WELCOME TO THE STONE PONY!

SUNDAY SHOWCASE
featuring NJ’s Top New Bands

This is where bands start with an opportunity to be considered for bigger Stone Pony and Asbury Park bookings. Who will be the next rising stars? Join us for an afternoon with some of NJ’s top new talents featuring:
THE BELLAS
KILOTON
BIG MEN
DIZZY LIZARD
EQO
NJ WORKSHOP FOR THE ARTS STUDENTS
HARD TO GET
THE UGLY TRUTH
STAFF INFECTION

Door 1:00 Show 1:15 to 7:00pm
All Ages Event
Sign your band up now for a Showcase! This is the best way to get your band moving on to bigger Pony show and events in Asbury Park!
Send band info to > booking@stoneponyonline.com
Tickets $15. Adv / $20. Door

Emo Night Brooklyn: Christmas Show 
21+ admitted
Tickets: $17 & up in advance plus applicable surcharges, $23 at the door

Doors at 9 pm, show time 9:30 pm

Welcome to Emo Night Brooklyn, a late night DJ based dance party blasting the best emo and pop punk jams. We may even invite some of your favorite artists and bands to surprise you and join the party. Get ready to scream your lungs out, mosh, and dance to all your favorite songs with all of your favorite people and experience the awesomeness that is Emo Night Brooklyn.

SLIPPERY WHEN WET NJ
The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute

SLIPPERY WHEN WET NJ is a premier Bon Jovi tribute band comprised of seasoned veterans from the New Jersey music scene. Sharing the same roots and experiences as Jon Bon Jovi and his band, they bring the electrifying energy and New Jersey attitude of Bon Jovi’s 1986 heyday to every performance. For 23 years, SLIPPERY WHEN WET NJ has honed their show to perfection. Lead singer Mike Parkes resembles a young Jon Bon Jovi in both looks and vocal ability, while Radicci’s guitar solos replicate Richie Sambora’s with stunning accuracy. They are backed by a rock-solid rhythm section featuring Sean Faust on keyboards, Ronnie Parkes on bass, and Ron Lipnicki on drums, creating an authentic and unforgettable Bon Jovi experience.

In its 40th anniversary year, Slippery When Wet (the album) will be played in its entirety during this show along with plenty of Bon Jovi hits and fan favorites in a two-hour show.

Special Guest: Kobi Reese

Door 7:00 Show 7:30 to 11:30
Tickets $20. Adv / $25. Dos

THE E STREET SHUFFLE
with Tom Vincent

The E Street Shuffle — Asbury Park’s ONLY tribute to The Boss — turns the big 2-0 in 2026! And to celebrate, their 20th Anniversary Concert will take place at the house that Bruce built — The Stone Pony. In honor of their two decades of rockin’, expect an incredible party featuring special guests, free swag, and a thrilling, one-of-a-kind setlist featuring classics, hits and deep cuts from the first two decades of Bruce Springsteen’s career. Bring your song request signs and get ready for the Shuffle’s biggest show of the year! Shuffle over to the Pony for a BOSS of am ESS Celebration! Tom Vincent opens at 7:30, Show to 11:30
Tickets $20. Adv / $25. Dos

Doors: 7:00pm
Showtime: 7:30 to 11:30

An Evening with
RAILROAD EARTH
25th Anniversary Tour

For more than two decades, Railroad Earth has captivated audiences with gleefully unpredictable live shows and eloquent and elevated studio output. The group introduced its signature sound on 2001’s The Black Bear Sessions. Between selling out hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre, they’ve launched the longstanding annual Hangtown Music Festival in California and Hillberry: The Harvest Moon Festival in Arkansas — both running for more than a decade. Sought after by legends, the John Denver estate tapped them to put lyrics penned by the late John Denver to music on the 2019 vinyl EP, Railroad Earth: The John Denver Letters. Beyond tallying tens of millions of streams, the collective have earned widespread critical acclaim from David Fricke of Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, Glide Magazine, and NPR who assured, “Well-versed in rambling around, as you might expect from a band named after a Jack Kerouac poem, the New Jersey-built jam-grass engine Railroad Earth has let no moss grow under its rustic wheels.”

