Sea.Hear.Now 2026 came and went with a bang. Another amazing weekend filled with great music and great people. A few years back we missed hurricane weather by a day and this year we dodged a bullet on Sunday as the forecast called for rain all day. But it turned out amazing with just a few minutes of rain later in the night as the festival was coming to an end with The Strokes. Year after year the Sea.Hear.Now festival brings us such an amazing variety of musical acts from a few local bands to inspiring up and coming bands to top notch established bands that have toured the world over and over.
For the second year the festival started off on Friday with the Kickoff on Cookman featuring some cool live music in the streets of downtown Asbury Park. Lakehouse Music Academy band Kings and Queens kicked it off with Dentist, Church and State featuring Jon Stewart on drums, Snacktime and a DJ set from Shepard Fairey himself. Friday night also brought the Wolfbat Combat outside of the Parlor Gallery. Inside The Stone Pony The Offspring played a sold out show and down the block at the Wonder Bar was There Goes the Neighborhood kickoff show with local bands Teen Idle, Sacred Lawns and Ista. So much to see and do before the festival officially started.
As always, the festival starts off each day with the local bands. On Saturday it was Jarod Clemons who has come a long way since coming to New Jersey. He has matured musically and personally since the first time, I’ve seen him perform. The crowd showed up big time, and why not? Jarod shows up for all the local shows around here himself. The lineup continued on Saturday with 54 Ultra, Men at Work, Tom Odell, Chaka Khan, All American Rejects, The Offspring, Shaggy and Mumford and Sons. Of course like any other festival we have to choose sometimes between acts. I usually will cover the acts I have never seen before or who I might not ever see again. I was already working in NYC in the early 80’s when Chaka Khan was being blasted all over the club scene. Every act showed incredible energy feeding off the crowd as they overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. During the day Sea.Hear.Now also has the surfing competition going on featuring some of the greatest surfers around the globe. Outside of the music we all know my favorite part of the festival is seeing all the happy people walking around having the time of their life.
Day 2 brought just as much energy kicking it off with Blaise another local favorite. His glam and glitter performance was over the top. Status Green also performed early on to a sea of people who were around years ago when Status Green was the biggest thing around here. My day continued with Alice Phoebe Lou, Die Spitz, Flipturn, Kim Gordon, Goo Goo Dolls, Moby and The Strokes. Not a bad lineup if you ask me. An insane mixture of sounds throughout the day. Moby was off the hook fantastic bringing his electronic dance music to the big stage. Kim Gordon from Sonic Youth brought back that old school club scene feel as well. Die Spitz a younger rock band from Texas was the highlight for me. Watching a young band with that much energy getting the crowd to loose their minds is so awesome to see. Of course ending the festival with The Strokes was nothing short of amazing.
But wait, there’s more! The official after show at Asbury Lanes just a few feet away brought over those diehards who refused to go home. The show featured International Superstar Robin, Milly, Johnny Nameless, The Saint Cecilia and Soup. The Saint Cecilia are a cool rock band from Costa Rica that I was introduced to by Danny Clinch himself. All the other bands are locals that have played around town. The show was amazing with Danny Clinch doing what he loves, getting up on stage with the bands and playing his harmonica. Jake Clemons came by and hung out with us as well.
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