(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The North to Shore Music Festival, a one-of-a-kind event presented by Prudential, has two great shows at The Stone Pony Summer Stage. First is Band of Horses with Sunshine Spazz opening the night on Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 6:30pm and then Lake Street Dive headlines the Summer Stage on Friday, June 14, 2024 at 6:30pm.
No other band could channel the generational anxiety in those early millennial years and turn it into such powerful and inclusive art quite like Band of Horses. Band of Horses fashioned gorgeously ragged epics, Ben Bridwell's high-flying vocals and eccentric enunciation floating like a specter that felt like a prelude to a dream. Full of profundity, truth, and sometimes just homespun advice on living, Band of Horses songs have become anthems and touchstones for fans. Emotionally intense, both on a personal and elemental level, the songs for Band of Horses' sixth album, Things Are Great, finds Bridwell more autobiographical than he's ever been on record, detailing the nebulous frustrations and quiet indignities of relationship changes and what a person will do to make things right. And what do you do when you can't?
Band of Horses comprises Bridwell, longtime members Ryan Monroe and Creighton Barrett, new members Matt Gentling (of Archers of Loaf) on bass, and guitarist Brett Nash. This fresh chapter finds the Band recapturing its early days' raw emotion and unpolished punk-rock spirit. The songs on Things Are Great document the connections in Bridwell's life that have shifted or remained. An epic album, it is not an exercise in nostalgia or regret. It's closer to the classic pattern of the hero's journey, where Bridwell doesn't locate those elusive answers but finds himself in the end, providing hope that all of us can do the same.
Then, on Friday, June 14, Lake Street Dive will perform on the summer stage. They have pushed the possibilities of pop music as a unifying force, not only through their eclectic sound—a boldly original cross-pollination of soul, folk, jazz, classic pop, and more—the five-piece’s all-embracing ethos has also made them a beloved live band known for building a potent connection among every crowd. In the making of their new album Good Together, vocalist Rachael Price, bassist/background vocalist Bridget Kearney, drummer/background vocalist Mike Calabrese, keyboardist/vocalist Akie Bermiss, and guitarist/background vocalist James Cornelison reinforced the deep sense of purpose behind their output, often turning their attention to the many factors driving us apart today (e.g., unchecked technological growth, culturally imposed isolation, the cult of relentless self-optimization). Born from a mindset they refer to as “joyful rebellion,” Good Together arrives as a body of work both gloriously defiant and primed to inspire unbridled dancing and ecstatic singing-along.
The follow-up to Obviously—a 2021 LP acclaimed by the likes of Rolling Stone, who noted that “[a]t a moment when pop strives for lo-fi, solitary-world intimacy, the jazz-pop-whatever band refuse to think small”—Good Together finds Lake Street Dive working again with Grammy-winning producer Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Gary Clark Jr.) and recording at his Phantom Studios in Tennessee. With its sonic landscape encompassing everything from R&B to funk to Brazilian pop, the album opens on the radiant synth of its title track: an exultant duet between Bermiss and Price that arose from a happy accident.
“Good Together came from a dice roll where I was captain, but when I went to go work on the production I cut it up wrong and ended up with a very weird time signature,” Bermiss recalls. “It somehow worked anyway, and Bridget came up with the narrative of two people from dubious backgrounds and trying to start over together.” One of several tracks featuring the horn section from Brooklyn-based jazz band Huntertones, the result is a left-of-center love song celebrating the thrill of defying expectation and following your heart’s desire.
Over the years, they've captivated massive audiences. Through their fierce commitment to constantly elevating their artistry, Lake Street Dive has ultimately emerged as one of the most compelling voices in alternative music today, both reliably sublime and thrillingly unpredictable.
Tickets for both shows are available for purchase online. The Stone Pony is located at 913 Ocean Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
The North to Shore Festival, launched in 2023, features all the talent, diversity and creativity that New Jersey has to offer, packed into three extraordinary weekends of performances, screenings, parties and conversations in three of the state's most iconic cities. Hosted by Atlantic City, Asbury Park, and Newark, the North to Shore Festival brings together events at more than 100 venues for an over-the-top showcase of Jersey excellence, aligned with Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy’s vision of a celebration worthy of the Garden State’s long legacy of innovation in the arts, film and technology.