THE MOVEMENT – VISIONS TOUR 2026
with special guests Tropidelic

Doors: 6:30 PM
Show: 7:30 PM

The Movement has been winning the hearts and minds of alt-reggae fans since their inception in 2003. Drawing inspiration from Sublime, 311, Slightly Stoopid, and John Brown’s Body, they’ve made a name for themselves as reggae shapeshifters with a foundation of insightful lyrics and heavy drum and bass. Today the band consists of founding member, lead vocalist and guitarist Joshua Swain, bassist Jason Schmidt, drummer Gary Jackson, keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Matt Goodwin, and saxophonist/percussionist Kyle Jerome. Their seventh studio album, Ways Of The World (2019) debuted at #1 in the Billboard Reggae Chart, and remained in the Top 10 for more than 40 consecutive weeks. The band’s ninth studio album VISIONS – out July 18, 2025 on the band’s R4RE Records imprint – features collaborations with Stick Figure, The Elovaters, 311, Tribal Seeds, and The Green. With VISIONS, Swain charts a celestial and cerebral path through the cosmos, and straight into the consciousness, leaving a renewed sense of wonder and purpose. As always for The Movement, the only path is forward; pushing the boundaries and the future of alternative reggae.

SCHOOL OF ROCK RED BANK PRESENTS ITS END OF SEASON SHOWS

Come check out our Performance Program students from School of Rock Red Bank as they showcase
the songs they’ve been working on all season long! We will have performances from our Classic Metal,
Classic R&B, Beatles, and 90s Alternative Shows, as well as a performance by our House Band!

ADMISSION IS FREE!

At School of Rock Red Bank, we offer more than just music lessons. We build a community that fosters
personal growth. Our performance-based music education combines one-on-one instruction with
group rehearsals, helping students develop both musical proficiency and essential life skills.
Our approach is proven to build confidence, teamwork, and resilience. An independent study found
that after joining our programs, 96.2% of parents saw a boost in their child’s self-confidence and 95.9%
reported improved teamwork skills. Find out why we’re different from other music lessons near you
and visit our school, located at 52 Monmouth Street, Red Bank NJ 07701, today!

The Ocean Avenue Ramble
Ocean Ave Stompers, Jackson Pines
The Stone Pony Anniversary Celebration

Celebrate with us on Feb. 6, 2026 at The Ocean Avenue Ramble, the kick-off to The Stone Pony’s 52nd Anniversary Weekend, an evening of non-stop co-headline sets culminating in the Pine Barrens Stomp, the all hands on deck collaborative show finale! Jackson Pines and Ocean Avenue Stompers are joining forces to co-headline a One Night Only engagement featuring the region’s premier folk and horn bands, highlighting rootsy and soulful sounds from the South Jersey Pines to the Jersey Shore Boardwalk.

Door 7:00, Showtime 8:00 to 11:30pm

NPR Music and Billboard acclaimed folk band Jackson Pines, fresh off a headlining set at the New Jersey Folk Festival, will be celebrating the release of their new full length record Wheel, which will be available for the first time on this evening. Named The Aquarian Magazine’s 2024 band of the year, Jackson Pines has spent the last year recording new original songs as well as preserving traditional folk music from The Pine Barrens. They have played with likes of Old Crow Medicine Show, Billy Strings, and Nicole Atkins, and are Sea.Hear.Now alumni. On this night, expect string band and full band sets, as well as collaborations with the Stompers. Having played at the Pony since they were teenagers at matinees, Joe, James and band are always excited to rock the Pony!

The Ocean Avenue Stompers are no strangers to The Pony. Known for their undeniable energy and creative power, they return for their first co-headlining set at the venue, mere days before Mardi Gras and setting the tone the Anniversary weekend. This evening also marks eight years of the Stompers, a run that has included standout moments at The Pony: shows with Dogs In A Pile, joining Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes or LaBamba’s Big Band, and holding down the horns at the Ocean Avenue Stomp Afterparty during Sea.Hear.Now, joining Tangiers Blues Band and backing artists from Bruce Springsteen to Brandon Flowers as well as Jim James and Danny Clinch. Turning in multiple sets and collaborating, this night promises to be another memorable chapter in the journey of the Stompers.

Join us for the Pony Anniversary Celebration packed with joyous music, multiple sets in different configurations, music including New Orleans and American folk favorites, exciting new originals, special guests from the scene, and the two band super-jam The Pine Barrens Stomp.

The Asbury Park Music Awards make a triumphant return!
Beloved celebration of heralded music scene returns after a seven-year hiatus

The highly revered Asbury Park Music Awards are back, reigniting a long-standing tradition of celebrating the original artists who keep Asbury Park’s legendary music scene alive. The 2025 Awards will take place Fri., Feb. 20 at The Stone Pony.

