THE OFFICIAL STONE PONY CALENDAR

Start Making Sense 
Talking Heads Tribute
Tickets: $25 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $30 at the door
Door 7 pm, show 8 pm

If David Byrne is one of the geniuses of modern times, then Start Making Sense is a tribute to genius. The musicians in this Talking Heads tribute take pride in faithfully recreating the music of Talking Heads’ entire career. Together they bring much of the Heads’ unique live show to the stage, with front man Jon Braun as a spot-on David Byrne, giving you a “once in a lifetime” experience. Prepare yourself for a rockin’, funkin’, danceable celebration of the new-wave art punk you loved from the ’80s!

“This is an appropriate title — Start Making Sense. This band makes plenty of sense to me, and is a great representation of Talking Heads’ music. So listen up and go check them out!” — Bernie Worrell, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and keyboardist for Talking Heads and Parliament/Funkadelic

We are beyond excited to announce our rescheduled “Rubberneck” tour dates with Reverend Horton Heat for fall of 2022! Postponing 2021 as the Delta Variant surged was one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever had to make. For the safety of the band, crew, and fans, we felt it was the best thing to do.  All tickets for the original shows will be honored on the rescheduled dates.  Refunds at point of purchase as per local policies. Can’t wait to get out there and see everyone!

Tickets: $34.50 in advance (plus applicable surcharges)

The Glorious Sons

Brett Emmons – vocals, guitar, harmonica, keys
Jay Emmons – guitar, vocals
Chris Koster – guitar, vocals
Adam Paquette – drums, vocals
Josh Hewson – piano, guitar

From their very start, The Glorious Sons have achieved the near impossible by sounding both familiar and unprecedented, offering a bold new idea of what it means to be a rock ‘n’ roll band in the modern era. Fronted by brothers Brett and Jay Emmons, the Kingston, Ontario-based quintet have resolutely manifested all of rock ‘n’ roll’s most positive principles: creativity and adventure, energy and expression, unbridled individuality and spirit of community.

The past decade saw the band unleash three remarkable studio albums fueled by immense ambition and strikingly emotive song craft, their stadium-sized hooks ringing out with an ardent, impassioned spirit that earned them two No. 1 rock airplay smashes in the U.S. and 13 consecutive top 10 rock radio hits in Canada.

“I truly believe that, to use the old cliché, rock ‘n’ roll will never die,” says lead singer-songwriter Brett Emmons. “It’s not just a sound any more. It’s more of an attitude, a freedom of expression that people will always believe in.”

Tickets: $20 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $25 at the door

Niko Moon: Coastin’ Tour

Tickets: $15 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $20 at the door

Niko Moon has really clear memories. Music, cars, school. How much his parents loved each other, created a place where life was an adventure – and what you had was all you needed.

His dad, a drummer turned truck driver, loved old cars. As a boy, he remembers a Falcon, “red interior, and the carpet. The way it smelled.” He used to love to pile in with his dad, riding around, going to get donuts – and listening to music.

“I was 8 or 9, and I didn’t get it,” he laughs. “It was John Prine. My dad’s favorite was ‘One Red Rose.’ It’s funny. I knew all the words. I’d be singing along without a clue, but loving it… loving the line ‘What I never knew, I never will forget…’”

Like Prine, Moon’s finger is on simple things that really matter; easy joy and how to find it, loving where you are and finding ways to write about it so everyone – the really smart, the can’t be-bothered – can find their way to the bliss. It’s what Moon seeks to capture and sow in his songs.

Growing up an hour outside of Atlanta, back when it was country not exurbia, life moved at a different pace. People knew each other, took their time, shared a meal on Sunday with their family and pitched in when someone needed a hand.

Moon wanted to extract the essence of growing up in small-town Georgia. Banjo forward, swaggy back beat, guitars that tang as much as twang. Sonic tags, melodies that tumble and moments that embody all the warm welcome and friendliness that defined his life as a kid listening to his mama play Alison Krauss in her car, his debut album GOOD TIME creates an old school sort of country ethos that also drags a bit of Michael Franti, Prine, the Eagles and Outkast through songs that simmer, stir and sizzle in all the right places.

