On Thursday morning, the Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival revealed their lineup for the 2024 edition of the fest on July 13th.
The festival features two sessions this summer, fittingly named ‘Summer Session’ and will feature an array of bands.
The festival already occurred this year. In the spring, AC Beer Fest hosted three sessions at the Atlantic City Convention Center, where the festival originated. The lineup featured Hot Mulligan, Goldfinger, and Catch 22 across two days.
For the summer sessions, the festival is returning to its recent ways and is coming to Bader Field in Atlantic City. The festival has been held at Bader Field annually since 2021.
The first session of the day will be in the early afternoon from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The session features headliners Fortunate Youth and Shwayze, along with Wide Eyed Kids. If you’re into reggae or the California style, this session is right down your alley.
You’re going to want to catch Fortunate Youth as they’ve only played two shows in the Garden State, both in 2017. The Southern Californian reggae group dedicate themselves to performing live, and contain sound from their influences, including blues, ska, rock, soul, and punk.
Shwayze is another artist that hasn’t been to New Jersey in a while, in fact it’s been almost 10 years. Aaron Smith, known as Shwayze on stage, is a rapper who broke out in the scene in Southern California in 2008.
Rounding off the lineup for the first session is Wide Eyed Kids, who will get the party started in the early afternoon. The Hawaiian based group originated in 2017 and is currently based out of San Diego. The group is all about the Californian lifestyle, and has played alongside Shwayze.
Session two is in the evening from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The session is headlined by the Menzingers, Catbite, and Bad Cop/Bad Cop.
The Menzingers are a punk rock band from Philadelphia, and if you haven’t heard of them by now, you probably aren’t from the area. The Philadelphia locals have played over 40 shows in the state of New Jersey. The group just released their seventh studio record in 2023. The Menzingers most recently played four straight shows at House of Independents in Asbury Park two years ago, for a total of five shows in the Garden State just on that tour alone.
Catbite is another local Philadelphian band that is ready to rip up Atlantic City. The female fronted ska band has played a handful of shows at the House of Independents in Asbury Park, opened for The Bouncing Souls at Starland Ballroom last year, and opened for Streetlight Manifesto on their tour in 2022. On top of that, they performed at XPonNential Festival in Camden just a couple years ago. If it wasn’t clear, the band is on fire, and getting booked for AC Beer Fest tops just about all of that.
Rounding off the lineup is Bad Cop/Bad Cop, a pop punk band originating out of California. The all-female group has been together since 2011, and is currently signed by Fat Wreck Chords. The group creates political infused tracks, while also putting out the message of love and acceptance. The band is also on fire in terms of gigs this year, with shows at Camp Punksylvania and Punk in Drublic. The group hasn’t been to New Jersey since 2021, so it should be a great NJ reunion for them.
Aside from music, the festival also features “over 100 breweries, seltzers, and uniquely crafted adult beverages” along with the music. A ticket to the festival not only includes the live music from the bands, but also access to tastings, demos, silent disco, and “other shenanigans”.
Tickets for each session start at $70 if you purchase the group rate, or $75 if you just want a ticket for yourself. All attendees must be 21 years of age or older.
You can get tickets in person without service fees by stopping by the following breweries in person from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm:
May 15: Behr Brewing, Cape May
May 29: Swedesboro Brewing, Swedesboro
June 12: Ross Brewing Company, Port Monmouth
June 26: Bout the Hops Brewing, Mt. Laurel Township
July 3: Icarus Brewing, Lakewood
NJ Music Festivals 