PHOTO COLLAGE: Sea.Hear.Now Festival – A Celebration of Music, Art & Surfing in Asbury Park

The second annual Sea.Hear.Now Festival rocked the surf and sand with two days of non-stop music, surfing, art, yoga, food, drink, and memories to keep the more than 35,000 attendees dancing through the long, cold winter. Three stages were home to more than 25 bands as they played with a backdrop of ocean waves. Dave Matthews Band and the Lumineers headlined the event, with tickets sold out almost immediately after being placed on sale. Other performers included: Blind Melon, The B-52s, Bad Religion, Steel Pulse, Dispatch, and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts.

Sea.Hear.Now is a music festival for sure, but it is also an ode to various types of art with a commitment to the health of the environment and the movement of our bodies. Yoga sessions, featuring Eoin Finn, were offered each morning on the beach free and open to the general public. Finn is a yogi, surfer, and blissologist from Vancouver, BC.

There was intense body movement seen on the waves, as some of the best surfers in the country helped celebrate the long-standing surf culture at the Jersey Shore. Surf “Expression Session” heats were held on the water between the Surf Stage and Sand Stage each day with surfers showing off their best moves in the name of creativity and fun.

The art of surfboard making was on full display as well, with some of the best shapers on the East Coast in “Shaper’s Alley”. This year’s featured shapers: Ricky Carroll, John Oppilto, Greg Malega, Josh Peterson, Charles Mencel and Joe Falcone, shared their craftsmanship on boards made of wood as well as today’s cutting-edge technology.

Perhaps the most unique art display available, The Danny Clinch Transparent Gallery Pop-up featured art from many of the musicians who performed at the festival, with many of them stopping in to chat with festival-goers about their creations. Clinch’s Gallery in Asbury Park has become an inclusive community hub as a space that is part gallery, part music venue, and part local living room for all who wish to stop by and feel the magic created by legendary rock photographer Danny Clinch and gallery curator Tina Kerekes. The Pop-up created the same exciting opportunity to hang with favorite musicians and chat about life and art.

For photos, visit here.  Photo Gallery Credit: Lori Donnelly