Stone Pony will celebrate 50th anniversary in epic NJ blowout

Asbury Park’s Stone Pony opened on Feb. 8, 1974. Doesn’t it seem with so much history it would have been around even earlier? I mean Bruce Springsteen is probably its most notable associated star and “Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ” actually came out a year before The Stone Pony even launched.

But man have they packed about a thousand years of rock and roll into just 50. And they’re about to embrace it.

The club will celebrate on Saturday, Feb. 17 with a blowout show by quintessential Jersey Shore rockers Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. They’re doing a special “Requests From The Hat” theme where a lot of the setlist this night will come from requests from the crowd.

Now I’m not promising a thing, but with how many huge artists have graced its stage I would be surprised if there weren’t some surprises. Of course, Bruce himself has been known to pop up.

Just a few who have performed there, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Elvis Costello, The Ramones, Cheap Trick, Skid Row, Blondie, The Stray Cats, Cake, Meatloaf, Todd Rundgren, Joan Jett, Blue Oyster Cult, Gregg Allman, Dickie Betts, Ace Frehley of Kiss, Levon Helm, Johnny Winter, David Johansen and more.

The Jersey names who hit its stage read like a who’s who. Bobby Bandiera, Glen Burtnick, John Eddie, Clarence Clemons and the Red Bank Rockers, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, etc.

By the way here’s some real deep history for you. The Blackberry Booze Band was the house band that opened Stone Pony’s debut on Feb. 8, 1974. And Bruce Springsteen’s first time playing at The Stone Pony is said to be as an unbilled guest of that band. And do you know who The Blackberry Booze Band morphed into about a year later? Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

If you want to be there for this special night again it’s Saturday, Feb. 17 and tickets are on sale now for $50 through Ticketmaster or pay $60 at the door, if you can get in.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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