“Red Red Wine” has never tasted sweeter than it did on the shore of Asbury Park at Sea.Hear.Now.
UB40’s Saturday afternoon set at Sea.Hear.Now confirmed their role as the next biggest nostalgia act on the festival circuit. If you’re a promoter and you were on that beach today, an instant booking would have to be made.
The Birmingham reggae group, known for its deep catalogue and feel-good sound, turned the beach into a time capsule where generations collided. From young children to UB40 vets, who have probably seen the band numerous times, all were present for this set.
“[The mixed crowd] is always what we get, to be fair,” UB40’s Robin Campbell said. “Every time we do shows, we have three generations of fans. We’re constantly being rediscovered by young kids on social media.”
The band’s performance didn’t re-invent the wheel or anything like that, because they didn’t need to. They stuck to the foundation of what made their songs so big: playing real music and having fun.
For a band that formed in 1978—nearly 50 years ago—UB40’s presence in Asbury Park might have surprised some. Their breakout came during the British reggae boom of the early ‘80s, where they went on to sell over 100 million records worldwide. Songs like “Red Red Wine,” “Kingston Town,” and “(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love With You” helped make the band a global force.
As for the festival, Sea.Hear.Now thrives on pairing contemporary names with legacy acts, with UB40, led by vocalist and guitarist Matt Doyle, fitting the latter perfectly. Just as last year’s lineup leaned on Noah Kahan and Kool & the Gang, plus The Killers and The Beach Boys in ‘23, this year’s nostalgia factor arrived with a smoother, island-tinted soundtrack. On a sunny afternoon in September, the band’s laid-back vibe felt as if they belonged as much to the waves as they did the speakers. That’s not to say the crowd didn’t get loud for the hits.
But that’s the nostalgia factor at work. UB40’s music isn’t built on discovery anymore like a lot of bands at festivals—it’s built on recognition. Similarly to Kool & the Gang’s set last year, you might not think you know the band’s songs outside of their biggest hit, but as the set goes on, you realize you know more than you thought.
The festival crowd reflected the music as a capsule through previous decades. For some, it was their high school dance in the ‘80s, and for others, it was in their wedding playlist in the 2000s. There were those who knew the songs from when they came out on the radio, and there were teens who knew the hits from movies and their parents’ playlists.
Nostalgia should not, however, be mistaken for irrelevance.
“I’m not a fan of nostalgia,” Jimmy Brown said. “The idea that something in the past was better than it is now—I don’t agree with that.”
Not only was the band not irrelevant, they may have been one of the most relevant bands on the entire lineup. For the 2:35 p.m. slot, where people are still funneling through the doors, it was nearly as packed as it would be for the headliner. Plus, the band is still tight. That’s because they’re still the original group of people who are having a blast every night on the road.
“It’s quite inclusive music, you know,” Brown said. “We don’t sound like an ‘80s band.”
In fact, their audience is trending younger.
“If you look at our demographics, 18 to 35 is now our biggest audience,” Matt Campbell said.
“That means we can keep going for another couple decades,” Robin Campbell joked.
Sea.Hear.Now has always been a balance: new discoveries in the early hours of the Park Stage, familiar comforts on the Surf Stage. UB40 provided the latter, as expected. Their set wasn’t about introducing new material or trying to sell people on their brand. It was instead about leaning into joy and good vibes. They were able to let the beach slip into “island time” to kick off the festival.
The crowd’s response throughout the set underscored just how powerful nostalgia has become in modern concert culture. Audiences want more than the next wave; they want to hear the soundtrack to their lives, too.
“They do this at Glastonbury, where you’ve got a lot of younger bands, but those younger bands don’t have the experience that the older bands have got,” Brown said. “So the older bands are the ones that will get the crowd going, and maybe even save the day.”
UB40 has become one of those soundtracks and slips seamlessly into the role once reserved for classic rock staples or ‘90s alternative bands.
By the time UB40 closed their set, the sun had climbed to its peak, casting the beach in bright light. The band left the same glow behind, warming tens of thousands in unison.
UB40 may now be considered a nostalgia act among the younger crowd, but at Sea.Hear.Now, the nostalgia was the point.
“That’s what keeps us relevant,” Robin Campbell said. “The fact that young people are constantly rediscovering old bands. It’s to be celebrated.”
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