Now presented by the Asbury Park Music Foundation (APMF), the awards were originally founded in 1993 by Scott Stamper of the iconic venue The Saint and Peter Mantas, entertainment director of the former Langosta Lounge, and ran annually through 2018. Known as “the Heart of the Asbury Music Scene,” The Saint closed in 2022, and Stamper has now passed the torch to APMF with his full support.

The 2025 Asbury Park Music Awards will feature 31 categories, including New Music of the Year, Artist of the Year, Musician of the Year, and several Genre-Based Performer of the Year categories. In addition, four special awards will recognize standout music released during the event’s “gap years” from 2019 through 2024.

Nominations are open through Nov. 16, with finalists selected by a committee of local music community members. In January, a series of showcase events will highlight nominated artists across Asbury Park venues. Final voting will combine input from the judging committee, fans, and fellow musicians, culminating in the announcement of winners at the Feb. 20 awards show.

Produced by the Asbury Park Music Foundation, proceeds from the event will support APMF’s mission to provide life-changing music education to under-resourced youth.

Tickets: $25 in advance plus applicable surcharges, $30 at the door

Door 7:00, Show 7:30 to 11:30

SUIT & MAI TAI
The Ultimate Yacht Rock Experience

Suit & Mai Tai makes their Stone Pony debut! Join us for a yacht rock party like no other. Ahoy! NJ’s premiere yacht rock show sails into The Stone Pony on Sat., Feb. 21. Suit & Mai Tai brings the smooth sounds of yacht rock to life, then cranks it up with a fresh, unexpected edge. With a large following across New Jersey, this seven-piece band has become a staple at top clubs, outdoor festivals, and exclusive private events. They deliver a high-energy, sonically rich show that turns soft rock nostalgia into a full-on experience. Come aboard landlubbers — it’s time to party in yacht rock style!

Fueled by three powerhouse lead vocalists, flawless harmonies, searing guitar work, blazing horns, and a rhythm section that kicks like thunder, Suit & Mai Tai takes audiences on a journey through the best of the ’70s and ’80s- from Christopher Cross, The Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Toto, Linda Ronstadt and Steely Dan to Styx, The Eagles, Billy Joel, and many more. Think yacht rock classics with grit, mixing in rock anthems with polish. It’s the perfect blend of velvet with voltage.

Their slogan says it all: “Yacht That Rocks.” This isn’t background music. It’s a full-production, crowd-igniting event designed to keep audiences singing, dancing and coming back for more. If you’re looking for a show that needs to deliver both musical excellence and undeniable entertainment, Suit & Mai Tai is the act that brings smooth to the stage — and rocks the boat while they’re at it. Showtime 8 pm.

The Dave Matthews Tribute Band
Tomorrow We Die Tour

DMTB is a celebration of the music of the Dave Matthews Band – a time machine to a funky tea party in the ’90s, a boisterous era of tape trading, sing-alongs, and exploration into a new sonic landscape spearheaded by complex guitar riffs, soaring violin melodies, smooth sax lines, and explorative-explosive drumming.

Dedicated to recreating that moment in musical history, the DMTB has been honing their craft for over 20 years. Since 2004, the band’s ruthless touring schedule has been unparalleled, playing over 2000 shows in 46 states and 10 countries. The Buffalo, N.Y. based band has successfully paid tribute to the Dave Matthews Band, with heartfelt recreation of DMB’s musical spirit.

The DMTB aims to transport the listener back in time. The band takes inspiration from the classic DMB sound, with immense respect for the original quintet. While including material from the bands later and current catalogs, the goal is to create a well rounded and authentic tribute with attention to details and love for the music they play so honestly. Join us at the Pony for a night of DMB hits and fan favorites!

Door 7:00, Showtime 8:00 – Two set show!
Tickets $22. Adv / $25. Door

OUR LADY PEACE
30th Anniversary Tour
with special guests
The Verve Pipe

One of Canada’s most influential rock bands, OUR LADY PEACE has shaped the alternative rock landscape for over three decades. With multi-Platinum-selling albums and global hits like “Superman’s Dead,” “Clumsy,” and “Somewhere Out There,” they’ve has sold over five million albums worldwide and garnered more than 360 million streams. They’re among the elite 13 Music Canada Diamond-certified artists, holding 3x-Triple and 5x-Double Platinum certifications. With 19 Top 10 radio hits in Canada—including five #1 singles—the band has has won four JUNO Awards and ten MuchMusic Video Awards, making them one of the most celebrated bands in MMVA history. Their extensive touring history includes sharing stages with The Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, and Alanis Morissette. They were inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame on June 14, 2025 and capped off the summer with a US amphitheater tour with Live and Collective Soul.

