Stone Pony
As The Stone Pony struggled and maintained itself over the years, Asbury Park itself was a different story.
Through years of corruption and destruction, the once beautiful and legendary oceanfront that surrounded the world famous club was completely abandoned and desolate. A glimmer of hope came in 2001 when a company called Oceanfront Acquisitions, later renamed Asbury Partners, purchased the redevelopment rights. With the direction and help of a new and honorable city council, progress slowly began to happen. The citizens of this once great area, along with countless skeptics and critics began to believe again.
Domenic Santana, who himself was a revolutionary, decided he did not want to stand in the way of progress. Thinking of the betterment of his new community, he sold The Stone Pony to Asbury Partners in July 2003. He stayed on as a consultant and helped to make a smooth transition into the next era of the club. The changeover was easily accomplished due in part to the efforts of Kyle Brendle and John D’Esposito.
Concert promoter John D. formed a company called Max Cruise in the fall of 2002, and he began to aggressively pursue national acts for the club. The first weekend in July 2003, after the change in ownership, saw performances by Rick Springfield and Billy Idol. Other artists that have appeared since under the auspices of Max Cruise (and its successor Live Nation) include Maroon 5, Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Collective Soul, The Lumineers, Hawthorne Heights, The Strokes, The Format, Boys Night Out, Styx, Anthony Green, Copeland, Interpol, Emery, Tegan and Sara, A Day to Remember, Dierks Bentley, Fountains of Wayne, The Dear Hunter, Outlaws, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Patti Smith, Jason Mraz, Christopher Cross, Third Eye Blind, Dixie Dregs, Craig Morgan, The Wallflowers, Sebastian Bach, Levon Helm, Peter Frampton, Todd Rundgren, Johnny Winter, Ian Hunter, Leon Russell, Blues Traveler, The Black Crowes, Sean Ono Lennon, Dickey Betts, Clarence Clemons, The Maine, The Wailers, Bush, Nils Lofgren, Indigo Girls, Poco, Leslie West and Corky Laing of Mountain, Jimmy Cliff, The Outlaws, Hot Tuna, Taj Mahal, Bobby Bandiera, John Eddie, Railroad Earth, Glen Burtnik, Dave Mason, Blues Traveler, Johnny Winter, Dierks Bentley, Ziggy Marley, Steve Forbert and many others.
Long time house promoter Kyle Brendle has been putting together shows for all of the Pony’s owners since the mid 1980s. A constant champion of Asbury Park’s heralded music scene past and present, his finesse and dedication in the areas of promotion and local booking have made Kyle an integral part of the club’s longevity and success. In 2008, the Asbury Music Awards honored Kyle Brendle with the Living Legend award.
Young performers, many of who have gone on to be multi-platinum and Grammy-award winning artists, have also graced The Stone Pony’s stage. Weezer, The 1975, Jimmy Eat World, Yellowcard, Say Anything, All Time Low, Thursday, Panic at the Disco, Cute Is What We Aim For, Andrew McMahon and Jack’s Mannequin, Cartel, Lagwagon, Mae, Bloc Party, The Jonas Brothers, Hellogoodbye, The Academy Is, They Might Be Giants, 30 Seconds To Mars, Circa Survive, The Spill Canvas, Motion City Soundtrack, MxPx, Pennywise, The Starting Line, Bouncing Souls, Bayside, The Almost, Mute Math and the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, are only a few of the many success stories The Pony is proud to have hosted.
In May 2004, the club also became the first location for The Bamboozle, a festival created by Max Cruise Entertainment which features both young and seasoned punk bands. After the second year, the event got so large it was moved to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The festival expanded to include shows in California and Chicago, as well as a traveling road show.
Continuing The Legacy
As the redevelopment of Asbury Park moves forward, so does the evolution of The Stone Pony. Concerns had been raised about the club’s future, and what place it may have in the new development. That question seems to have now been answered by Madison Marquette, a national retail development company. Madison President Gary Mottola decided to bring his company to the city because of his love for New Jersey and his understanding that Asbury Park is unique and must be preserved and enhanced. Mottola knows the importance of music to the city, and that The Stone Pony has been — and will continue to be — a central part of that tradition.
In keeping with the club’s reputation as an important regional music venue, it only made sense for the Pony to partner with the world’s largest concert promoter, Live Nation, in April 2008. Live Nation has been able to develop Asbury Park as a primary musical market for national touring acts. This has also created new opportunities for local musicians to become part of a growing and ever-changing scene.
With sound, lighting and air conditioning systems upgraded, and a new roof installed in 2009, the next step was to make the music even bigger. The Pony’s “backyard” grew to the width of a city block in the summer of 2009 and played host to big-name artists in an expansive seaside setting. The Black Crowes, The Pretenders, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Peter Frampton and Snoop Dogg were among the performers who graced the expanded stage during the premiere season.
