THE OFFICIAL STONE PONY CALENDAR

Splintered Sunlight
Grateful Dead Tribute
Door 7:00 Show 7:30 to 11:30
Tickets $20. Adv / $25. Dos

Stone Pony Summer Showcase

All-Ages Event

Illegally Blind
Classic Rock Tribute
with special guests Johnny Fish & the Fish
Stretch and the Armstrongs

RUSTON KELLY: THE WEAKNESS TOUR
Purr

Tickets: $17 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $20 at the door

Before setting to work on his third album, Ruston Kelly moved out of his Nashville home and into an old Victorian bungalow in the small Tennessee town of Portland, then spent months on end in deliberate solitude. As he busied himself with remodeling his house and tearing through a stack of John Steinbeck novels, the South Carolina-born singer/songwriter began processing a number of life-altering changes he’d endured over the past year, including a very public divorce as well as major upheaval in his immediate family. “I felt a real need to understand myself a little better, and to rediscover the true foundation of who I am,” says Kelly, who candidly detailed his struggle with drug addiction on his 2018 full-length debut Dying Star.

Pushing forward with the intensely self-aware truth-telling he’s always brought to his music, Kelly soon immersed himself in the making of The Weakness: a blisteringly honest but profoundly hopeful album that ultimately reveals our vast potential to create strength and beauty from the most painful of experiences. “With every record I make, I learn so much about myself and who I am as a human and what type of man I want to be,” says Kelly. “In a way it’s a form of self-help, or like I’m building a fort against a lesser version of myself. Then the goal from there is to just keep on growing.”

The follow-up to Shape & Destroy -— a 2020 release that earned acclaim from outlets like NPR, who also hailed Dying Star as “a brutal thing of beauty” —-The Weakness finds Kelly straying from the more self-contained approach of his previous output and working with producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Nate Mercereau (Sharon Van Etten, Leon Bridges, Maggie Rogers). “The way I’d always worked in the past is that the song comes first, and the production helps to lift its meaning and intent,” Kelly explains. “But this time there was a much greater focus on creating a sonic atmosphere that speaks just as loudly and feels just as emotional as the lyrics and voice.”

Recorded at Mercereau’s Studio Tujunga in Los Angeles, The Weakness came to life in a series of close-knit sessions with Kelly mainly handling acoustic and electric guitar and Mercereau playing over a dozen instruments (including Mellotron, flute, French horn, autoharp, fretless bass, violin, harmonium, mandolin, and more). “I knew from the beginning that I wanted a large sound for this record -— I remember telling Nate at one point that I wanted it to sound like a storm brewing in a big empty field,” says Kelly, who names Daniel Lanois’s work with Bob Dylan as a touchstone for The Weakness. A bold departure from the elegant simplicity of his first two albums, the result is a kaleidoscopic sonic backdrop beautifully suited to The Weakness’ immense scope of feeling.

Start Making Sense 
Talking Heads Tribute

Start Making Sense & the Ocean Avenue Stompers Horns present:
An Evening of Music by Talking Heads, David Byrne and More

Start Making Sense is proud to present the music of Talking Heads, David Byrne and more — once again with a full horn section! This special evening will feature David Byrne solo material, Talking Heads songs and more surprises with Asbury Park’s own Ian Gray and the Ocean Avenue Stompers Horns. Don’t miss out on this very special SMS tour!

Tickets: $25 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $30 at the door
Door 7 pm, show 8-11:30 pm

Houndmouth

Houndmouth is an American alternative rock band from New Albany, Indiana formed in 2011, consisting of Matt Myers (guitar, vocals), Shane Cody (drums, vocals), and Caleb Hickman (keyboard, vocals). Nostalgic sounds from their first album seemed to serve as a welcome escape for listeners from the relentless demands of the digital age.
This led to performances on Letterman, Conan, World Cafe, and several major festivals (ACL, Americana Music Festival, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Newport Folk Festival). SPIN and Esquire.com named Houndmouth a “must-see” band at Lollapalooza, and Garden & Gun said, “You’d be hard pressed to find a more effortless, well-crafted mix of roots and rock this year than the debut album from this Louisville quartet.”
Through their humble start, genre-defining hits, and experimentation, Houndmouth makes an impact with their unique take on storytelling through music.

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

Father John Misty
LIVE! On Tour With Loren Kramar

Father John Misty is announcing new, headlining shows for 2023 in support of his acclaimed fifth album Chloë and The Next 20th Century.