HUNTER HAYES
The Evergreen Tour
with BLÜ EYES

Grammy-nominated, multi-instrumentalist and multi-platinum-selling artist, Hunter Hayes is an embodiment of a musician that embraces evolution and redefines boundaries. Bursting onto the scene with his platinum-certified debut album, Hayes has charted a unique course through the genre-bending path he was destined to explore.

The Louisiana native has amassed over 2 billion on-demand global streams since his debut, with six singles achieving gold and platinum certification. His electrifying on-stage performances have not only stolen the hearts of fans, but have also earned him spots on tours with superstars like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, and resulted in his own sold-out headlining shows across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia.

With more than 50 award nominations and wins, including five Grammy nominations, Hayes’ journey is just getting started.

BAD SUNS
ACCELERATOUR USA 2026

Bad Suns are embracing everything that’s possible. On their joyous fifth album, fittingly titled Accelerator, the Los Angeles trio are taking stock of everything they’ve been through together as a band and pushing into a bright future with a renewed sense of purpose.

Together since 2012, Christo Bowman (vocals/guitar), Gavin Bennett (bass) and Miles Morris (drums) started playing together as teenagers and went viral almost immediately with their magnetic blend of indie-rock and ‘80s synth sheen. After four hit albums, the trio reached a point where they needed to recalibrate and recenter if they wanted to continue. Recording their exuberant 2023 EP Infinite Joy was a cleansing experience that recalibrated Bad Suns and set them on a thrilling path forward into making Accelerator, which comprises 12 new tracks brimming with dance-pop hooks and poignant lessons learned.

“We saw the Infinite Joy EP as a new beginning for the band. I felt this yearning once again,” reflects Christo Bowman. “Accelerator being our fifth album, our first studio album as a trio, and the first album of my 30s, we knew that this was going to be really important. We didn’t want to take that lightly. We asked ourselves, how do we live up to the occasion? We saw this album as a mountain we wanted to climb.”

In planning their elevation, Bad Suns reconnected with their go-to producer Eric Palmquist (Tate McRae, Half Alive), who also helmed their 2014 debut Language & Perspective, plus follow-ups Disappear Here (2016) and Apocalypse Whenever (2022). Going into recording Accelerator, Eric encouraged Bad Suns to channel their sense of renewal into an energetic sonic direction they’d tapped into before, but never quite to this extent. “One of the first times we sat down with Eric, we were talking about what we’d all been vibing with. He said point blank, ‘It would be really cool to mess around with some ‘90s house-inspired music. Right away, the light bulb went off for me. I’d wanted to push in that direction forever.”

While tracks like the previously released “Communicating,” anthemic opener “Slow Karma,” the pulsing “Why Am I Like This,” and the shimmering club cut “Just Like Magic” reveal a riveting pop turn for the band, Accelerator is still steeped in the original DNA that made Bad Suns a feel-good viral sensation with early hits like “Cardiac Arrest.” The rushing pop melodies mirror Accelerator’s title, but its lyrics are filled with stop-and-think moments where Christo surveys his past actions and makes the intentional choice to embrace personal growth and impending fatherhood.

“My 20s were a challenging time with a lot of peaks and a lot of valleys,” he says. “There’s a lot of joy, a lot of mistakes. This album is ultimately about finding the strength within yourself to assess the damage that’s been done and make the changes that you need to in order to take control of your own life, kind of reckoning with the fact that you can’t control the external circumstances. I can’t control the world around me, but I can control the way that I react to the events taking place and the way that I move through the world.”

The hook-packed gem “Slow Karma” acts as Christo’s mission statement for Accelerator. An intimate and cathartic track, the album opener finds Christo at a personal and professional crossroads as he confronts old habits and makes the decision to become sober. “I was at a point in my life where it was becoming abundantly clear to me that I needed to make some changes in order to progress and live the life that I really wanted,” Christo says. “Getting sober is really hard, but then it becomes the easiest thing in the world. ‘Slow Karma’ is about accepting that this is gonna be difficult. And I don’t know exactly what’s ahead, but I know this is the direction I’m supposed to be moving down.”

