Jersey Rock Winter Beach Crawl: NJ Bands, NJ Beaches

Free, Live, Local

Last winter, 95.9 WRAT and Jersey Rock hosted a band search competition that gave bands from around the state the opportunity to win some cool prizes, including airplay on The Rat. This year, with the help of sponsors Yuengling and Bands on a Budget, the station and Jersey Rock host, Nikki Black, are bringing back the showcase part but dispensing with the competition.

With four free shows throughout the winter, Jersey Rock will shine a spotlight on some of our favorite New Jersey acts at some of our favorite venues by the sea. It will be like bringing Nikki Black's Jersey Rock program to stages along the shore.

Here is the list of shows. Head over to the Jersey Rock Facebook page and give them a like to stay up to date on all of the Beach Crawl related news.

And remember. This is just an exhibition, not a competition. Please, no wagering.

January 23rd - The Saint, Asbury Park
The Black Sox Scandal, GayGuy / StraightGuy, The Vaughns, The Mosers

February 12th - The Brighton Bar, Long Branch
Twin Coves, Semiotics, Modern Chemistry, Lowlight

February 26th - Paul's Tavern, Belmar
Vextion, Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son, Deaf Rhino, The Black Clouds

March 10th - River Rock, Brick
18th & Addison, Ropetree, Wicked Hollow, Gravity Well

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.

Pics from the Jersey Rock Showcase and Band Search Finals at The Stone Pony, 2/12/15

Those Mockingbirds' Adam Bird accepts last night's prize for his band.

Congratulations to Montclair's Those Mockingbirds

Nikki Black, host of WRAT's Jersey Rock and tireless supporter of local music, emceed the finals of the Jersey Rock Showcase and Band Search last night at The Stone Pony. The winners of each of the preliminary rounds -- Those Mockingbirds, Paris Under Fire, and Prehistoric Forest -- gave it everything they had throughout three pretty great sets. At the end of the night, Montclair's Those Mockingbirds took home the prize over the pair of Toms River bands.

As winners, Those Mockingbirds will appear in eight weeks of rotation on 95.9 WRAT. Nikki assured us, though, that we'd be hearing all three bands on the station. In addition to the airplay, Those Mockinbirds received 10 hours of recording time at Lakehouse Recording Studio as well as a super sweet Gibson J45 standard acoustic guitar, donated by Asbury's Russo Music.

Yuengling sponsored all four rounds of the competition, and admission for each show was $5. All of the proceeds went to fund the music program in the Asbury Park school district. Asbury Park music teacher and showcase judge, Tanya Peterson, took the stage at the end of the evening to express her gratitude and to let us all know that she has witnessed, first-hand, the life saving effect that music can have on children. Definitely a moment to warm us all up on a cold night.

Congratulations to Those Mockingbirds, Paris Under Fire, and Prehistoric Forest for riding their sounds into the finals. Congratulations to WRAT and to Nikki Black for a successful event and for supporting such a great cause.

When's the next one?

Here are some photo highlights. Lots more in the Flickr galleries.