“In middle school, I started having my own opinions about everything,” he’s quick to offer. “Nirvana, Offspring, Green Day, Sister Hazel, Outkast, Tupac, Biggie. That drum and bass rhythm section of hip- hop, I just fell in love with. Didn’t know what they were talking about, either, but I really loved the way the drums knocked me out!

“My hair was all long. I was wearing basketball jerseys, JNCOs, playing hacky sack before school. I didn’t know what I was, so I was taking it all in, trying to figure out who I was.”

All of it turned out to be more than anyone could’ve bargained for. A musically curious kid, he remembers watching his dad practicing drums in the garage. “I got chills. I couldn’t comprehend how he was doing it,” he remembers. “I was so little, but he was in a touring regional country/rock band, had hair down to his waist. He gave it up, made the decision it was better for his family to just drive. I always respected him for that. You know, he was getting up at 4 a.m. to provide for his family.

“But he was such a fan of music, of songwriters. To just sit and listen to what they did with the story and the language. He – and my mom, who had the sweetest voice – were always singing to me. There’s a rhythm to that, too.”

That rhythm is shot through every track on GOOD TIME, a self-cultivated positivity starter kit. Whether the staccato/dobro punctuated laundry list of ‘can’ts’ that forms “GOOD AT LOVING YOU,” the double entendre “WAY BACK,” the slinky, finger-snapping “SMALL TOWN STATE OF MIND,” or the strummy philosophy of “WITHOUT SAYIN’ A WORD,” Moon recognizes you can’t have heart without the beat.

“The rhythm, the groove, the lyric: it’s all important,” he protests, trying to home in on his sweet spot. “The songwriter in me says it’s the words; but at the end of the day, it’s the rhythm. Rhythm’s the more elemental thing. The head and the heart, right? The heart is deeper a lot of time, and I want my music to move people. When they love the way it makes them feel, they’ll get there. But… I want to reach the ones who love the lyric, who really focus on what you’re saying, too.”

If the secret sauce is the alchemy, it’s been years in the slow-steeping. Not only did Moon produce Franti’s acclaimed Stay Human, Vol. 2, he’s been the secret weapon for Zac Brown for almost a decade. In love with music, the young kid caught up with the circus, “back at the Dixie Tavern on Wednesday nights, 200 people with the line wrapped around the bar and across the back. ‘Chicken Fried,’ ‘Toes,’ ‘Free,’ yes, but he would do Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Keith Whitley. And his picking, there’s always a hook built into the chord, even when he’s just playing G, C, D.”

Writing, traveling, seeing the world, Moon absorbed a precision and commitment to music that was exacting, even as it embodied simple pleasures. “Everyone in that band is so good. Spending 10 years watching them arrange and create was intense. Relentlessly authentic and refusing to adapt to other people’s ideas of what you should be was a real lesson.”

Ten years was also spent living the life. In the rock & roll Jetstream, Moon confesses, “I had it in my mind to be a real artist you had to live this life: always moving on, lonely, smoking a lot of cigarettes, lots of girls, drugs and drinking. That Jack Kerouac way of you have to suffer a little to really be an artist. But that was a story I invented…”

Tragedy collided with magic. With an engagement imploding in the most high-impact way – see the sinewy “DRUNK OVER YOU” – Moon sought higher ground. Young, talented and good-looking, it was easy to shut off, shutdown and remain aloof. But that’s when he met Anna, who Facebook friended him after a photographer she was thinking of using showed her Moon’s picture in his photo portfolio.

“I was playing Atlanta, so I invited her to the show,” the reformed player remembers. “She came, and was so beautiful. I thought we were gonna hang out, but she stayed two minutes, told me she liked the show and left.”

A proper date, a real conversation and the news that she, too, was a songwriter intrigued him. Unaware that she’d already appeared in Italian Vogue, he asked her to play a song. He was stunned. “She didn’t know how good she was.”

Smiling now, he confesses, “I was in love at first sight, but that creative force changed everything. I knew she’d understand me, get me – and while she was from an hour north of Atlanta and I was from an hour west of Atlanta, we were basically from the same small town.”

