Jon Stewart drums up a big surprise at Asbury Underground festival: 'Pretty damn good'

The drummer looked familiar.

Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," played drums for a newly composed rock group called Church and State in a surprise show on the afternoon of Saturday, June 15 at the Asbury Park Brewery during the Asbury Underground art and music crawl.

The event was part of the statewide North to Shore festival, which is taking place this weekend in Asbury Park.

“You are witnessing a premiere performance,” said Stewart from behind the drums. “We have never played in public ... (but) we are delighted to be here and please lower your expectations.”

The crowd clapped and cheered.

City singer-songwriter Rick Barry fronted the group. Andy Bova of Simple Sound Studio in Oceanport played guitar and his dad, Jim Bova, played bass. Emily Bornemann and Justin Bornemann of the city band Dentist joined the group for the final two songs in the 40-minute set.

The music was indie rock with an atmospheric sheen.

“That was 'Seven',” said Stewart after a song. “This next song is called 'Five.' We wrote it two songs before 'Seven.' We haven't gotten around to naming these yet but we are going to name then. This song is called 'Five' and it is two better than the song you just heard.”

Despite the show not being announced, the Asbury Park Brewery was packed with fans who stood on tables and chairs to watch. Some fans peered through the brewery window on the Cookman Avenue sidewalk.

“He's pretty damn good. He pulled it off,” said Doug Peterson, who heard about the Stewart performance via word of mouth. “I thought all of the songs had an interesting little hiccup in them, they weren't just straight forward. He was definitely doing really interesting fills.”

Peterson plays with the Jersey Shore band Side Hustle.

“He was solid,” Peterson said. “He wasn't holding back for anything.”

Stewart said hello to fans and took pics after the performance. A comedy show hosted by city comedian Jess Alaimo and hip-hop from Big Boss Noff preceded the Church and State performance at Asbury Park Brewery.

Stewart grew up in Lawrenceville and was bartender at the former City Gardens in Trenton, where the Ramones played dozens of times. He now lives in Colts Neck, where he and his wife operate a farm for rescued animals. The comedian, who returned to “The Daily Show” earlier this year after a hiatus, played drums with Barry and the most of Church and State band members on the 2017 track  “Catastrophes” for a suicide prevention songwriting challenge. They were called No Wine for Kittens back then.

Barry, along with Christine Feola, is the music curator of the Asbury Underground, which featured more than 80 musicians in 30-plus bars, galleries and shops throughout the day. It drew sizeable crowds to the downtown on Saturday.

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Gov. Phil Murphy attended the Friday, June 14 North to Shore Weeklings show at the Wonder Bar on Ocean Avenue. North to Shore shows run through Sunday, June 16 in the city, then move to Atlantic City from June 17 to 23, and Newark June 24 to 30.

The 2024 edition of the fest is supported by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

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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: Jon Stewart surprises Asbury Underground festival behind the drums