The 7th iteration of Sea.Hear.Now in Asbury Park, New Jersey rose triumphantly amidst high seas of expectations in the wake of its half-dozen flawlessly executed predecessors. Hosted annually since 2018 (when legendary photographer Danny Clinch collaborated with C3 Presents to bring this dream to life), Sea.Hear.Now represents a yearly peak for Asbury Park and New Jersey’s music and arts scene.
Sea.Hear.Now has evolved over the years into an amalgamation of everything the crown jewel of the Jersey Shore has to offer, from immaculate sunshine and stages on the beach to art installations and surf contests. Local food vendors teased spectators during the two-day sensory overload. If listening to two-dozen bands, while soaking up rays of sunshine and digging toes in the warm sand sounds like a dream, then this festival is for you.
This festival strategically aligns with what is colloquially known as “local summer”—a time that resembles a beach lover’s vision of heaven. Although it still feels like summer, schools are back in session and life takes on new routines for most people. After Labor Day, the crowd thins every subsequent weekend. Eventually, only the locals living nearby year round are left to enjoy the empty roads, uncrowded beaches, and available parking close to the boardwalk. Very different from peak season, when most locals opt against lugging coolers and gear across town in favor of a light pack and skateboard or bicycle.
Like sailors in the doldrums, it feels like nothing moves and time has stopped entirely to sit forever in limbo between the hazy dog days of summer and the approaching autumn. Especially for the locals, SeaHearNow serves as a special way to enjoy the last rays of the summer sun with our closest friends. Expanding past the confines of any singular genre, the different styles and diverse lineup present the audience with a chance to sample a bit of everything and offer something for all ages and interests.
Saturday featured a headlining set by Hozier, who powered through an hour and a half of tunes on the Surf Stage. The penultimate act, LCD Soundsystem, capitalized on its extra time by throwing down on the Park Stage after sunset. Every other act was limited to an hour. Sunday’s lineup included headliner blink-182 but had a slew of acts to draw the crowd back for more action.
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Drawing from the state’s deep well of talent, New Jersey natives Not Yer Baby’s punchy pop rock and Phoneboy’s indie rock (think The Strokes), kicked off the festival. Hackensack’s Gigi Perez and Princeton Junction’s James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem would mesmerize their home state crowd later in the day. Gigi Perez showcased her the melodic, acoustic guitar riffs of her latest release, appropriately titled, At the Beach, in Every Life.
Most festivalgoers plopped down on the half mile of beach between the Sand and Surf Stages, often creating back support structures out of the sand. From their temporary forts, Bumpin Uglies’ ska sound, Philadelphia’s Mondo Cozmo, England’s UB40’s familiar reggae (“Red Red Wine” and “(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You”), and New Orleans’ Trombone Shorty’s brassy second line funk crashed ashore like a set of waves.
On the nearby Park Stage during the day, Irish indie rockers Inhaler showcased their latest material, 2025’s Open Wide, before handing the mic over to California’s Remi Wolf for her funky, disco-drenched pop. After the sun went down, LCD Soundsystem held a dance party that shut down the Park Stage and was definitely a highlight of the weekend.
LCD Soundsystem – “Dance Yrself Clean” – 9/13/25
Back on the beach, ZZ Top decked out the stage with spinning skateboards and retro décor. Complete with signature sunglasses and beards, the Texas blues rock legends unleashed classics including “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” before closing their set with a badass cut of “La Grange”.
Hip-hop crew De La Soul, soul roots rock power trio Alabama Shakes, and Australian guitar pop duo Royel Otis, touring the States with their latest album, Hickey, traded hits back and forth across the beach like a volleyball game. Headlining Saturday night, Irish singer-songwriter Hozier sang his soulful lyrics and religious undertones with a powerful voice to prove to many why he was chosen to be a headlining act.
Hozier – “Too Sweet” – 9/13/25
[Video: John Niedzwiecki]
On every Sea.Hear.Now, the Stone Pony hosts an afterparty that epitomizes exactly what it means to be a cornerstone in a town so deeply rooted in music history. Embracing the spontaneity of sit-ins, there’s a buzz of mysterious excitement when just about anyone might show up—and with good reason considering who has in the past!
After years of unfounded rumors that Bruce Springsteen was scheduled to perform, last year he silenced the doubters, casually strolling on stage for more than a few numbers. Seeing the Boss in the confines of the intimate venue left all in attendance starstruck.
Looking back beyond recent times, scores of undisputed greats stepped on stage at both the Stone Pony and the nearby Convention Hall, including Johnny Cash, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Janis Joplin, Black Sabbath, The Beach Boys, Allman Brothers Band, The Who, Rolling Stones, The Doors, Pink Floyd, The Clash, and so many more. Led Zeppelin even turned down Woodstock to play there!