Chloë and The Next 20th Century earned Father John Misty’s placement on “Best Albums of 2022” lists from the likes of TIME, Variety, USA Today, The Telegraph, The Sun, WXPN, Under the Radar, MOJO, CLASH and Uncut.

“He takes a surprising and delightful departure from his usual form for a project that’s grandiose in its ambition, theatrical in its presentation, and thrilling in its execution.” — TIME

“With honeyed vocals and a potent dose of gallows humor, the shape-shifting crooner is reborn as a Sinatra-style lounge act, weaving wistful tales of heartache and tragedy over lush orchestrations.” — USA TODAY

“What it all adds up to is as gorgeously arranged an orchestral-pop record as we’ve gotten in years. And its brilliance isn’t purely stylistic.” — VARIETY

RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE
flipturn

Tickets: $46 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $51 at the door

Gates open at 6:30 pm, show at 7:30

As if channeling another dimension where genres simply don’t exist, Rainbow Kitten Surprise find harmony in unpredictability, weaving together lyrical poetry, hummable melodies, and a rush of instrumental eccentricities. They quietly built an audience with Seven + Mary [2013] and RKS [2015] before serving up their 2018 full-length debut for Elektra, “HOW TO: FRIEND, LOVE, FREEFALL” – produced by Grammy Award-winner Jay Joyce (Cage the Elephant, Sleeper Agent).

Igniting a two-year whirlwind, it brought the band’s total stream tally well past one billion, while they garnered widespread praise from Billboard,TIME, Vice, and NPR who described their sound as “…a mix of jam and indie and whatever else you can throw into the soup…very earnest, beautiful, political, loving rock n’ roll.” Meanwhile, “Fever Pitch” marked their first Top 10 at AAA. Not to mention, they’ve performed on “CBS This Morning Saturday,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” PBS’s “Austin City Limits,” and graced the bills of Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Osheaga, to name a few.

Moving 80,000 tickets, they embarked on the sold-out Friend, Love Freefall Tour earmarked by a packed night at Red Rocks Amphitheatre and three consecutive gigs in Athens, GA—as chronicled on their first official live album, Live From Athens Georgia, which came out in 2021.

Stick Figure: Wisdom Tour
with Pepper, The Elovaters
on The Stone Pony Summer Stage

Gates open at 5 pm
The Elovaters at 6:30
Pepper at 7
Stick Figure at 8:15

Tickets: $39.50 and up in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $49.50 at the gate

With a distinctive sound developed through tireless attention to musicality and artistry, Stick Figure has redefined American reggae music with his latest album, Wisdom, released in September. As with his previous releases, Wisdom was written, produced and recorded by Scott Woodruff, a self-taught musician, at Stick Figure-owned Great Stone Studios in Oakland, California, former home of Green Day.

Wisdom is Stick Figure’s seventh album and follows the unprecedented success of 2019’s World on Fire, which peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Top 200, No. 6 overall Top Album, No. 1 Independent, and No. 1 Reggae album. World on Fire has sold more than 300,000 copies including streaming equivalents, according to Nielsen Soundscan data. Stick Figure’s catalog has now sold well over 1 million copies and been streamed over 3 billion times. On the live side, Stick Figure averaged more 4,200 tickets sold per show on an almost entirely sold out 2022 tour, according to Pollstar, and is slated to play major multi-genre festivals in 2023 after headlining the top reggae festivals in 2022.

These numbers would be impressive by any metric, yet Stick Figure has achieved this rarified air completely independently, with no label or outside producers. Throughout the credits of Wisdom, Woodruff and a small cadre of collaborators, namely childhood friend TJ O’Neill, prove that manufactured music does not have to exclusively dominate the charts. Streaming alongside today’s biggest pop stars, Stick Figure has transcended the genre while always embracing his love of reggae music. Much like other bands supported Stick Figure during his ascent, Woodruff works with up and coming artists to help foster a vibrancy that keeps the scene strong and growing faster than ever before, exposing it to new listeners with an authenticity that stays true to his roots, while pushing the boundaries of sound that people expect from the genre.

The evolution of the artist most often portrayed as a one-man band has its genesis in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Well before achieving worldwide acclaim or embracing the demand to play live shows, Scott was an avid music fan who in high school traded bootleg CDs of his favorite artists’ unreleased demos. It was then that he began recording a series of albums under the moniker of Stick Figure.

