In it’s fourth year, the Shadow of the City music festival (held on 8/25 at the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, NJ) brought out an eclectic mix of artists/performers including RTB favorites Julien Baker and Hayley Kiyoko. Curated and organized by Jersey’s own Jack Antonoff (of Bleachers), the festival offered more than just music – it also featured a Mario Kart tournament (with the winners facing off against Jack Antonoff) and a charity dunk tank (benefiting the Ally Coalition). The vibe was laid back like a block party, with Jack mingling with the crowd throughout the day. While an undoubtedly talented and prolific songwriter, producer, performer, and seemingly all-around nice guy, Mario Kart isn’t one of Jack Antonoff’s strengths – he was handily defeated by his audience/fan competitors while protesting about his Nintendo Switch controller configurations, etc.
Performances throughout the day included the already mentioned artists (Bleachers, Hayley Kiyoko, and Julien Baker), as well as Ex Reyes, Clams Casino, Beach Slang, and Turnover. Beach Slang put on a rousing and high-energy performance of original songs, as well as a wide range of covers in their short 30 minute set including a spoofy and LOL-worthy version of Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy”.
Julien Baker played an entrancing solo set which could not be detracted from by chatty festival-goers. Neither new gear nor challenging acoustics took away from her performance, accomplishing making an outdoor venue feel like an intimate setting. In other Julien Baker-related news, her newly formed supergroup collaboration boygenius (which includes Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacas) just released some new dog-related/themed music (listen here) and will also be going on tour (tour dates here).
Hayley Kiyoko is having a great #20gayteen… fresh off her MTV VMA Push Artist of the Year award, she is about to kick off her European tour – you can check her updated list of tour dates here. An upcoming North American headlining tour would not be unexpected.
