Every year since 2018 — except for 2020, thanks to the pandemic — the Sea.Hear.Now festival in Asbury Park, N.J., has provided a destination for East Coast music fans. Past lineups have included some of the biggest names in rock, including headline sets
by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Pearl Jam, Brandi Carlile, Patti Smith, Dave Matthews Band, Green Day, Lenny Kravitz, Weezer, The Killers, Stevie Nicks, Noah Kahan, and other more.
This year’s festival, held Sept. 19 and 20, continued that eclectic tradition, with Mumford & Sons, The Strokes, The Offspring, Chaka Khan, The War on Drugs, Moby, and Pixies, topping the bill, with Fontaines D.C., Ziggy Marley, Goo Goo Dolls, The All -American Rejects, Susanna Hoffs, Shaggy, and more holding down a deep bench of performers taking over the Jersey Shore.
There were surprises — E Street Band member Jake Clemons, Bike Routes, and multi-instrumentalist Michael Ghegan joining Jarod Clemons on the Park Stage — to go along with the regulars, like Bon Jovi keyboardist Dave Bryan, who appeared at the Stone Pony after-party. Clemons also joined Mumford & Sons for a gorgeous cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” to close out the Saturday night’s set.
Sea.Hear.Now weekend kicked off with a party on Cookman Ave. in Asbury Park featuring Jon Stewart’s band, “Church and State,” Philadelphia’s Snacktime, and artist Shepard Fairey (famed for creating the Barack Obama “Hope” poster for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election) with a DJ set. It wrapped with the Strokes accompanied by the first drops of rain.
Rolling Stone was there to capture the sights and sounds on the beach, in the park, and backstage.
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