NYC’s Tangiers Blues Band and local brass unit Ocean Avenue Stompers combined forces to hold down the fort as the house band. The audience watched the stage with one eye on the back door, admitting one artist after another from SHN’s lineup to perform a well-known blues cover or two before they disappeared back into the night. The pattern continued, seemingly ad infinitum, until nearly 2 a.m. It was not for the weak of heart or body, especially after a long day in the sun. However, those that withstood the test of time reaped a truly magical experience.
Ocean Ave’s brass section remained on stage throughout the night. The revolving door of guests this year featured Grace Bowers, Surfing For Daisy, Trombone Shorty, and Rachel Ana Dobken. As per tradition, Tangiers Blues Band closed out the night with its signature interpretation of Beastie Boys’ “You Gotta Fight For Your Right to Party”.
The weather remained blissfully flawless, blue skies and sunshine, throughout the second day of the fest. The salty breeze carried not only the sound of crashing waves, melodies from the three stages, and echoes of laughter, but also the scintillating smells of barbecue, fresh popcorn, and the fried dough of funnel cake.
Asbury Park’s own Surfing For Daisy and the Tide Bends opened Sunday on the Park Stage and Sand Stage, respectively, before Livingston, NJ’s Neal Francis and big wave surfer/Oahu- born musician Landon McNamara traded their music from opposite ends of the beach. Back on the Park Stage, up-and-coming guitarist Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge, Austin’s indie quintet Spoon, and Brooklyn rockers TV on the Radio performed in succession.
TV On The Radio – “DLZ” – 9/14/25
[Video: DJIronMike]
Providing a genre for everybody, the remaining audience on the beach had a selection of music ranging from chill (4 Non Blondes) to unruly (Mannequin Pussy), along with old school hip-hop (Public Enemy), emo (Hot Mulligan), and psychedelic soul rock (Lenny Kravitz).
4 Non Blondes – Sea.Hear.Now – 9/14/25
[Video: EverythingConcerts]
Public Enemy – Sea.Hear.Now – 9/14/25
[Video: Eugene Sims II]
With the festival winding down, Sublime hunkered down on the Park Stage while Phantogram (“When I’m Small”) entranced on the beach. Sublime’s Jakob Nowell assumed the position of his late-father, Bradley Nowell, as frontman, guitarist, and singer of the trio that infused punk rock, thrash, ska, hip-hop, and SoCal influences into their signature sound. They dug into their biggest hits—“Date Rape”, “Garden Grove”, “40 Oz to Freedom”, “Wrong Way”, “Badfish”, “What I Got”, “Santeria”—but also threw down on B-side cuts like “Burritos”.
The final headliner, blink-182, brought their double-time tempo, pyrotechnics, and middle-finger-in-your-face panache to the stage. Opening with “The Rock Show”, the band wove years of material and bantered like adolescent boys in a high school locker room in between their songs. Acting like 7th graders was only moderately funny 20 years ago when most of the audience were about that age. Now, the schtick came off as classless and trite. All in all, it wasn’t too crude, but as guys who look closer to 60 than 16, it came off a little on-the-nose instead of nostalgic.
It began by riffing on the city of “Ass-berry” (“I think we ate the wrong berries”), declined into juvenile locker room talk about making Tom Delonge’s wife’s orgasm, auctioning off each other’s mom’s vaginas, and touching each other’s dicks backstage. The humor loses its edge when band members start looking like the geriatric pranksters in Good Charlotte‘s “Girls and Boys” music video. Travis Barker, however, still rips.
Following their closing sequence of “I Miss You”, a cover of the Descendents‘ “Hope”, “What’s My Age Again?”, “All The Small Things”, and “Dammit”, fireworks illuminated the night sky and a massive fiery middle finger dropped into the background of the stage.
blink-182 – “Dammit” – 9/14/25
[Video: EverythingConcerts]
Afterwards, Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In the Dark” played over the PA and most remained with their toes in the sand to dance along accordingly, not wanting the festival to end. Once more, this music festival—while hard to compare to the year prior—provided a feast of friends and a broad lineup that embodies family fun at the shore, and I know I’m not alone when I say that I can’t wait to see what next year has to offer.
Sea.Hear.Now – Asbury Park, NJ – 9/13/25 [Day 1 Video Playlist]
[Videos: DJIronMike]
Sea.Hear.Now – Asbury Park, NJ – 9/14/25 [Day 2 Video Playlist]
[Videos: DJIronMike]
Sea.Hear.Now – Asbury Park, NJ – 9/13/25–9/14/25 [Video Playlist]
[Video: EverythingConcerts]