The sparkling “Mystery Girl” signifies another crossroads as Christo, in a diaristic stream of consciousness, remembers his coming-of-age years while facing the inertia of fatherhood. “There’s this beautiful new chapter in my life unfolding, and there’s mixed emotions that come with it,” he says. “This is a song about my teenage years, past relationships and experiences, and being a young person who is ultimately just looking for love.”

Christo is equally unafraid to imagine what would have happened had he not made a series of positive changes. On the urgent, electropop banger “Back To Zero,” the singer envisions an alternate reality without Bad Suns or his wife and partner of 13 years and arrives at a place of heart-bursting gratitude for everything he has and the future that lies ahead.

“I didn’t want this record to be too self-help-oriented, but I did want every song, one way or another, to relate some wisdom I’ve gained,” Christo says. “By imagining myself alone in an apartment, my wife long gone — my life very easily could have looked like that. I’ve learned how important it is, as the lyrics say, to ‘find the beauty in what’s painful,’ and love every moment for what it is.”

As Bad Suns move into their latest era, one filled with exciting personal and professional milestones, they’ve never been more harmoniously aligned. “While making this album, I turned 30, I got married, I found out I was having a kid. Going to the studio every day and being in the room with the guys, I had this sense that I’m going to look back and know that was probably one of the best times of my life.”

ALL THAT REMAINS
with special guests
BORN OF OSIRIS
DEAD EYES

6:00p Doors
7:15p-7:45p Dead Eyes
8:00p-8:45p Born of Osiris
9:15p All That Remains

VIP packages will be available

All That Remains have built an unbreakable axis between pit-splitting metal and anthemic melodies. This signature balance has defined the platinum-certified band’s output since day one. It’s why the group have notched multiple Top 10 Active Rock Radio hits, sold out shows worldwide, and generated over half-a-billion streams. For as far as they’ve come, they’ve never lost sight of the cold Massachusetts underground where the guys first cut their teeth, preserving the same spirit without compromise. They’ve weathered the changing tides of a fickle business, unspeakable tragedy, and all manner of conflict only to come out stronger than ever on the other side. This strength surges through their tenth full-length album and first independent offering.

“I think we’ve managed to forge our own identity independent of every other group,” notes Phil. “From our scene, we were among a very few bands who didn’t go on a long-term hiatus, stop playing, or find other jobs. All That Remains has been what I do for the last 20 years. The fact that we managed to dodge all of the trends and be ourselves is something I’m very proud of.”

By sticking to their guns, All That Remains have continued to thrive on their own terms as well. Among many accolades, signature hit “Two Weeks” received a platinum certification from the RIAA, while “What If I Was Nothing” and their cover of “The Thunder Rolls” by Garth Brooks each reached gold status. Meanwhile, 2008’s Overcome went gold, and For We Are Many cracked the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. Not to mention, they have scored five Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top Rock Albums Chart, landing four in the Top 5. During 2022, the group launched a successful sold-out anniversary tour in celebration of their seminal LP The Fall of Ideals which Revolver hailed as “one of metalcore’s most essential records” and Loudwire christened “a genre-defining album.”

Ultimately, All That Remains are still standing strong.

“I’m incredibly grateful to anyone who has listened to our music or come to a show,” Phil leaves off. “We survived in a changing business and world. I’m hugely satisfied with the success we’ve seen, but there’s so much more to come. If you were a fan before, I think you’re going to be a fan of this record.”

The Chicago-based progressive metal outfit Born of Osiris are known as one of the first deathcore acts from the 2000s to leave that genre behind in favor of a brutal yet alluring meld of technical death metal and metalcore filled with flashy twin-guitar leads and near-psychedelic keyboard adventures that owe as much to Judas Priest and Iron Maiden as they do Helloween and Meshuggah. Though they began as a typical deathcore band with 2007’s The New Reign EP, by 2009’s Higher Place, they’d all but abandoned that sound to focus on a more technically advanced, melodically astute, and brutally forceful approach. Its appeal garnered an ever-growing cadre of admirers. They have placed four albums in the upper half of the U.S. album chart, including 2013’s Tomorrow We Die Alive, which peaked at number 27. Subsequent titles like 2015’s Soul Sphere went to number two on the hard rock charts. 2017’s The Eternal Reign was a progressive, track-by-track re-recording of 2007’s The New Reign; it met with both high praise and withering criticism. 2019’s The Simulation was 28-minute EP that was reportedly the first of a two-part album, but it never materialized. An entirely different outing titled Angel or Alien appeared in July 2021.

