On the weekend of June 5, the Gentlemen Of The Road tour will be coming to our fair state for an unforgettable festival. The Seaside Heights Stopover portion of the tour will feature sets from JEFF The Brotherhood, Little May, Blake Mills, The Very Best, The Maccabees, Dawes, Jenny Lewis, The Flaming Lips, Mumford & Sons, and Alabama Shakes, as well as hundreds of vendors, the Seaside Heights Boardwalk, and of course, the beach, which you could camp out on.
Friday, June 5
Friday, June 5, will be headlined by Alabama Shakes, a multi-genre rock band from Alabama. The Southern quartet has quickly risen through the ranks in their six short years together. While a rock and roll band at heart, they take influences from all over, including, roots, folk, soul, blues, R&B, etc., and vocalist/guitarist Brittany Howard’s singing has been compared to both Janis Joplin and Etta James. Alabama Shakes released their second album, Sound & Color, a simultaneous continuation and evolution of their musical stylings. The show starts at 4 p.m. and will feature support from Dawes, The Very Best, and Blake Mills.
The Very Best are made of producer Johan Hugo and singer Esau Mwamwaya, and their repertoire combines traditional Malawian music with hip-hop, jazz, and EDM. They released MTMTMK, their most recent album, in 2012.
Blake Mills is a composer, songwriter, producer, guitarist, and session musician who has worked with numerous well-known acts, from Weezer to Kid Rock. As a solo artist, his most recent release is 2014’s Heigh Ho, and he has worked extensively with just about every other artist on the bill for this festival, whether as a producer (Alabama Shakes’ Sound & Color) or as a full-time member (Dawes’ original incarnation, Simon Dawes).
Saturday, June 6
British folk group Mumford & Sons will headline Saturday, June 6. They’re known for spearheading the folk revival movement of the mid-to-late ‘00s. While the band gained fame and a large, loyal following for their indie folk sound, they have recently opted for a more electric style, with vocalist Marcus Mumford stating, “We felt that doing the same thing, or the same instrumentation again, just wasn’t for us.” The first two singles from Wilder Mind have a more Coldplay-esque sound to them, and you can bet Mumford & Sons will bring those vibes with them to the Stopover. The festivities for Saturday start at noon, and support includes The Flaming Lips, Jenny Lewis, The Vaccines, The Maccabees, Little May, and JEFF The Brotherhood.
Former Rilo Kiley frontwoman, Jenny Lewis has seen a boom in her solo work, especially with The Voyager, her most recent album. With more country-influenced vibes, Lewis’ music has reached a wider audience and found a more diverse sound.
English indie band The Vaccines have done well for themselves since their start in 2010, opening for Arcade Fire, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Muse, as well as having the best-selling debut album of 2011. Their third album, English Graffiti, hit shelves on May 25.
Rounding up the lineup is The Maccabees, an English indie rock band, and Little May, an Australian indie pop band. The Maccabees have a more punk edge to them, and give energetic live performances, while Little May have a more mellow, subdued sound and stage presence.
Tickets are available through gentlemenoftheroad.com/stopovers/seaside-heights and will cost $179.00 for two-day general admission and $199.00 for two-day general admission with a plot for camping.
