Without a trace of doubt in their minds, Monkees fans inside the historic Ocean City Music Pier in Ocean City, NJ this Monday, August 11, 2025 evening ready themselves for a fabulous night of Songs and Stories by the sole surviving member of the made-for-TV band, Micky Dolenz.
Keyboardist Alex Jules, guitarist Emeen Zarookian, and drummer Rich Dart take the stage along with Micky Dolenz. The crowd cheers and Micky announces, “Wow, thank you for coming out this evening!”
Micky introduces his sister, Coco Dolenz, stating, “She’s a better singer than me!” Backed by the trio, Coco entertains the crowd with her strong and melodic take on Carole King’s “Beautiful.” With the addition of bassist John Billings and guitarist Wayne Avers, Coco also delivers interpretations of Jackie DeShannon’s “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” and Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good.”
Micky returns and introduces himself as “a legend in his own mind” as he and the band stride into a dynamic live rendition of the 1966 Monkees’ hit, “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.”
Screens on both sides of the stage show videos of The Monkees as music lovers join Micky and the band in singing the song’s appealing “I — I — I — I — I’m not your steppin’ stone” chorus.
Micky and friends segue into the rhythmic Monkees’ 1986 comeback hit, “That Was Then, This is Now,” where John Billings rocks out on bass while Micky, 80, sings, “You always say you like my style/You say I’m tough and kind of wild.”
Four-part back-up harmonies shine on The Monkees’ 1967 hit, “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” where Micky plays maracas and sings lead on this bouncy Neil Diamond-penned tune.
Music lovers applaud and Micky talks about the various songwriters who created material for The Monkees including Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, Neil Sedaka, and Bread’s David Gates, along with Monkee Peter Tork who wrote the closing theme song for Season 2 of The Monkees television show. Here, the group performs Tork’s “For Pete’s Sake,” where solid backup vocals support Micky’s strong lead on the song’s catchy “In this generation/In this lovin’ time” refrain.
“Thank you, Peter Tork!” exclaims Micky as he launches into a story about being at Abbey Road Studios in London with The Beatles when they were recording their 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. After presenting an upbeat rendition of “Good Morning, Good Morning,” Micky and Co. follow up with “Sgt. Pepper’s Reprise” as photos of Micky and Paul McCartney appear onscreen to the right and left of the band.
Micky recalls his early days as a musician playing in cover bands before treating the crowd to a live performance of his audition song for The Monkees TV show, Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”
Micky also remembers seeing Jimi Hendrix perform in the ‘60s and explains why he thought Hendrix would be a good opening act for The Monkees. Here, he and the band present a raucous rendition of Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.”
Micky talks about a duet he recorded with Mike Nesmith on The Monkees’ 2016 album, Good Times! and invites Coco to join him in singing the sweet folk-rock ballad, “Me and Magdalena.”
Coco is also featured on a Michael Nesmith composition which, after it was rejected by the Monkees’ producers, was recorded by Linda Ronstadt and her trio. Singing with feeling, Coco presents her version of The Stone Poney’s 1967 hit, “Different Drum.”
The crowd cheers and Micky exclaims, “This is the one that started it all” as he and the band roll into The Monkees’ 1966 #1 hit, “Last Train to Clarksville,” with an arrangement that features Micky’s strong lead vocal and sparkling guitar playing by Emeen Zarookian and Wayne Avers.
Micky tells a story about how even though singer/songwriter Steven Stills tried out for The Monkees and wasn’t cast, he nevertheless told his roommate, Peter Tork, about the audition and Tork was chosen. Here, Micky and the band present their rendition of “For What It’s Worth,” Stills’ 1966 hit for his band, Buffalo Springfield.
Micky also talks about being at The Troubadour in Los Angeles for Elton John’s American debut before performing a warm rendition of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s “Your Song,” which demonstrates the ensemble’s effective use of emotion and dynamics.
Top notch guitar playing and vocal harmonies characterize a live rendering of the 1968 Monkees’ tune, “Valleri.”
Zarookian and keyboardist Alex Jules sing in harmony on Mike Nesmith’s “You Just May Be the One” before the crowd claps along on Jules’ rendition of the Neil Diamond-composed Monkees’ tune, “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow).”
Jules plays the iconic keyboard intro to The Monkees’ 1967 #1 hit which was originally recorded by Davy Jones, “Daydream Believer,” and the audience sways their phone flashlights back and forth as they join Micky in singing the tune’s catchy “Cheer up sleepy Jean/Oh what can it mean” chorus.
Micky and Co. conclude tonight’s show with a rhythmic rendition of Carole King’s 1967 hit for The Monkees, “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” which features complex guitar playing by Avers and Zarookian in addition to blended four-part vocal harmonies.
The crowd stands and cheers and Micky and friends launch into a lively encore version of The Spencer Davis Group’s 1967 hit, “Gimme Some Lovin’” which also features snippets of The Knack’s “My Sharona” and Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.”
After Micky introduces his stagemates, he says, “We’re gonna take it down a notch and get a little funky,” before singing, “Here we come, walkin’ down the street,” on a slow and bluesy arrangement of the “(Theme from) The Monkees” which has Jules wrapping a cape around him a la James Brown.
Lights flash as the band morphs into The Monkees’ upbeat rocker, “No Time,” and music lovers stand and cheer as Micky and the band perform their final number, The Monkees’ 1966 #1 hit, “I’m a Believer.” Joyfully singing along on the famous “And then I saw her face/Now I’m a believer” refrain, music lovers dance at their seats before the song ends with enthusiastic hoots, hollers, cheers, and applause.
“Thank you, Ocean City!” exclaims Micky as he and the ensemble take a bow and wave goodnight.
As concertgoers exit the auditorium, several share their thoughts on tonight’s Songs and Stories performance by Micky Dolenz. Declares Will from Brooklyn, “I had a lot of fun tonight! Most of the time when I see older artists, I go with lowered expectations, but that wasn’t the case with Micky. He put on a fun, energetic show with good songs and stories which made it a very worthwhile evening out.”
Barbara from Salem County recalls, “I first saw The Monkees in 1967 in Philadelphia — I was around 12 or 13 years old — and as a member of his fan club, I got a photo of Micky which I still have! Back then, Micky was my favorite and I still love him. He was fantastic tonight; he put on a great concert that brought back a lot of memories!”
Theresa from Westchester County, NY reveals, “Years ago, I saw Micky as part of The Monkees with Davy Jones and Peter Tork and he’s still fabulous! I knew the words to every song and I loved his stories, too. It was a great night.” Joanne from Burlington Township agrees, adding, “Micky was awesome! I’ve seen him several times and he’s always great. I’ve been a fan since the very beginning and he always brings back so many memories,” before exclaiming, “Good times!”
Stephanie from San Diego, CA acknowledges, “This was my first time seeing Micky and he was awesome; he put on a great, great show! He had so much energy, I looked up how old is and I can’t believe he’s 80 and he still sounds so great. His sister, Coco, was great, too, and so was Micky’s entire band.”
Lastly, Stephanie from Marmora remarks, “I thought Micky was amazing, but he’s always great! I’ve been a fan since I was a kid, watching The Monkees TV show when it was on MTV and Nick at Night,” noting, “Micky sounded fantastic tonight — he put on a fun show and told amazing stories,” prior to concluding, “He’s just phenomenal!”
To learn more about Micky Dolenz, please go to mickydolenz.com. For information on great upcoming concerts at Ocean City Music Pier — including Mavis Staples on August 25 — please go to ocnj.us
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