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Hello my friend…..already almost the holidays. Hope you
had a great summer.
Consistent with the unique place in Jersey Shore rock n’
roll history exemplified by the many famous performers who
starred at the legendary rock n’ roll club, Tony Marts,
during its 38 year tenure just a few blocks from this beach
concert venue on Morrow Beach, the concerts have become even
more commemorative with historical significance and cultural
enrichment of the diverse American music presented during
the course of the 15 concerts.
LEGACY CONCERTS ON THE BEACH IN SOMERS POINT is a series of
free performing arts concerts that take place on the William
Morrow Municipal Beach in Somers Point on Bay Avenue from
mid June until early September. The concerts take place
every Friday night from 7pm until 9:30pm with a special 4th
of July concert. The shows are produced for a broad audience
of family oriented guests of all ages. Our shows have a
varied selection of programming with local acts and also
national touring acts for everyone to enjoy.
The audience demographics have gradually evolved with more
young families and participants in the 30-55 year old age
bracket as well as a steady young audience who recognize the
roots rock and classic, popular Americana and blues rock
artists and simply enjoy the superbly performed dance and
party music as well as noteworthy, award winning national &
international entertainment. Our audience
is comprised of teens to seniors and everyone in between.
Families and friends gather weekly to enjoy these free shows
that will this year begin its 33rd year. We have a loyal
following of special needs people. Our average weekly
audience ranges from 800-1200 people. Being a shore town
allows us to attract many visitors who are delighted with
the free entertainment. We attract many seniors on a limited
budget as well as lower income patrons who are very
appreciative of the opportunity to see world class
entertainment for free.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs or
blankets to relax on the sand and enjoy the breathtaking
sunset views over the bay while listening to live music. The
family friendly atmosphere, paired with the scenic
waterfront setting, makes each concert a memorable
experience for both locals and visitors alike.
It is very clear that many families and many folks who are
limited in their mobility or suffering with health problems
or issues such as autism & physical handicaps find a great
deal of joy and comfort in these performances with very
dynamic and personable performers who usually meet & greet
with the public, giving autographs, shaking hands and taking
pictures. The joy found by these audience members is
palpable and very rewarding. It is truly heartwarming and
deeply gratifying to be recognized by members of the
community who thank us on behalf of the thousands of fans
and friends who come to the concert series. It is especially
fulfilling when people clearly indicate that they would not
be able to afford concerts of this world class quality, nor
would they be able to participate in attending venues
because of limitations, age and disabilities. There are many
people comfortably seated on the special matting that they
utilize as they enter from the sidewalk and put their chairs
in this area, which makes it so much easier allowing older
folks to relax and enjoy
the shows. There are many disadvantaged audience members who
complement the concert series every week and literally seem
to live for those Friday nights in the summer on the beach
in Somers Point. They are truly unique and magical
experiences.
Some of our sponsors are vendors who set up their food
trucks or tents and have coffee and other items such as ice
cream available for purchase. this makes a very affordable
night out with free entertainment.
Our committee’s goal is to present a very high quality
enjoyable series of diversified genres of music for everyone
to enjoy for free. We are very fortunate to have a loyal
list of sponsors from local and regional businesses and
organizations who provide the funding for this very popular
weekly music series.
We love to present different musical genres such as rock n’
roll, blues, gospel, Americana, roots rock and the
increasingly popular driving blues rock, New Orleans rhythm
& blues, soul, funk, Louisiana zydeco, country & western,
Caribbean & other world music. Their is cultural and
historical information given in the narration of the
performances in order for the audience to learn about what
they are enjoying.
As we look forward to our 33rd anniversary season in 2026,
we are proud that we earned the label of consistency. The
regional audience and national audience looking for major
touring, multi award winning and million selling artists,
know they are going to see the very best, excellent
performances for free every Friday night. They can plan this
like they plan the big ticket & extremely expensive concert
experiences that they pay for on their summer season
calendar.
Whether it is the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The New Orleans
Jazz & Heritage Festival, Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Festival
in Sussex County, New Jersey or any of the many themed music
cruises and other major festivals like Bonnaroo and
Coachella, music people from all over the country who are
familiar with the Jersey Shore, know the The LEGACY CONCERTS
ON THE BEACH IN SOMERS
POINT are truly special and amazingly excellent free
concerts open to everyone!
Consequently, we have put the Somers Point Beach on the same
national itinerary as many of the national festivals,
events, series, and concert venues by consistently providing
great shows and major groups for performing artists.
Diversity is key and there are well over 20 musical styles
represented repeatedly throughout the season. many of the
shows have two performances such that in 2024, there were 14
concerts with 20 different groups of musical artists
performing.
It is very evenly split between party dance bands that drive
the good times with covers of many artists as well as some
of their own music. The other half of the season is devoted
to famous rock n’ roll Hall of Fame, Grammy award winning,
million selling and other award winning artists, including
the International Blues Foundation in Memphis and New
Orleans Big Easy Award winners.
People are very grateful to be able to budget their
entertainment dollars for the season by balancing their
favorite shows on our schedule with the more costly items in
which they may indulge.
It is especially rewarding to be told by so many people that
they have decided to retire in the area or buy a second home
in the area, where many of them do eventually retire,
because they know that they will have a summer of great
entertainment.
This is very serious economic development that complements
the fantastic business that Somers Point and neighboring
restaurants and establishments enjoy on Friday nights from
mid-June through early September.
The producers of this series work with approximately 30 of
the very finest musical artists, technicians, recording
engineers, and composers in the region to put together the
highest quality tributes to classic rock n’ roll artists and
the sounds of so many important, popular eras in music
including swing, classic rock, 70’s psychedelic, British
Invasion, and especially the distinctive East Coast rock n’
roll
Sound which developed in important places along the East
Coast like Somers Point, Asbury Park, Wildwood and Atlantic
City.