From his debut, The Sound of My Addiction, Scott’s handcrafted music connected with a community of avid listeners who discovered him exclusively by word of mouth and social media. Selling tens of thousands of copies of each of his self-produced releases allowed him to travel the world in pursuit of experience. Scott moved to San Diego where his recording career continued to blossom. As recently as 2012, he was putting up his own posters for Burial Ground at the California Roots Festival. In 2019, Stick Figure was commanding center stage as the headliner for the massive event. Today, Stick Figure is still embracing the DIY work ethic, while selling out amphitheaters and having his music played more than any other living reggae artist in the world.

AN EVENING WITH GOOSE
on The Stone Pony Summer Stage
Tickets: $46 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $51 at the door

Goose — Rick Mitarotonda [vocals, guitar], Peter Anspach [vocals, keys, guitar], Trevor Weekz [bass], Ben Atkind [drums], and Jeff Arevalo [vocals, percussion, drums] — fluidly traverse genres with head-spinning hooks, technical fireworks, and the kind of chemistry only possible among small town and longtime friends. Following 2016’s moon cabin, the Norwalk, CT quintet quietly took flight, playing countless shows during their ascent while slowly and steadily amassing a nationwide following.

The end of 2017 saw the band welcome Peter Anspach on guitar and keyboard – a pivotal moment that solidified the group’s core lineup. Months of relentless touring prepared them for a string of milestone festival performances during the summer of 2019, most notably defined by a storied performance at The Peach Music Festival in Scranton, PA. The band’s subsequent pro-shot video gained significant traction, highlighting the existing catalog of content compiled over the previous two years.

With increased buzz came increased demand. One by one, Goose sold out each show of their fall 2019 headlining tour and sold out last minute performances at both Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg in January 2020.

Due in part to Goose’s penchant for improvisation, the band has successfully navigated the myriad challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. They produced a series of intimate virtual events, culminating in a universally acclaimed Bingo Tour. The interactive, two-week live streaming event featured four full concerts with setlists determined by the outcome of a live Bingo game.

Fall 2020 saw a welcome return to live performance with a slew of sold out drive-in shows throughout the Northeast, Midwest, and Mid Atlantic. Propelled by seemingly unstoppable momentum, the band concluded the year with their sixth annual Goosemas holiday concert, an epic live stream from a rooftop at Rockefeller Center.

Shenanigans Nite Club, released in June 2021, encapsulates the band’s rise. The nine track project is an ode to oft-forgotten vestiges of Goose’s experience, both personal and collective. Bestowing deserved éclat on the emergent musicians, the album debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top New Artist Albums chart.

AN EVENING WITH GOOSE
on The Stone Pony Summer Stage
Tickets: $46 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $51 at the door

Goose — Rick Mitarotonda [vocals, guitar], Peter Anspach [vocals, keys, guitar], Trevor Weekz [bass], Ben Atkind [drums], and Jeff Arevalo [vocals, percussion, drums] — fluidly traverse genres with head-spinning hooks, technical fireworks, and the kind of chemistry only possible among small town and longtime friends. Following 2016’s moon cabin, the Norwalk, CT quintet quietly took flight, playing countless shows during their ascent while slowly and steadily amassing a nationwide following.

The end of 2017 saw the band welcome Peter Anspach on guitar and keyboard – a pivotal moment that solidified the group’s core lineup. Months of relentless touring prepared them for a string of milestone festival performances during the summer of 2019, most notably defined by a storied performance at The Peach Music Festival in Scranton, PA. The band’s subsequent pro-shot video gained significant traction, highlighting the existing catalog of content compiled over the previous two years.

With increased buzz came increased demand. One by one, Goose sold out each show of their fall 2019 headlining tour and sold out last minute performances at both Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg in January 2020.

Due in part to Goose’s penchant for improvisation, the band has successfully navigated the myriad challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. They produced a series of intimate virtual events, culminating in a universally acclaimed Bingo Tour. The interactive, two-week live streaming event featured four full concerts with setlists determined by the outcome of a live Bingo game.

Fall 2020 saw a welcome return to live performance with a slew of sold out drive-in shows throughout the Northeast, Midwest, and Mid Atlantic. Propelled by seemingly unstoppable momentum, the band concluded the year with their sixth annual Goosemas holiday concert, an epic live stream from a rooftop at Rockefeller Center.

Shenanigans Nite Club, released in June 2021, encapsulates the band’s rise. The nine track project is an ode to oft-forgotten vestiges of Goose’s experience, both personal and collective. Bestowing deserved éclat on the emergent musicians, the album debuted at number one on Billboard’s Top New Artist Albums chart.