Before assuming their name, they cycled through monikers such as Diminished, Your Heart Engraved, and Rosecrance. Drummer Cameron Losch, guitarists Lee McKinney and Matt Pantelis, vocalist Ronnie Canizaro, keyboardist Joe Buras, and bassist David Da Rocha (who left in 2018 and was replaced by Nick Rossi) met while in high school and experimented with various sounds and genres before developing an early version of their signature blend; after a demo and a live gig, they came to the attention of Sumerian Records, which signed the band. The New Reign EP appeared in 2007. Pantelis left in 2008 before the recording of 2009’s A Higher Place. That album sold well enough to land inside the Top 100. All Shall Perish guitarist Jason Richardson temporarily joined the band in 2009. He played on 2011’s The Discovery (an album that was cut using seven-string guitars) before being fired later in the year. Produced by the band, it didn’t place as high on the pop chart, but fared better than all previous outings on various indie and metal charts.

Pared down to a quintet, Born of Osiris released Tomorrow We Die Alive in August of 2013. In another sonic shift, they opted for a more orchestrated sound, one that involved more vocal layers and programmed orchestration by co-producer Nick Sampson. Buras’ keyboards were a central focus on the set, but the band’s attack remained as aggressive as ever. The album placed inside the Top 30 during its release week and inside the Top Ten on various other charts.

After aggressive touring, the band re-entered the studio. In the summer of 2015, Born of Osiris began leaking small bits and pieces of a forthcoming, somewhat conceptual album. Its 12 tracks were divided into three “levels”: The Binding, The Fight, and The Release, with four cuts in each. Titled Soul Sphere, it was released while Born of Osiris were in the middle of a lengthy tour (which ended up being cut shortly after guitarist McKinney broke his foot in several places). Soul Sphere peaked at number 67 on the Billboard 200. The band returned in 2017 with its second EP, The Eternal Reign, a re-recorded new vision of their debut produced by Nick Sampson. After a summer 2018 tour, Da Rocha left and was replaced by Rossi. BoO released the video and single “The Accursed” in November. It served as the opening track for The Simulation, a 25-minute mini-album issued in January.

SILVERSUN PICKUPS
Tenterhooks Tour

Silversun Pickups’ sixth album Physical Thrills came together as a serendipitous accident during a dark time. The LA band began 2020 by touring in support of their record released the previous year, Widow’s Weeds. But the pandemic halted those plans, with the members including guitarist and singer Brian Aubert, bassist Nikki Monninger, drummer Christopher Guanlao, and keyboardist Joe Lester, finding themselves stuck at home. In that resting period, Aubert wasn’t focused on Silversun Pickups; instead, he channeled his energy into taking care of his son, Nico, while his wife Tracy worked.

But as much as his focus initially shifted from the band, he couldn’t escape the new melodies germinating in his head. “I would sneak off and start writing these songs, and I didn’t know what they’re for because I didn’t really think about Silversun on any level. I was just doing it to keep myself calm and keep myself company,” says Aubert. The songs were so different from what he’d previously written for Silversun Pickups that he initially thought he was writing a musical. There were “dream shanties,” gentler vocals, horror-inspired sounds, and other exciting new elements coming to mind.

The band finally was able to gather in person for a live-streamed acoustic performance on Halloween for The Dark Zone Network’s virtual music festival Queen Mary, and it was there that Aubert revealed the new material to his bandmates. They readily embraced the new direction—and so did producer Butch Vig. The band reunited with Vig, who first worked with Silversun Pickups on Widow’s Weeds, recording the record at the famed producer and Garbage member’s home.

When Aubert first reached out to Vig, he wasn’t sure if the band was making an EP or a full record; Widow’s Weeds was still fresh for Silversun Pickups. But once Aubert made plans to visit Vig and play him what he had, the music began pouring out. He immediately began recording with Vig, later having the rest of the band join.

Once the band began working on Physical Thrills together, they made some of Silversun Pickups’ most stunning songs yet. The record doesn’t depart drastically from the sound the band’s fans know and love, but rather enhances it with previously-unexplored fixtures at play.

