Coaster Photo by John Cavanaugh
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band headlined at the Sea.Hear.Now festival Sun., Sept. 15 in Asbury Park where an estimated 35,000 attended each day of the two-day event. It was the first time Springsteen and the band performed at the event.
By ELLEN CARROLL
It was a homecoming of sorts for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as they closed out the two-day Sea.Hear.Now festival Sunday night in Asbury Park.
It was a night described by many as wonderful, spectacular and magical
It’s been a few years since Springsteen and band performed in the city, which he has been linked to for decades, and the first time ever before such a crowd of thousands in Asbury Park.
The three-hour set, which could be heard blocks away from the stage at the north end of the beachfront, featured 30 songs beginning with “Lonesome Day” and ending with “Jersey Girl.’
Although the wind was relentless and some on party boats in the ocean had to be taken back to shore due to the rough seas, Springsteen and the band delivered.
“I’ve gone to many Sea Hear Nows (and) all of them have been wonderful but to see Bruce return full circle to Asbury Park was magical,” Sonja O’Brien, Asbury Park said. “So much other great music that I was looking forward to and others experiencing for the first time. Everybody I talked to lived our fullest life the last two days.”
Ken Sorensen, a musician who lives in Bradley Beach, attends the festival every year with his family.
“It was great. We love it,” he said. “Now we go back every year with our daughters and grandkids. We got there at noon and stayed until the end of both days.” “Everything was so well run and it was great to see all of our friends there to be recognized.”
Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn said festival organizers did a great job this year, “ The organizers took a lot of the feedback we received last year and incorporated it into the festival, making it even better this year,” she said. “They had better signage throughout, more speakers, and increased exits from the sand to the boardwalk.
“A lot of people were worried about the crowds Bruce was going to bring, but everyone was great. I have to thank festival organizers as well as our police and fire department for doing an amazing job. “
Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa, joined him on “Tougher Than the Rest” made more poignant due to her diagnosis of a rare form of blood cancer.
Hundreds were camped outside the festival gates along Kingsley Street with chairs, blankets and picnic baskets. Others gathered on their front porches blocks away listening to the music that was crystal clear.
“Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” was dedicated to band member Danny Federici, who died several years ago.
“Because the Night” was performed about halfway through the show. The song, written by Springsteen and Patti Smith, was sung on the same stage by Smith just two years ago when she performed at the festival.
The estimated 35,000 fans at the festival was a far cry, Springsteen noted, from the time when there was no one on Kingsley, no one on Cookman and no one on Main Street.
The festival began in 2018 by Danny Clinch and promoters Tim Donnelly and Tim Sweetwood of C3 presents.
