(STROUDSBURG, PA) -- The legendary Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes bring their Jersey Shore rock and R&B sounds to the Sherman Theater stage on Friday, June 30, 2023. The doors will open at 7:00pm, showtime is 8:00pm.
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes first achieved prominence in the mid-1970s, emerging from the same New Jersey Shore music scene as his now legendary contemporary and friend Bruce Springsteen. Southside’s first three albums, I Don’t Want To Go Home, This Time It’s for Real, and Hearts of Stone, were produced by band co-founder Steven Van Zandt (E Street Band, The Sopranos), and largely featured songs written by Van Zandt and/or Springsteen. The Van Zandt-written “I Don’t Want To Go Home” became Southside’s signature song, an evocative mixture of horn-based melodic riffs and sentimental lyrics.
In 1982 Rolling Stone Magazine voted Hearts of Stone among the top 100 albums of the 1970s and 1980s. With their classic blend of hard-core R&B and street-level rock, molten grooves, soulful guitar licks and blistering horn section, Johnny and his Jukes continue to put their unique stamp on the Jersey Shore sound, while recalling the glory years of Otis Redding and similar Stax Records titans.
For Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes – ‘comfortable’ has never been a word associated with their brand of raucous, roots-tinged rock and bluesy reverie. The Jukes have more than 30 albums on their resume, thousands of acclaimed live performances across the globe, and a vibrant legacy of classic songs that have become “hits” to their large and famously-dedicated fan base.
“With the Jukes, you’re out there every night leading this great rock n’ roll circus, giving it everything you’ve got” says Southside Johnny Lyon.
The band's last studio release was 2015's Soultime! A record that was extremely well-received in the U.S. and overseas, where the band also just wrapped up a successful tour in the UK, The Netherlands and Germany. Music Riot in the UK proclaimed “The more you listen to it the more you realize it is a work of genius. Johnny’s voice is sublime and would melt a heart of stone.”
Critics in the U.S. also raved – “I’ve been waiting for Southside Johnny to make this album for almost 40 years. It’s the best record of his entire career. If you really have soul, no further explanation necessary” said Dave Marsh/SiriusXM Radio/E Street Channel Host. And, “Soul music is not a genre, it is a way of life. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes keep the classic R & B clock spinning hot and forward on Soultime!, one of their best records since they first burst out of that New Jersey night,” praised music writer David Fricke.
The Sherman Theater is Monroe County’s only nationally ranked, non-profit theater and performing arts center. Located in downtown Stroudsburg, PA, the Sherman Theater has proudly served the Pocono region for 90 years. The Theater and Performing Arts Center is committed to strengthening the community by producing culturally-diverse, nationally-known professional acts and festivals at the theater and at satellite locations throughout Monroe County for people of all ages, by providing an opportunity for local artists to perform, and by creating economic development in the region. The Sherman Theater projects and events attract over 100,000 visitors to the Pocono Region annually.