Splintered Sunlight
Grateful Dead Tribute
Door 7:00 Show 7:30 to 12:00
Tickets $20. Adv / $25. Dos

MACHINE HEAD
The Electric Happy Hour (Live) Tour

Tickets: $27 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $29 at the door

Undisputed masters of murderous riffs, pugnacious grooves and ferocious hooks since 1991, Machine Head are long established as one of the most influential and incendiary bands in metal.

From genre-expanding triumphs like 1994’s debut, Burn My Eyes, 1999’s The Burning Red to the planet-conquering might of 2007’s The Blackening, to the new life injected in 2014’s Bloodstone and Diamonds, Machine Head have carved a singular path across the globe for over three decades now with no end in sight. Whether it be marathon 3-hour live performances, or millions of albums sold worldwide, and accolades both big and small, there aren’t too many ‘distractions’ clouding up the vision of guitarist/vocalist/founder Robb Flynn these days.

In 2022, Machine Head are back with their most crushing and complete album yet. ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN is an hour-long conceptual monolith, rich in colour and dynamics but hell-bent on destruction. Set in a futuristic wasteland where the sky is always crimson red, ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN tells the tale of two characters, both faced with incalculable trauma, whose stories become bloodily entwined as this deep, dark record progresses.

“The album and concept was loosely inspired by the Japanese anime series Attack On Titan,” says Robb, “in the sense that in that series, there is no “good” or “bad” guy… both sides believe they’re doing the right thing, but both are committing atrocities and evil.”

Album opener, “SLAUGHTER THE MARTYR,” sets the tone for not only the record, but the aural and psychological exploration the listener is about to embark on. From the first dissonant note, its certain this is not only fresh canvas spelled out with lead vocalist Robb Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern’s soaring vocal harmonies, but its intent is as furious as anything the band has ever come up with. This track also begins the journey of our protagonists.

Further exploration of the damaged psyche blasts forth on “CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE,” a searing back and forth dose of Thrash Metal that could only come from the roots of the Bay Area. Unrelenting in its attack, the breakneck pace only solidifies this as one of many standouts on ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN.

From the adrenaline rush of exorcising their inner demons to the innate feeling of solitude and regret comes “UNHALLØWED.” A dramatic introspective of questioning one’s motives and the fallout when the debts our expended emotions come to collect. Hopeless, lost, and isolated, protagonist #2 begins the transformation from victim to victimizer over the melodic chaos courtesy of guitarist Vogg Kieltyka. Radicalized, paranoid, and armed with a dead-end stare, the mental onslaught ignites with the song, “KILL THY ENEMIES.” The whiplash inducing thoughts pair up nicely with some of the thickest grooves on the album.

The album ends with arguably the finest song Machine Head have ever written: “ARRØWS IN WØRDS FRØM THE SKY”, the grandiose but emotionally visceral climax to the finest and most ferocious album of the band’s 30 year career.

A perennially vital force in heavy music, Machine Head have continued their exhilarating evolution, while never losing the furious spirit of their old school, underground roots.

SINDERELLA’S BALL
To Support Joan Dancy & PALS (People With ALS)
Music by Strumberry Pie, Docs of Rock, and Moroccan Sheepherders
High End Silent Auction: Travel Opportunities, VIP Experiences, Sports Memorabilia, Masterpieces and more

—–

Dear Friends, Family, Past & Future Supporters,

Sadly, due to COVID-19, we were not able to hold our 7th or 8th annual Sinderella’s Ball at The Stone Pony. We held a virtual event thanks to Strumberry Pie and were still able to raise a significant amount of money for the Joan Dancy & PALS (People With ALS) Foundation which brought the total amount of money raised over the last eight years to more than $700,000.

Those living through the nightmare of ALS still need our help. They still need equipment, assistance and support. The pandemic did not lessen their needs. In fact, it has increased the needs of PALS. We are excited to announce that we will be hold our 9th annual Sinderella’s Ball, in person, at The Stone Pony on Dec. 3.

This year will mark five years since my wife Sindy lost her seven-year battle with ALS. It’s as fresh as it was then and only makes me feel stronger about the need to help support the foundation.

The fundraising efforts are something that my family and I are incredibly proud of, and we are thankful to all of you who helped make it happen. Your individual effort and energy is what has made Sinderella’s Ball so successful in the past – and for that we are eternally grateful.

