We’re heading to the Jersey Shore! Well, at least indie rock lovers are. The 2023 Sea.Hear.Now Festival is slated to storm the shore of North Beach Asbury Park, New Jersey. Across the two-day event (Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17), several artists, including The Killers, Foo Fighters, Weezer, GretaVan Fleet, Sheryl Crow, and more, are set to perform on the main stage sponsored by Verizon. But they’re not the only amazing talent scheduled to put on a stellar show.
There are dozens of other independent or self-signed entertainers, ticket holders should check out prior to the headlining blocks. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Tash Sultana, and Sunflower Beam are just a few of these recording artists. Continue below to see our top indie picks.
The 2023 Sea.Hear.Now Festival is set to take place on Saturday, September 16, and Sunday, September 17, at the North Beach Asbury Park, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. To purchase tickets, click here.
Saturday, September 16
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (Stax Records)
Based in Denver, Colorado, Nathaniel Rateliff is a striking, emotive tenor vocalist and songwriter whose work runs the gamut from simple folk and Americana to roots rock & roll and vintage rhythm & blues. Although he earned critical acclaim for his quieter, more introspective folk-based albums, he broke out commercially in 2015 with the release of Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, the eponymous debut from his high-energy and soulful live band.
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats’ second studio album, Tearing at the Seams, in March 2018, debuting at number 11 on the Billboard 200. Following the band’s touring cycle, Rateliff began working on a more subdued set of songs that harked back to his earlier solo efforts. Exploring themes of love and loss, 2020’s warmly introspective And It’s Still Alright was inspired by both the singer’s then-recent divorce and the death of his friend and producer Richard Swift. In December of that year, Rateliff contributed the cathartic, Billboard-charting single “Redemption” to the film Palmer before resuming work with the Night Sweats, who released their third album, The Future, in October 2021. – biography by Thom Jurek
Tash Sultana (Lonely Land Records)
Tash Sultana is a genre-shifting Australian indie musician known for their passionate vocals and command of multiple instruments and looping pedals. Sultana first found the spotlight in 2016 with live videos of one-person-band performances, playing multi-layered compositions informed by vintage hard rock and alternative rock. Their viral success led to international recognition and the release of their first album, Flow State, in 2018, which found them adding a strong R&B influence to their melodies. 2021’s chart-topping Terra Firma was a more mature and thoughtful sophomore effort, with a relatively laid-back mood and a soulful feel, a sound they gave a vintage soft rock flavor on 2023’s “James Dean.”
Sultana’s first full-length, Flow State, appeared in September 2018 and shot to number two on Australia’s album chart. After a quick turnaround, the single “Can’t Buy Happiness” appeared in early 2019. Following several more rounds of international touring, Sultana headed home for some much-needed rest, devoting their time to reconnecting with family, surfing, and gardening. Rested and refreshed, Sultana began work on their second album, and 2021’s Terra Firma reflected a more mature and grounded outlook, with a calmer feel and a more organic approach to composing and performing. Listeners approved of the shift and took Terra Firma to the top of the ARIA albums chart. Recorded in Melbourne in May of 2021, their MTV Unplugged performance was released in June 2022. Sultana played guitar on the Pierce Brothers single “High & Unsteady,” released in the early weeks of 2023, before returning with new solo material in the form of “James Dean” that March. – biography by Marcy Donelson
Cory Wong (Roundwood Media)
Recognized for his high-speed improvisational skills, fun-loving performance spirit, and a flexible right wrist, guitarist Cory Wong had a multifaceted music career in his base of Minneapolis, Minnesota, before becoming better known for regular guest spots as rhythm guitarist for Ann Arbor R&B/funk outfit Vulfpeck in the mid-2010s. Often incorporating intricate, percussive picking into his rhythm playing, his style merges acoustic and electric techniques gleaned from years invested in both. Wong’s second solo LP, a set of lighthearted jazz-funk titled The Optimist, debuted in the Top 20 of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart upon its release in 2018. He picked up a Grammy nomination for his 2020 collaboration with Jon Batiste, Meditations, and returned in 2021 with another collaboration, Golden Hour, with saxophonist Dave Koz. He then joined forces with a bevy of guest artists — including Chromeo, Victor Wooten, and Béla Fleck — on the ’80s funk- and pop-inspired Power Station.
In the meantime, Wong’s Vulfpeck spin-off group the Fearless Flyers released an eponymous EP on Vulf Records. Consisting of Wong, Dart on bass, lead guitarist Mark Lettieri (Snarky Puppy), and drummer Nate Smith (Dave Holland, Chris Potter), the quartet made their live debut in September 2018. The next year, Wong issued a series of concert recordings, including Live in Minneapolis, Live on the Lido Deck, and Live in the U.K. He also released Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul. To cap off a busy year, Wong and his Vulfpeck bandmates headlined a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.
