By Spotlight Central, Photos by Love Imagery
originally published: 08/01/2025
Music lovers rendezvous at Kennedy Plaza on the Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk this gorgeous July 22, 2025 evening for a free Wednesday night Mardi Gras AC concert starring the legendary rock and roller, Gary U.S. Bonds.
During tonight’s pre-show soundcheck, concert producer Carmen Marotta reveals a little-known fact about Gary U.S. Bonds when he says, “Gary is the only one who ever had a song played twice on the same episode of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, and that was ‘Quarter to Three.’”
Marotta also takes a moment to preview other great Wednesday night Mardi Gras AC summer concerts including the New Orleans funk group, Galatic, whom he calls, “one of the best bands in the world,” and the Chicago tribute band, Beginnings, which, as he explains, “is so good, even the guys in Chicago go to see them.”
Additional highlights of the 2025 season will also include Devon Allman with Jimmy Hall, Sierra Green, and Larry McCray; Dead Zep’s tribute to The Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin, and a joint concert starring The Cowsills and The Weeklings.
Following the soundcheck, Marotta welcomes tonight’s audience, announcing, “We’re gonna start this party off with our own Jersey Shore rock and soul guitar hero, Billy Walton!”
Keyboardist Joey Stout, bassist William Paris, drummer Richie Monica, and vocalist/guitarist Toni Teschner take the stage along with guitarist/singer Billy Walton. They open tonight’s set with “Can’t Love No One,” where Walton sings in his soulful voice, “Yeah, honey it’s not you/I swear it’s me/I’m just so cold/I can’t love no one,” before soloing on his guitar on this funky minor key rocker.
On the bluesy rock shuffle, “Hell or High Water,” Walton shreds another electric guitar solo and Joey Stout plays honky tonk piano on the funky rocker, “Deal with the Devil.” Following the rhythmic hand jive, “Not Fade Away,” Walton engages in a call-and-response with the crowd on an extended version of “Who Do You Love.”
Walton and Teschner harmonize on the edgy ballad, “Knife in My Back,” and on “One in a Million” Walton strolls out into the crowd, takes a seat, and soulfully solos on this funky tune.
Back on stage, Walton and Co. perform the swamp-rocker, “Mountain,” featuring Richie Monica’s solid drumming and William Paris’ precision bass playing.
After Billy announces, “We’ve got time for one more song, so let’s get funky!” Toni Teschner sings with ease and style on the funky 1972 Bill Withers’ hit, “Use Me Up.”
To conclude this evening’s set, Toni sings harmony with Billy on the slow 6/8 blues number, “Long Way Down,” to which the crowd reacts with avid cheers and applause.
Following a short intermission, Marotta introduces tonight’s headliner, Gary U.S. Bonds. Guitarist Ron Pacaut, keyboardist David “Squiggy” Biglin, bassist Muddy Shews, drummer Joe Bellia, trumpeter Tony Perruso, saxophonist Kevin Presutti, and background vocalists Laurie Anderson Tobias and Nicole Powell take the stage along with Gary U.S. Bonds who enters singing in his soulful voice, “Hey you/You better listen to to what I’m saying,” on the swinging R&B tune, “Hey You.”
Bonds greets the audience, exclaiming, “Hello AC! How you doing this evening?” before he and band launch into the Cajun-sounding rocker, “Jolé Blon,” where the crowd happily joins in singing on the song’s appealing “Sha-la la/Sha-la-la la-la” refrain.
Marching into his 1961 hit, “New Orleans,” music lovers in the house echo Bonds’ catchy “I said, a-hey-hey-hey-yeah” refrain on this upbeat rocker which features a vibrant Kevin Presutti tenor sax solo and a rockin’ Ron Pacaut guitar solo.
Taking a seat, Bonds brings the crowd back to the 1960s with his Latin-influenced hit, “Twist Twist Señora,” and the swinging “School is Out,” before crying, “Get up! Get up from your chair!” on the syncopated “Dear Lady Twist.”
Bonds recalls, “Back in 1982, Bruce Springsteen wrote me a song,” explaining, “He was talking about the Stone Pony in Asbury Park when he wrote it.” Here, he and back-up singers Laurie Anderson Tobias and Nicole Powell soulfully cry out, “Club Soul, Club Soul City,” on Bonds’ soulful horn ballad, “Club Soul City.”
Announcing, “We’re going to feature the whole band on this next song,” Kevin Presutti rocks out on tenor sax, trumpeter Tony Perruso shows his range, David “Squiggy” Biglin renders a jazzy keyboard solo, guitarist Ron Pacout plays with style and precision, Muddy Shews takes his turn in the spotlight on bass, and Joe Bellia contributes a drum solo on the swinging “Bring Her Back.”
Following the easy rocker, “Outta Work,” Bonds and Co. segue into the slow rock tune, “Daddy’s Come Home,” where Bonds announces on the interlude, “I’ve come home, people, back to Atlantic City — I think that’s where I belong and it’s good to be back, y’all!” to enthusiastic cheers and applause.
After Bonds acknowledges, “This is one of my favorite songs,” Kevin Presutti plays a tenor solo on the upbeat zydeco number, “Angelyne.”
Bonds continues with a rollicking rendition of his Bruce Springsteen-penned 1981 hit, “This Little Girl,” which has the audience dancing, clapping, and singing along to the song’s ebullient “This little girl is mine/Oh, this little girl is mine” refrain.
Before performing his final selection, Bonds asks, “Are you ready to rock and roll?” and music lovers respond in the affirmative as he and the band skip into Bonds’ 1961 smash, “Quarter to Three.”
Concertgoers dance and clap to the music as Bonds cries, “Oh, don’t you know that I danced/I danced ’til a quarter to three?” on this swinging rocker to the sound of the lively horns, percussive keyboard, and rolling drums and bass.
After the audience echo-sings “Wo-ah wo-wo/Ye-ah yeah-yeah” with Bonds, he invites Billy Walton back onto the stage to echo-sing with him prior to concluding, “Good night everyone! Rock and roll forever!”
For more info on The Billy Walton Band, please go to billywaltonband.com. To learn more about Gary U.S. Bonds, please go to garyusbonds.com. For information on future free Mardi Gras AC concerts on the Atlantic City Boardwalk at Kennedy Plaza — including Galactic on Aug. 6; Chicago tribute band Beginnings with Dave Damiani’s Big Band on Aug. 13; The Devon Allman Project with Jimmy Hall, Sierra Green, and Larry McCray on Aug. 20; Dead Zep on Aug. 27; and The Cowsills and The Weeklings on Sept. 3 — please click on tonymart.com.
Photos by Love ImagerySpotlight Central. Your source for Jersey entertainment news and reviews
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