Please know that we still fervently believe in the cause and we will continue to do what we can to support Joan Dancy and PALS. I ask each of you, if you are able, to do the same by making a donation – no matter how big or small it may be, so that we can continue to help assist the PALS and their families.

We can only hope that, in the not too distant future, scientists around the world will develop a treatment and/or cure for ALS. Until then, all we can do is remind ourselves to Always Live Smiling.

To make your donation today, go to sinderellasball.org and click on the “Donate Here” button. You can review the site to learn more about our mission.

Thank you in advance for anything you are able to do!

Best Regards,
Louis Weiner

Route 22 Toyota presents
Quincy Mumford’s 11th Annual Holiday Show
“The Finale”
Benefit for Mary’s Place By The Sea
with Tor Miller
Tickets: $30 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $35 at the door

After 10 years of celebrating the holidays with the amazing community of Asbury Park, and giving back to Mary’s Place by the Sea, we have decided to do one last show and go out with a bang! “The Finale” will feature multiple sets of music. After an opening set by New York’s Tor Miller and his band, we’ll have an original set by Quincy Mumford’s Lifted Laboratory, and a Super Jam featuring many specials guests and Asbury Park legends.

There will be silent auction items as well as some big ticket items available to win. All proceeds will go to Mary’s Place by the Sea, “providing a place for women with cancer to heal mind, body and soul.”

LaBAMBA’S HOLIDAY HURRAH 
Annual Holiday Show with LaBamba’s Big Band

Doors at 6pm, show 7 to 10 pm

Tickets: $38 (plus applicable surcharges)

Richie ‘LaBamba’ Rosenberg is coming home to The Stone Pony for this annual holiday show! The Hurrah All-Star band features a giant horn section playing classic holiday music and LaBamba favorites. Special guest performers will be announced. Stay tuned for event updates. This is an early show starting at 7 pm. Doors open at 6 pm.

DOGS IN A PILE
An Evening with the Dogs
Two-set show at 8 pm
Doors at 7 pm
Tickets: $25 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $30 at the door

The Stone Pony is proud to present Dogs in a Pile. The band hails from the Jersey Shore and Asbury Park. After two years of relentless touring and recording, the band has firmly established itself as one of the hottest new East Coast breakout bands on the national scene. An Evening with the Dogs will feature two long sets starting at 8 pm.

Dogs in a Pile is the culmination of a love of music born from the deepest American roots of psychedelia, jazz, fusion, funk, traditional, and rock ‘n’ roll. Sprung from the rich Asbury Park music scene, their serendipitous convergence has made for the kind of kindred intuition its members had only once dreamed of. Described as “listening to a single moving organism,” the sum of its five parts represents an original journey into the peaks and valleys of psychedelic improvisation, all while remaining reminiscent of so much we love of life and music.

The current iteration of “The Dogs” began with University of the Arts Philadelphia student and Asbury Park veteran Jimmy Law, along with his long-time friend Joe Babick, a four-year veteran of the gifted young musicians program at the nationally renowned Count Basie Theater in Red Bank. Lightning struck when they were introduced to Berklee School of Music student and bass player Sam Lucid, who immediately suggested fellow Berklee student and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Kaplan. The addition of fellow Berklee student and collaborator Brian Murray in 2019 made for the final piece in the Dogs’ puzzle. Their commonality and love for improvisation by way of bands like the Grateful Dead and Phish, as well as a fervent inclination for the study of jazz, fusion and classical music, has helped shape the free-flowing style that is the Dogs. Their unique synergy and joy in creating “music as an atmosphere” equates simply to, as the band would say, “spreading good music and good energy to good people.”

Eric Rachmany Acoustic Tour
Cydeways
Tickets: $29.50 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $35 at the door

Born and raised in San Francisco, Eric Rachmany has spent his life emulating the sounds of the West Coast. He is the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the Grammy-nominated reggae-inspired band Rebelution, as well as the vocalist for the electronic-reggae duo Unified Highway. Eric Rachmany will be embarking on a 17-show solo acoustic tour this winter featuring touring bandmate Kyle Ahern, performing stripped-down Rebelution songs and covers. Special guests Geoff Weers and Cydeways will join on select dates. Find tickets and VIP packages at https://www.ericrachmanymusic.com.