Our concerts are never far from the heart of American music
as they originate from the very place that Bill Haley and
his Comets performed after contributing to the birth of The
Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the very roots of
East Coast Americana, where Bob Dylan decided that Levon and
the Hawks, then playing at Tony Marts, was the band to take
him from acoustic folk to electric folk rock.
The karmic and ageless emotions and ambience of LEGACY
CONCERTS ON THE BEACH IN SOMERS POINT follow the window of
musical evolution that Somers Point provided as the music
began in New Orleans and Mississippi and went up the river
to Memphis, Chicago and across the rest of the country.
It is this distinction, along with the high quality of
musical artistic performance and excellent sound
reinforcement which have created the national recognition it
has received in 2023 as #1 in The USA Today Top Ten National
polling; in 2024 it was #2 in the nation.
And now again in 2025 we have won the honor of being #1
finest Outdoor Concert Venue in the USA.
The multigenerational histories of family performance abound
in the programming of this series. Fabled drummer from the
southern rock icons, The Allman Brothers, Butch Trucks, was
honored by his family, The Melody Trucks Band, Vaylor Trucks
and The Fitzkee Brothers who are an amazing rhythm section
at the age of 19 and 22 respectively! That was a night of
Americana jams that no one will ever forget!
On the other end of the spectrum, the 80-year-old Mitch
Ryder performed with The Tony Marts Allstars and astounded
an audience of well over 1000 people in the “First in the
Nation Celebration Finale” on September 12, 2025. These are
memories that families share and people cherish together
forever!
Also performing were the very best in roots and Americana
tribute sounds including ‘Dead Zep’ who performed melodic
medleys of both The Grateful Dead & Led Zeppelin juxtaposed
together.
One of the most famous country western & rockabilly stars to
play in Somers Point for so many years, Conway Twitty, was
honored in an exceptional tribute by his grandson, Tre
Twitty, accompanied by one of the greatest rockin’ roadhouse
blues bands in the history of Washington DC, The Nighthawks,
and Reverend Billy C. Wirtz, the hilarious Carolina dueling
pianist, boogie-woogie piano specialist.
All of this exemplifies what we present with superlative,
highly recognized musical artists, including ‘Dead Zep’ with
the New England diva, Hayley Jane; the legendary “Eddie and
the Cruisers” recording artists, John Cafferty and the
Beaver Brown Band, as well multi Grammy award winning world
music stars Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, Third
World, reggae pop multimillion selling artists, and
headliner names like Cyril Neville from the Rock n’ Roll
Hall of Fame & New Orleans legendary Neville Brothers, Devon
Allman, Greg Allman’s son, and Jimmy Vivino with GE Smith,
who brought both Grammy and Emmy award winning recognition
from Saturday Night Live, to the LEGACY CONCERTS ON THE
BEACH IN SOMERS POINT.
Our ‘First Call’ saxophonist Howard Isaacson went to #1 in
the 2025 Contemporary Jazz charts with his single
“Daylight”!
On Friday July 26, 2024 the concert producers brought
together an incredible array of the greatest musicians in
the world to pay musical tribute to the Martin Scorsese
movie, The Last Waltz, filmed 11 years after THE BAND left
Somers Point to perform with Bob Dylan.
Starring in that show were Dave Malone, lead singer and
guitarist from New Orlean’s greatest rock and roll jam
bands, The Radiator’s. The original guitarist who appeared
with Muddy Waters in the movie, “Steady Rollin’ Bob
Margolin” also performed on the Somers Point stage along
with Mark Mullins and the horn section from Bonerama that
played the original Allen Toussaint charts from the movie,
and two of New Orlean’s top artists, Johnny Sansone & The
Honey Island Swamp Band. It was one of the greatest
performance in the 32 years of the concert series.
This year we again were voted #1 in the USA Today Top Ten
Readers Poll for the Best Outdoor Concert Venue in America!
We are so very happy and proud of this honor. That’s #1 in
2023, #2 in 2024, and #1 in 2025. We were voted #2 in The
Best of The Press( Atlantic City ) in 2024!
Our committee passes out surveys towards the end of each
season to get feedback and suggestions as to what our
audience would like to hear in the future. Careful
consideration is given to these many suggestions.
We are actively working to engage many of the following
artists for the 2026 season:
Mike Zito
Melody Trucks Band
Mitch Ryder
THE Billy Walton Band
The Tony Mart Allstars “Eagles Country”, A Tribute to The
Eagles
The Dane Anthony Band
“The Girls can’t Help It”, A Tribute to great female
vocalists of the 60’s to today
The Asbury Jukes horn section
The E Street Shuffle, A tribute to Bruce Springsteen
Gary US Bonds
John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band
Coco Montoya
Bywater Call
Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience
Dead Zep with Hayley Jane
Contemporary Jazz award winning saxophonist Howard Isaacson
Tony Mart Allstars with guest stars
Marcia Ball
Carolyn Wonderland w/Cindy Cashdollar
Posters of the schedule are handed out to the audience &
sponsors and are posted all over town. Our website
www.concertsonthebeachinsomerspoint.com has the full
schedule and information about the artists. Patrons can also
contact us through the website/facebook with questions or to
inquire about obtaining listening devices if needed. Our
Facebook page has over 12,000 followers and is updated
weekly with information, schedule updates, pictures & video
of the artists.
We are very proud of our series and hope to see you at some
of our shows.
Thank You!
As they say in New Orleans, and they said for 38 years at
Tony Marts and now for 33 years on the beach in Somers
Point, “LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL”!
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