Sea.Hear.Now is coming up this weekend in Asbury Park, and it’s set to be one of the biggest in the festival’s history, headlined by Bruce Springsteen.
While the main stage has no conflicts to decide over, the Park and Sand stage overlap, making for some tough decisions on who you want to see. Below is a breakdown of each conflict between the two stages to help you make a better decision of who to see.
Saturday, September 14th:
On the Surf Stage, the following acts face no conflict: Passafire (1:15 pm), Sierra Ferrell (2:45 pm), The Revivalists (4:45 pm), The Black Crowes (6:45 pm), and Noah Kahan (9:00 pm).
12:30 pm – 1:15 pm: Sonic Blume (Park) vs. Bo Staloch (Sand)
Bo Staloch, an Austin, TX native, is a singer-songwriter currently based out of Nashville who saw a huge rise in fame on apps like TikTok and other social media. He was a late addition to the lineup, being added just this past week.
Sonic Blume are a Indie group straight out of Asbury Park, so they are a great local group that the community will show up for.
These two artists have different sounds, but both still have an Indie vibe to them.
2:00 pm – 2:45 pm: Robert Randolph Band (Park) vs. joe p (Sand)
Joe P is another local Asbury Park artist, who had a viral TikTok video this past month for one of his new songs. His new album, ‘Garden State Vampire’ was released on August 23rd. Once again, he has an Indie sound that many from Asbury Park have had as of late.
Robert Randolph is an established artist who was part of Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. festival tour this summer. He and his family band are more of a jam and groove group, so if that’s your vibe, it’s definitely worth checking out. It’s the definition of a Park Stage set.
3:45 pm – 4:45 pm: Guster (Park) vs. Ziggy Alberts (Sand)
These are two artists with similar sound, with both having an acoustic vibe, but at the end of the day, this comes down to if you like bands or singular artists.
Ziggy Alberts is an Australian singer-songwriter who is coming up to New Jersey for the festival, along with a few other shows. Though he is technically categorized as a folk artist, he’s a pit of everything.
Guster are a ’90s folk rock band, who have changed their sound over time to be more fit to modern sound whilst still keeping to their roots. Some of their many hits include ‘Satellite’ and ‘Barrel of a Gun.’
5:45 pm – 6:45 pm: The Hives (Park) vs. Grace Potter (Sand)
This is probably one of the easier conflicts of the day: The Hives are a loud rock group from Sweden and Grace Potter is a singer-songwriter. It comes down to what your music taste is.
The Hives have been around since the ’90s and have had big hits, including a few off their comeback album in 2023, ‘Bogus Operandi.’ They are known for putting on a high-energy set, and opened for the Foo Fighters on their stadium tour earlier this year.
Grace Potter is not quite as loud as The Hives, but she’s a very talented musician. If you want to see both artists, she’s performing her own headlining late-night show at the Stone Pony on Friday, September 13th.
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm: 311 (Park) vs. Peaches (Sand)
This might even be easier than the last conflict.
311, who are in the classic Sea.Hear.Now “reggae band closing down the Park Stage” for Saturday, are a rock/reggae group who have been around since the ’90s as well.
They have had some big hits over the years, like ‘Down’ and ‘Amber,’ and perform countless shows each year.
Peaches is a Canadian electro-musician and producer. She’s been around for a long time and is a veteran of the genre.
Sunday:
Everything is compact to the earlier portion of the day ahead of The Boss’ 3-hour headlining set to close the festival. Other acts on the Surf Stage include Trey Anastasio Band, Kool & the Gang, Joy Oladokun, and Illiterate Light.
11:40 am – 12:10 pm: Sunshine Spazz (Park) vs. Rachel Ana Dobken (Sand)
Even though this is the earliest set ever at the Sea.Hear.Now Festival, it might be the most difficult conflict that they’ve had.
Both are natives of Asbury Park and are killer musicians. Rachel Ana Dobken is a solo artist who tours with a band, and Sunshine Spazz are a garage-rock group who have had one of the better albums of the genre in late in their self-titled record. They opened for Band of Horses on the Stone Pony Summer Stage this Summer for North 2 Shore Festival.
12:40 pm – 1:25 pm: The Aces (Park) vs. BERTHA (Sand)
The Aces are a fully-female fronted rock group who are going to kill it in the park this year. Just check out some of their top songs and you’ll be hooked.
Bertha are a Grateful Dead tribute band that are respected in Asbury Park and the community. They will also be performing a late-night show at the Wonder Bar on Saturday night.
2:25 pm – 3:25 pm: Eggy (Park) vs. Wilderado (Sand)
Wilderado were a late replacement for Larkin Poe, who had to drop out of the festival due to illness this week. They have a ton of energy live, and are featured on the ‘Twisters’ album, along with names like Luke Combs and Jelly Roll.
Eggy are a jam band from Woodbridge, CT, who have played shows with many other jam bands in the past like moe. and Daniel Donato.
4:25 pm – 5:25 pm: Norah Jones (Park) vs. Action Bronson (Sand)
Even though these are two wildly different artists in terms of sound and genre, it still calls for a super difficult conflict.
Norah Jones, a GRAMMY winning artist, had many big hits like ‘Come Away with Me’ over the years. On the other hand, Action Bronson is a distinguished rap and hip/hop artist. Both artists released new albums this year.
6:25 pm – 7:25 pm: The Gaslight Anthem (Surf) vs. Gogol Bordello (Sand)
The real conflict here is getting a view of Bruce on the Surf Stage after seeing these artists.
In seriousness, this is a difficult conflict. Two rock bands who have had tons of success in the past.
If you’re a fan of Bruce Springsteen or blues, pick The Gaslight Anthem. They’re a great rock band with hints of both qualities listed above.
If you’re a fan of European rock groups like The Hives, or abstract sound like Primus, pick Gogol Bordello. Or just listen to both are see who you like!
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