ASBURY PARK NORTH TO SHORE LINE-UP
JUNE 11
4:00pm “Cultivating Advocacy: Leveraging the Arts for Food Justice” panel, online
8:00pm Alexander Simone & Whodat? Live Crew present “Soul in the Park 2” at The Watermark
JUNE 12
6:30pm Gary Clark, Jr. at Stone Pony Summer Stage
6:30pm “A Crane House Garden of Verses” readings at The Stephen Crane House
JUNE 13
5:00pm Blue Dot Inclusive Dance Party at 820 Ocean Ave.
5:00pm LGBTQ+ Singer/Songwriter Showcase at Georgies Bar
6:00pm Asbury Park African-American Music Project’s Turf Club Jam at Blackbird Community Commons, emceed by Gregg “Toogie” Bouie
6:00pm “She’s NorMale — A Transgender Odyssey” featuring Dr. Geena Buono at The Showroom
6:30pm Band of Horses Stone and Sunshine Spazz Pony Summer Stage
7:00pm “Sequined Dragnolias” (“Steel Magnolias” parody) at Talking Heads Barbershop
7:30pm Fauna & Flora starring Blaise and others at Baronet at The Asbury Hotel
8:00pm Mihali at Wonder Bar
JUNE 14
Noon: Showcase Stage at Grand Arcade featuring Des & the Swagmatics; Joseph Alton Miller, Mike Montrey and Dave Vargo; Johnny Nameless; Myster-E Edutainment; Space & the Goodstock Jamband; The Mercury Brothers
5:00pm Paint on Pine (art-making event), Pine Street and Third Avenue
6:00pm “She’s NorMale — A Transgender Odyssey” featuring Dr. Geena Buono at The Showroom
6:30pm Lake Street Dive at Stone Pony Summer Stage
6:30pm “Sonic Mass,” presented by Luminous Abstract at Trinity Church
6:30pm “Triumphant Life Church: Family Comedy & Concert Celebration” in collaboration with the Cazzeek Brothers at Springwood Park
8:00pm Delta Sleep at Asbury Lanes
8:00pm The Weeklings, The Beatles tribute at Wonder Bar
JUNE 15
10:00am Artist in Residence Exhibition featuring Stephen Allan at Trinity Church
10:30am “A Day of Queer Celebration!” at Asbury Book Cooperative
Noon Asbury Underground Art and Music Crawl at various downtown Asbury Park venues
2:00pm Shadow of the City festival featuring Bleachers and others TBA at Stone Pony Summer Stage
2:00pm Ocean Avenue Stompers at R Bar
3:00pm Print-a-Palooza at Over the Moon Art Studios
6:00pm “She’s NorMale — A Transgender Odyssey” featuring Dr. Geena Buono at The Showroom
6:00pm “Dance Is Life: A Hustle Dance Party!” at Carousel Building
6:00pm KYDS SOULcase Community Event at KYDS Community Center
6:30pm Rainbow Silent Disco for All Genders and Ages, presented by The Light Brigade Collective at Trinity Church
7:00pm I Am the Avalanche at Asbury Lanes
8:00pm Dramarama at Wonder Bar
9:30pm ’90s Karaoke After Party with DJ Ted D’Bierre and DJ Tallspeedy at Georgies Bar
11:30pm Late Night Silent Disco with Space of Balance at Baronet at The Asbury hotel
JUNE 16
Noon illSound Lovers Rock Day Party at The Watermark
Noon St. Stephen AMEZ Church & United Fellowship Church/Manna Food Pantry’s A Family Festival: Honoring our Fathers, featuring Zal Walton at Springwood Park
1:00pm Drag Brunch at Georgies Bar
1:30pm Local Jazz Showcase, presented by The Light Brigade Collective at Trinity Church
2:00pm Sunday on St. John’s with Steve Forbert, The Wonderful Winos (featuring Vini Lopez) at St. John’s Island
2:00pm Ocean Avenue Stompers at R Bar
5:00pm “HEAVEN vs H.E.L.L.” (stage production) at NTL Event Hall, Neptune City
6:00pm Life Drawing with Jim Dessicino at Union Hall Arts
7:00pm Luminous Abstract’s “Memory Palace” (interactive installation) at Carousel Building
7:30pm Clarence Clemons Celebration with Jarod Clemons & the Late Nights at Wonder Bar
