By John Francis Hoctor
Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes known in the NYC area by stalwart rock and roll fans as the “The World’s Greatest Bar Band” will powerfully open the Blues, Views & BBQ Festival Opening night.
New Jersey Rhythm & Blues icon Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes open the 4th Annual Blues, Views & BBQ Festival on Friday, September 23rd at 8 p.m. in a concert to benefit the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts, sponsored by TD Bank. Proceeds help underwrite the Levitt Pavilion’s free programming – more than 50 summer nights of free music and performance under the stars. The Blues, Views & BBQ Festival is presented by The Westport Downtown Merchants Association in association with The Levitt Pavilion.
Back in the mid 70’s when fellow New Jerseyan Bruce Springsteen was gracing the covers of both Time and Newsweek; ‘Johnny’ born John Lyon made a serious stab a that time for fame. Lyon grew up in Ocean Grove, New Jersey [1] and graduated from Neptune High School—alums include Jack Nicholson. Southside has long been considered the Grandfather of "the New Jersey Sound." Jon Bon Jovi has acknowledged Southside as his "reason for singing.”
Southside Johnny first achieved prominence in the mid-1970s as the second act to emerge from the Jersey Shore music scene and be considered part of the Jersey Shore sound, following Bruce Springsteen. Southside's first three albums, I Don't Want To Go Home (1976), This Time It's for Real (1977), and Hearts of Stone (1978), were Stax-influenced R&B arranged and produced by the co-founder of the band and Springsteen confederate Steven Van Zandt and largely featured songs written by Van Zandt and/or Springsteen. The Van Zandt-written "I Don't Want To Go Home" became Southside's signature song, an evocative mixture of horn-based melodic riffs and sentimental lyrics. Other notable songs included "The Fever", "Talk to Me", "This Time It's For Real", "Love on the Wrong Side of Town", and the definitive version of Springsteen's "Hearts of Stone". In 1977, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes were featured as a bar band in the movie, "Between the Lines.
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes’ trademark exuberant rhythm and blues coupled with their legendary horn section and international reputation for sensational live concerts guarantee a no holds barred, good time rock and roll blues show. “There’s one thing I’ve always wanted to do,” Southside Johnny confesses, “and that is to sing.” And he has been doing just that for over a third of a century.
Johnny and the Jukes have flourished over the course of those three decades of recording and touring, solidifying a place in rock ‘n’ roll history with thirty-plus albums, several EPs and a box set; thousands of live performances around the globe; a legion of dedicated and enthusiastic fans; dozens of classic songs; a record— HEARTS OF STONE —that Rolling Stone called one of the “top 100 albums of the 70′s and 80′s”; and the story continues - the band released its newest studio album, PILLS AND AMMO, full of new material to rave reviews.
Assuredly after 35 years Southside says,“I’ll stack my group against any group out there. We enjoy playing, and the audience enjoys having a good time. Music is a shared emotion. We distill it down to that.” When you distill Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, you come down to thirty-five years of great music and good times. . . and counting
Tickets for Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes are General Admission, Lawn Seating (“BYO- blankets and lawn chairs”): $35 advance, $40 door; Students/Seniors (with valid I.D.): $25 advance, $30 door; kids 5-and-under: free; VIP: $150, includes pre-concert cocktails & hors d’oeuvres plus VIP tent at concert with open bar. Coolers are allowed at the Pavilion Friday night; a select BBQ menu and bar (with valid I.D.) will be on site. 3- day Festival passes: $55 advance, $60 door; Students/Seniors: $30 advance, $35 door. Tickets and passes on sale online at www.levittpavilion.com and by phone at 866-973-9612 (ext. 3). Tickets and passes available at the Pavilion Friday night: Gates open at 6:30pm. The Levitt Pavilion is located at 40 Jesup Road in downtown Westport, Connecticut.
Advance tickets and passes are also available at the Pavilion Office (Parks & Recreation, 260 South Compo Road, Westport) weekdays from 8:30AM-4:00PM. For more info, call 203-221-2153 (concert hotline) or 203-226-7600.
More about Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes