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Sea Hear Now: Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band headline festival
Bruce Springsteen played a surprise show at the Stone Pony on Sept. 14, and then headlined the main stage on Sept. 15, 2024, at Sea Hear Now.
Bruce Springsteen showed up — backstage at the Sea Hear Now music festival on the waterfront in Asbury Park on Sept. 15, 2024.
On his social media Jan. 24, the Boss shared 10 behind-the-scenes pics by Rob DeMartin — starting with a toy panda bear wearing a “I Heard Bruce Might Show Up” T-shirt. Springsteen greets the bear in the next photo, and is shown walking the festival grounds with Sea Hear Now co-founder Danny Clinch.
Springsteen is then shown rehearsing with the Trey Anastasio Band (percussionist Cyro Baptista is in the foreground). Bruce performed “Kitty’s Back” with Anastasio on Sept. 15, prior to the E Street Band’s now-legendary performance on the beach.
In another photo, the Boss is seen chatting with Brian Fallon of Gaslight Anthem, next to table of Rocco’s Pizza boxes and Liquid Death canned water. They later rocked “History Books” and “American Slang” to open Gaslight’s Sea Hear Now set in Bradley Park.
There are also images of Springsteen waiting on the side of the stage while the Anastasio band plays on the beach; a pic of drummer Max Weinberg holding up a No. 24 baseball jersey with the name “Weinburg” on it; and a shot of Clinch and E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren.
Springsteen shared a second batch of DeMartin behind-the-scenes pics from Sea Hear Now mid-afternoon on Monday, Jan. 27. The pics include shots of Springsteen with Anastasio and Gaslight taken from the rear of the stage, and the series concludes with a pic of Springsteen with wife Patti Scialfa and bandmate Steven Van Zandt ascending steps in their stage regalia.
Springsteen and E Street played a three-hour set that we called “magical” and a night that “evoked memories, mirth and the childhood mysteries of an oceanfront resort town that can hold one’s imagination for decades.”
In a video posted Monday, Jan 27, Clinch shared the backstory to the Springsteen-Clinch pic. The two were shooting a pre-show film as they walked the grounds.
“I never thought I’d see the day,” said Springsteen to Clinch. “It’s wonderful for all the guys who were here when nobody was here. It’s an amazing afternoon.”
The Boss also promised to rock Asbury Park into the “sand,” which he did.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com