Physical Thrills was colored by the pandemic, but isn’t meant to be solemn; instead, Aubert explores his own comfort in the temporary, newfound isolation. There’s a juxtaposition of playfulness with angst from having so much time to process untapped emotions. That’s something that comes through in the album’s instrumentation, too, with wide-ranging sounds that transform according to the weight of the lyrics.

There are tracks with shoegaze-infused distorted synths and guitar, like opener “Stillness (Way Beyond)”; bouncy, pop-tinged danceable tunes (“Empty Nest,” “Hereafter (Way After)”); pared-down ballads (“Alone On A Hill”); and a collection of “dream shanties,” as Aubert refers to them.

The titles of those shanties call back to “Dream At Tempo 119” off the band’s 2006 debut record, Carnavas, tying the band’s beginnings with the current, evolved iteration of Silversun Pickups. But, this time, the instrumentation matches the lyrics. Aubert forgoes the heavy guitars to instead create magical lullabies: “Dream At Tempo 050,” “Dream At Tempo 310,” and “Dream At Tempo 150.” Each carries a secret code in the title with numbers personal to Aubert.

With such an exploratory record, the band members felt free to traverse new ground. Guanlao, who usually shies away from fills on drums, took inspiration from The Beatles documentary Get Back, throwing some into Physical Thrills, influenced by Ringo Starr’s work on Let It Be. Whereas for Monninger, this record allowed her to showcase her vocals at the forefront more than in previous work. Joe also took a larger role in composition on this record, writing the piano part for “We Won’t Come Out,” which became the backbone for the song.

The making of Physical Thrills also allowed for whimsical moments, including Aubert creating a distinct tapping noise by incorporating the sound of drumsticks hitting Vig’s Grammy in “Hidden Moon,” and playfully pelting balloons at Monninger while she played “Hereafter (Way After)” on bass to create less tension.

While this record features such an eclectic mix of melodies, each song is interconnected with each other, meant to be experienced as a whole body of work. “All of our records are designed for people who want to listen to them all the way through and hopefully stick around with it,” says Aubert. “After a while, maybe you’ll catch on to the little things—not just the [pattern of] the dream songs, but maybe you’ll hear that, and you’ll hear a melody from the first song in the last song. There are crossover things happening.”

Lester says, “Physical Thrills is exactly the record that we wanted to make, which I’m really stoked about because sometimes you look back and think, ‘Well, that’s maybe not exactly how we would have done it’ when you go back and listen to it years later.’ But I feel really proud of this one. I think the songs that Nikki sings on are like the best ones we’ve done for her to sing on. The lyrics are better than they’ve ever been.”

Monninger adds, “We’ve been together for twenty-two years; it’s really interesting that we still love doing this. We know that we’re fortunate to still be together after all these years, seeking out the silver lining. I feel like we still have many more things to say, and we’re so happy with how this album turned out.”

The band have reunited with producer Butch Vig and are currently working on the follow-up to Physical Thrills, which is out now via their label, New Machine Recordings. Physical Thrills is available for purchase on all formats.

TURNPIKE TROUBADOURS
Wild America Tour 2026
with special guest Lucero
on The Stone Pony Summer Stage

The Turnpike Troubadours have never followed any script. Breakthrough albums have been followed by breakups. Triumphant reunions have overcome insurmountable odds. And live shows have been thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Now, just two years since their comeback album, A Cat in the Rain, the Tahlequah, Oklahoma, band delivers yet another helping of the unexpected: the surprise release of The Price of Admission, the group’s most vibrant, piercing album since 2010’s career-defining Diamonds & Gasoline.

Reteaming with Grammy-winning producer Shooter Jennings, who oversaw A Cat in the Rain, the Turnpike Troubadours crafted and recorded 11 new songs for The Price of Admission, reminding fans and peers alike just how it’s done. how it’s done. Songwriter and front man Evan Felker rises to the occasion, cementing his status as country-rock’s version of Bruce Springsteen. He writes and sings openly and poetically about his sobriety, about loss, and about lighting out in search of something, anything, to fill the void.

For Felker, it’s his band of brothers in Turnpike Troubadours: fiddler Kyle Nix, multi-instrumentalist Hank Early, guitarist Ryan Engleman, bassist RC Edwards, and drummer Gabe Pearson. All of them are at the top of their games on The Price of Admission, refusing to hold on too tightly and letting the music guide them.