stage to team up on the bluesy tune, ‘Kitty’s Back’.
More approachable than a marathon Phish show, Trey’s set with his solo band won over both long-time fans and first-time listeners. With a little help from his horn section, re-imagined versions of ‘Moma Dance’, ‘Sand’, and ‘First Tube’ had the Surf Stage sharing in the groove.
The Gaslight Anthem
Over at the Park Stage, the air was buzzing with anticipation, because Bruce was officially on the loose at Sea Hear Now. And since The Gaslight Anthem released a song with Springsteen just last year, die-hard fans were anxiously awaiting a musical milestone. Soon the New Brunswick-based band strutted out with their mentor in tow, and for the first time ever in concert, they played their collaborative tune, ‘History Books’, followed by ‘American Slang’. The atmosphere was truly electric, and lead singer Brian Fallon seemed just as starstruck as his audience. But The Gaslight Anthem kept it together to finish out their set, reuniting fans with classics like ‘Great Expectations’, ‘Miles Davis And The Cool’, and ‘The ‘59 Sound’.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
At last, the man that built the music scene in Asbury Park came ‘home’ to play on the beach for 40,000 super-fans. Just eight days shy of his 75th birthday, The Boss blessed the Jersey shore with an astonishing three-hour headlining set to close out Sea Hear Now 2024.
Like a love letter to the locals in attendance, Sunday night’s performance featured many songs either written in, or inspired by, Asbury Park and its neighboring towns. ‘Blinded By The Light’ and ‘4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)’ were both tour debuts, and the band was just getting warmed up.
Sometimes a singer, a guitarist, a conductor, and a preacher, Springsteen led The E Street Band through fan favorites including ‘Hungry Heart’, ‘Atlantic City’, and ‘Thunder Road’. The jam-packed crowd at the Surf Stage (and the boardwalk, and the street) was already over the moon, and then Springsteen upped the ante with an eight-song encore highlighted by ‘Jungleland’, ‘Born To Run’, ‘Rosalita’, and ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out’.
Twenty nine songs deep into the set, The Boss was still going strong. “You think you can out-last The E Street Band?,” he asked his starry-eyed audience. “We’ve been doing this for fifty fucking years, and we’re not done yet.”
A cover of the Tom Waits tune, ‘Jersey Girl’, was a fitting end to an incredible weekend in Asbury Park. And whether you’re a casual listener or a fanatic, everyone can agree on one thing: ‘down the shore, everything’s all right’.
Thank you Sea Hear Now!
Revisit Day 1 Highlights here…
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TheWaster.com | Ocean Avenue
9.17.24
