Bruce Springsteen and E Street artwork makes a splash at Sea Hear Now fest on day one
Artwork by Springsteen and the band will be displayed at the Transparent Clinch Gallery pop-up tent in Bradley Park on the festival grounds before the Jersey Shore's iconic performer.
It was a splash-down at the Sea Hear Now music, art and surfing festival on Saturday
The two-day fest started at noon on Saturday in Asbury Park, however, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, won't headline until Sunday on the city’s North Breach.
The artwork includes two surfboards made partly by former Springsteen manager Carl “Tinker” West and signed by Springsteen.
“Anybody who loves the ocean realizes its healing properties and knows how special it is,” said celebrity photographer and Sea Hear Now co-founder Danny Clinch in the tent on Saturday.
Photos by Springsteen and art by Max Weinberg, Steven Van Zandt, Jake Clemons with Danny Clinch, Jay Weinberg, Anthony Almonte, and Springsteen guitar tech Kevin Buell with guitar luthier David Petillo is also on display.
The Springsteen photos, which are not for sale, were previously exhibited at the fest in 2022. Five of the six photos appeared to have been taken at a Race of Gentlemen event at the Jersey Shore, where participants race antique cars and motorcycles on the beach. Springsteen attended the 2017 edition in Wildwood.
The rest of the E Street tent artwork is for sale, with a portion of sales going directly to local charities, according to the fest.
Story continues below photo gallery.
Springsteen surfboards to be auctioned
The two surfboards will be actioned off and proceeds will go to local charities. They were created by Carl “Tinker” West, Charles Mencel of Mencel Surfboards, Clinch and Springsteen, who has signed both of them. The first board is a classic 1960s Challenger Eastern Surfboard style while the second features Springsteen and E Street Band images taken by Clinch during the last 20 years.
West was an early Springsteen manager and a pivotal figure in the establishment of surfing culture on the East Coast with his Challenger Eastern Surfboard company, formerly based in Ocean Township and Highlands. The members of the future E Street Band, including Springsteen, worked at the factories when they weren't rocking area stages in the late '60s and early '70s.
Visit https://fandiem.com/shn to bid on the surfboards.
The Asbury Park waterfront was bustling with activity on Friday afternoon ahead of the festsival. Fans, bands and locals were taking in the scene of the newly erected stages, fences and pop-up art images.
More: Answers to all of your Sea Hear Now 2024 questions in one place
The Pee-Wee Herman doll in the swing hanging from a tree familiar to locals at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Heck Street was dressed like '80s Bruce for the occasion.
A big hit on Friday was the Sea Hear Now Springsteen and E Street band merchandise stand on the corner of Third and Ocean avenues, next to the fest’s box office.
“How about this one,” said Mark Baran from Drums, Pennsylvania, as he held up Springsteen Asbury Park shirt with a Tillie face, the city's famous clown face that used to adorn the former Palace Amusements in the city, and now looks out from the Wonder Bar.
Baran was attending the fest with his daughter, Syl, and friend Richard Saullow of Conynghan, Pennsylvania.
Syl gained an early foothold on Springsteen's music.
“My dad pretty much raised me on him,” Syl said.
“I'm going to embarrass her,” said Baran of the story he was about to tell about his now-grown daughter of when she was little. “She'd sit in the car seat in the back and she's been singing 'Hungry Heart' and once it was over, it was 'Again, Dad, again!'“
The trio were staying in Sea Girt for the weekend.
“To see Bruce on the beach is going to be amazing,” Mark Baran said. “It's going to be a homecoming show, if you want to call it that. We're looking forward to Gaslight Anthem, Black Crowes, and some of the unknown ones, too, Joe P. We saw him last year at the Light of Day at the Stone Pony — he's fantastic.”
“It's a special setting for a special show,” Saullow said.
Springsteen and the E Street Band headline the Sunday Sea Hear Now show on the North Beach in Asbury Park. “Hurt Somebody” singer-songwriter Noah Kahan headlines the Saturday show.
The Gaslight Anthem, the Trey Anastasio Band, the Black Crowes, Norah Jones, 311, the Revivalists, Kool & The Gang, the Hives and more will play over the two days on the fest’s three stages on the North Beach and in Bradley Park.
The Sea Hear Now music, art and surfing festival was founded in 2018 by locals Clinch(who shot several Springsteen album covers) and local promoter Tim Donnelly with Tim Sweetwood of C3 Presents, the team behind multiple big fests, including Lollapalooza.
Clinch, who's also a noted harmonica player, joined Grace Potter onstage at the Stone Pony and Surfing for Daisy at the Wonder Bar for the two festival-themed shows on Friday night.
The festival grounds are expanded this year with the Bradley Park food area extending into the Kingsley and Fourth Avenue parking lot and on the beach, extra exits, speakers and a video screen.
Some fans complained of sound issues during last year’s fest.
“You try to live and learn and those are some things we thought would help the experience get better for people,” Clinch said.
About 35,000 people were expected to attend each day. Visit the festival website seahearnowfestival.com for more info.
Subscribe to app.com for the latest on the New Jersey music scene.
Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Sea Hear Now: Bruce Springsteen and E Street art makes splash on day 1
