WRAT's Jersey Rock Bands on the Boardwalk Starts Tomorrow, 5/21

Those Mockingbirds won the Jersey Rock Band Search and kick off Jersey Rock Bands on the Beach this week with Francis Lombardi.

Francis Lombardi and Those Mockingbirds

95.9 WRAT have announced a short series of outdoor acoustic shows they're calling Jersey Rock Bands on the Beach. The series takes place just a stone's throw away from CoolDad Music HQ at Long Branch's Pier Village. Jersey Rock's own tireless supporter of local music, Nikki Black, hosts. The station promises "goodies and prizes" along with the FREE live music.

The first installment happens this Thursday, May 21st, at 6pm as Asbury troubadour, Francis Lombardi, and Jersey Rock Band Search winners, Those Mockingbirds, deliver acoustic sets on what's shaping up to be a cool and rain-free night on the Long Branch boards.

Doug Zambon and Emily Grove perform on May 28th, and June 4th sees performances from Bobby Mahoney and Back and Forth's Matty Carlock.

If you're looking to check out some free local music, these are a few dates definitely worth adding to your calendar.

Francis Lombardi, Whiskey and the Mourning After, 2014

Album Review

Francis Lombardi is a staple of the local Asbury Park music scene. Whether he's doing a show at Langosta Lounge, performing as part of an "Asbury Unplugged" bill at The Wonder Bar, or joining with other local artists for a show to benefit Superstorm Sandy victims, Lombardi is a tireless live performer. Most of the time -- in fact, every time I've personally had the pleasure of catching Lombardi live -- he plays solo. Just a man, an acoustic guitar, maybe a harmonica, and a welcoming voice.

Whiskey and the Mourning After is Frank Lombardi's first full-length studio effort, and many of the songs that have soundtracked weekend nights in Asbury Park get a more fleshed out treatment. The album version of "Orange Grove" adds some electric instrumentation and pedal steel to Lombardi's guitar and harmonica. The result is to up the feeling of longing in Lombardi's idyllic fantasy. Similarly, "Power and Virtue" gets rounded out with backing vocals from Janel Elizabeth and a B3 organ.

There are songs that come closer to Lombardi's solo live performance style. Opener "Some Things Never Change" is just guitar, harmonica, the reverb of a big room, and Lombardi calling for you to get off your ass and do something with your life. "Whiskey Mourning" is a finger-picked tale of co-dependence. Always good with a cover (His version of The Shins' "New Slang" is one I particularly enjoy.), Lombardi delivers on a moving version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "All I Can Do Is Write About It."

Lombardi is part of a long lineage of Asbury Park troubadours. Producer Jon Leidersdorff along with engineers Erik Kase Romero and Tim Panella did a great job employing everything that Lakehouse Recording Studio has to offer to capture something that stands as a great representation of our little musical mecca by the sea.

Francis Lombardi will be celebrating the release of Whiskey and the Mourning After with a free show tonight, November 7th, at Langosta Lounge. He'll be backed by a full band that will include Santo Rizzolo of Mad Feather Group on drums, Erik Kase Romero of Dollys on bass, and Vic Della Pello on guitar. Supporting Lombardi on the bill will be Joe Miller, Sal Boyd, and The Overgrowns (formerly Lightning Jar). I'm assuming you'll be able to pick up copies of Whiskey and the Mourning After at the show. And you should.