When E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons passed away in June 2011, people flocked to The Stone Pony to mourn — and remember — The Big Man. More than 3,000 people passed through the Pony’s doors that day, and an outdoor shrine dedicated to Clemons remained outside the club’s front door for days.
For nine years, hometown heroes The Bouncing Souls hosted Home for the Holidays, a series of benefit shows held between Christmas and New Year’s at the Pony, drawing sold-out audiences to concerts that raised money for various charities in and around Asbury Park. The holiday concerts ended in 2015, but the Souls continue to return annually to The Stone Pony Summer Stage, with their Stoked for the Summer shows.
The Pony weathered the extreme winds and flooding of 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, emerging as a beacon of hope to music lovers looking for a place to go in the bleak aftermath of the storm.
In the warm weather months, the Pony’s increasingly popular Summer Stage has continued to draw a top-notch roster of artists, including Jack Antonoff and Bleachers’ Shadow of the City festivals and artists including Incubus, Yellowcard, Simple Plan, Sum 41, Young the Giant, Spoon, Bad Omens, Phil Lesh, Willie Nelson, Lee Brice, Bright Eyes, Greta Van Fleet, The War on Drugs, New Found Glory, Dashboard Confessional, Andrew McMahon, Modest Mouse, Pierce the Veil, Armor For Sleep, Senses Fail, Underoath, Mayday Parade, Pixies, The Go-Gos, Lisa Marie Presley, Demi Lovato, The Used, Turnstile, Dance Gavin Dance, The Gaslight Anthem, Stone Temple Pilots, Counting Crows, The Head and the Heart, Phoebe Bridgers, Louis Tomlinson, Nathanial Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Jane’s Addiction, Jake Owen, Squeeze, The Dropkick Murphys, Goose, Matisyahu, Movements, Grayscale, Culture Club, YUNGBLUD and the B-52s.
The area near the Pony takes on a party atmosphere during sold-out Summer Stage shows, with fans crowding onto the boardwalk and on the street medians to take part in the summer fun.
Meanwhile, national artists as well as local heroes have continued to choose the Pony as one of their favorite places to play. Kenny Chesney debuted his No Shoes Radio station with a performance on the Pony’s stage. Luke Combs brought his Don’t Tempt Me With A Good Time Tour to the Pony in 2017. South Jersey’s Gaten Matarazzo, star of Netflix’s Stranger Things, brought his band Work in Progress to the Pony later that year. Prophets of Rage, featuring Chuck D, Tom Morello and B-Real, played the club in 2018. The Pretenders performed inside the Pony in 2023, with lead singer Chrissie Hynde donning a Pony t-shirt on stage. Trey Anastasio sold out the Summer Stage in 2023, and then moved inside to join Soule Monde for a sold-out show on the club’s indoor stage in the fall.
The Pony hosted a taping of VH1’s Storytellers featuring Jack Antonoff that included special guests Carly Rae Jepsen and Lorde, and The Jonas Brothers used the club as the setting for an appearance on MTV’s Video Music Awards in 2019. A private party at the club featured the Zac Brown Band, and artists who have started out at the Pony and moved on to selling out much larger venues include Morgan Wallen, Kane Brown, Old Dominion, Hunter Hayes, Billy Strings and Sturgill Simpson. In 2023, the Pony hosted 50 Years of Hip Hop featuring Eric B. and Rakim to kickoff the inaugural year of the New Jersey festival, North to Shore.
The Pony has also hosted a cavalcade of stars during after parties for both the Asbury Park Music and Film Festival and the Sea Hear Now music festival: The Backseat Lovers, Farrelly Brothers, Wyclef Jean, Brandon Flowers of The Killers, Jake Clemons from the E Street Band, and Danny Clinch joining the jam.
The Pony has also continued its long tradition of hosting benefit shows, including the mayor’s Rodeo and Rock and Roll for Recreation, which raises money to fund recreation programs for Asbury Park’s children, the annual Light of Day Foundation shows that raise funds to fight Parkinson’s disease, ALS and PSP, and Little Steven Van Zandt’s Teach Rock benefit, which featured a reunion of Van Zandt with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, to raise money to fund a music education curriculum for schools.
Fifty years of music and memories continue to leave their mark on the Jersey Shore community, the global entertainment industry, and all the fans from around the world who have come to Asbury Park and visited The Stone Pony.
According to the former vice president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Robert Santelli, “the club has already earned its place in history as one of rock ‘n’ roll’s great venues. Most rock critics and historians that I come in contact with on a regular basis feel that The Stone Pony is one of greatest rock clubs of all time.”
Upcoming Stone Pony Events
