The first day of Skate & Surf was crowded and full of pop punk tank tops to early hardcore band shirts. The afternoon crowd lined up down the Asbury Park Boardwalk to wait in line to have their bags searched to finally gain entry. The festival definitely appealed to the majority of the millennial generation and with so many up and coming bands and reunions, it was difficult to find a reason not to go this year. What was possibly more difficult was picking who to see with so many great bands playing on five different stages at conflicting times.

The stages were the most put together out of the past three years of Skate & Surf. Getting to know the lay of the land, the five stages were all place properly around the site, with a nice sized area that acted as a merch lover’s paradise. Needless to say, the area was set up for a great day.

While taking my first tour around the festival to feel it out, I stumbled across Boulders, the first band to perform on the Gameloud Stage. I gravitated over to them because they were playing a cover of “Seven Nation Army” and I at the time had no plans to see any band. The band was refreshingly groovy and the second half of their set was full of grooves and indie-esque rock with a complex vocal range. They were a good time and it was nice to come across a band I wasn’t planning to see.

The festival was filled with a large array of people from kids dressed in penguin costumes to Older couples with Grateful Dead tattoos next to their The Wonder Years tattoo. It was a great reminder while I was watching The Story So Far that music coexists, it doesn’t matter the genre you listen to, if you like it, listen to it. That was a great part about this festival: some people were there for reunions, some for upcoming acts or even better, both.

The Stages were the proper size for every band playing on them, the Bar Stage was extremely small with a light riser, two large main stages, and a split stage where oddly, one was clad with a barricade and the other wasn’t. Rozwell Kid was the only band I saw on the Bar Stage on Saturday, but for such a little stage, the up and coming band brought the jams. No really, they quite literally yelled in between songs, “we’re jamming over here!” They were so entertaining in between songs that their set was never dull. The crowd was full of dancing and singing as the band ripped through their Weezer meets poppy-garage sound. They definitely had some of the best enthusiasm, it’s like they were just stoked to be there. Check these guys out before another album passes by.

Four Year Strong put on an octane fueled set. The band played a set of classics blended in with a new song or two. It almost felt like middle school for 30 minutes. Nostalgia was indeed felt. Another synergy fueled set came from a ska band I had never seen live, Big D & The Kid’s Table. I’ve heard the hype about this band for so long but always shuffled them out of the small list of ska bands I like. Big D put on a great set that had a ton of variety and made every person on the grounds dance and sing. Fans even went on stage and took the microphone at times, possibly making the band the most presentably punk band of the day.


The countless pop punk bands that played throughout the day all had great live sound on the main stages as well as the smaller stages. The Story So Far had technical difficulties when the barricade broke during their set, leading the band to play an improvised blues song for five minutes of their set. Bassist, Josh Martin of The Wonder Years threw up during the second song of their set from playing so hard. The energy of pop punk has always fueled Skate & Surf, especially in its origin in the early 2000s and to see the newer generation revitalizing that ideology was proof that the scene is still alive and well.

After announcing their indefinite hiatus after this coming summer, it was necessary to see Fireworks, no matter what. The band ripped through their classics as well as some songs they haven’t played in a while. It was refreshing to hear songs like, “When We Stand On Each Other, We Block Out The Sun” and “Bed Sores.” When told not to break up, lead singer Dave Mackinder gave an oppressive frown and ignored other comments.

As the day went on, there were a lot of different bands playing. Attila’s lead singer was clad in a white space jumpsuit from what I could see across the festival, while Terror brought hardcore to Asbury Park. The band even acknowledged the amount of respect they had for New Jersey Hardcore. Their set was extremely powerful and with no barricade, the crowd responded with heavy angst. Defeater’s anticipated return was amazing. After almost two years off because of lead singer, Derek Archambault’s need of a hip replacement, the band brought even more aggression and emotion than before. It was so refreshing to see Archambault and Defeater playing through songs from Letters Home, an album the band didn’t get to tour much for. Needless to say, it was anticipated, especially being one of the last acts of the night.

The Dropkick Murphys ended the night with some of the wildest songs from their extensive discography. The band played the classics and played some of their faster songs as well as their more deeply rooted Celtic punk classics. The band was a very interesting ending to a great day of multiple genres of music. Dropkick Murphys fit right in as the final act of the night.

The first day of Skate & Surf was a huge success and had a lot of memorable moments. The day flowed extremely smoothly for the most part and every band was in good spirits, as were the crowds. I don't think I've ever seen so many full sets in one day at any festival I've been to. The coexistence of the bands and their genres blended together and made for a great day for fans with a wide variety of music taste. More importantly, the festival was a reminder that music still thrives in New Jersey. With a number of venues disappearing and the outlets for music growing smaller, Festivals like Skate & Surf and Bamboozle are extremely important to keep music alive in The Garden State. Perhaps the most crucial thing to happen was when Electric Daisy Carnival outsold The Bamboozle and made Metlife Stadium their permanent home. While getting rid of The Bamboozle was detrimental, it gave birth to the renaissance of Skate & Surf. After three years its proven, we've reclaimed our home.