In 2020, the guitarist paired with keyboardist Jon Batiste for Meditations, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Age album. He then joined saxophonist Dave Koz for their 2021 funk-infused collaboration Golden Hour, which hit number five on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The following year, Wong returned to his solo work with the ebullient, ’80s funk- and pop-influenced Power Station, featuring appearances by Chromeo, Victor Wooten, Béla Fleck, and more. – biography by Marcy Donelson
Babe Rainbow (Eureka Music)
Hailing from the surf town of Byron Bay, Australia, The Babe Rainbow emerged in the mid-2010s offering a lighter, more flower-powered take on neo-psychedelia than some of their similarly influenced countrymen like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard or Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. After gaining international exposure via 30th Century Records, the band got to work delivering a string of acclaimed full-length records, including 2018’s Double Rainbow and 2021’s Changing Colours.
The Babe Rainbow (not to be confused with Canadian electronic producer Babe Rainbow) first appeared in 2015 with a self-titled EP bearing cosmic, ’60s-indebted nuggets like “Ash May & Dr. Love Wisdom” and the affable “Secret Enchanted Broccoli Forest.” After signing with Danger Mouse’s 30th Century Records, co-founders Angus Dowling (vocals, drums) and Jack “Cool-Breeze” Crowther (guitar), along with Venezuelan newcomer Lu-Lu-Felix Domingo (bass), embarked on an American tour with West Coast psych outfit the Allah-Las. Returning home to Byron Bay, the band worked with Stu Mackenzie (King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard) to record their eponymous full-length debut, which arrived in the summer of 2017. A second helping, Double Rainbow, appeared a year later, following in the same sonic footsteps and debuting at number 18 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The Babes kept up their schedule in 2019 with Today, their third full-length in as many years, followed in 2021 by Changing Colours. – biography by Timothy Monger
Surfer Girl (Ineffable Records)
As no stranger to feel good music, Surfer Girl is the latest project led by the former hip-hop/pop duo Aer frontman, Carter Reeves. After sharing the stage with the likes of Dirty Heads, Sublime with Rome, Chance the Rapper and Mac Miller, the three-piece made the long overdue foray back into the modern beach rock feel-good scene.
Surfer Girl is a genre bending, pop-leaning beach party, ready to keep you moving. Drawing from psychedelic dub influences such as King Tubby, to more mellow artists like Jack Johnson, Surfer Girl has a little sauce for everyone. It’s meant to share with your friends and family, while sipping mezcal or rolling a little bit of whatever you’ve got left at the bottom of the jar.
If you’ve never seen them perform live, prepare yourself for stage shattering energy, and an all around good time. – provided by PR
Sunday, September 17
Rebelution (87 Music)
With a sound that amalgamates pop-tinged reggae, breezy alt-rock, and groove-laden hip-hop, Rebelution debuted in 2007 with Courage to Grow, and quickly became fixtures on the Billboard Reggae Charts. When the band was nominated for a Grammy in 2017 for the previous year’s Falling Into Place, it proved the culmination of more than a decade spent woodshedding, endlessly touring, and a D.I.Y. attitude in managing an ever-growing international fan base. In 2021 Rebelution issued their seventh full-length effort, In The Moment.
Formed in Santa Barbara, California by a group of college music students, Rebelution was built from diverse musical backgrounds united by a shared passion for reggae. Launched in 2004, Rebelution spent a couple years playing around their home base, offering a breezy fusion of roots and rock that immediately set the group apart from acts such as Sublime and Long Beach Dub All-Stars. In 2006, they made their debut with a self-titled EP, while their debut album, Courage to Grow, hit the number four spot on the reggae charts. Their 2009 follow-up, Bright Side of Life, topped the Reggae Albums chart, while 2011 saw them cross over into electronica with their Remix EP. Peace of Mind arrived in 2012, with the versions Peace of Mind: Acoustic and Peace of Mind: Dub following later in the year, the latter remixed by Easy Star All-Star’s Michael Goldwasser. Two years later, the group landed on Goldwasser’s Easy Star label with the album Count Me In. Count Me In: Acoustic appeared on the group’s own 87 label in 2015, then it was back to Easy Star for 2016’s Falling Into Place. The album featured a guest appearance from Jamaican singer Protoje and debuted at number 32 on the Billboard 200 album chart and won a Grammy nomination. They followed it with the chart-topping Live at Red Rocks. In 2018, Free Rein was another chart-topping set that expanded the band’s sonic palette to include more lover’s rock. They utilized several producers on the set including Don Corleon (Sean Paul, Rihanna), who helmed the single “Rise on Top,” and Winta James, (Damian Marley, Chronixx), for “Settle Down Easy” and “City Life,” two songs that reflect a more confessional perspective. Three years later the band released the sonically diverse In the Moment, which featured guest spots from Kabaka Pyramid, Keznamdi, and Busy Signal, as well as American soul singer Durand Jones. – biography by David Jeffries
The Breeders (4AD)
The Breeders started as a way for Pixies bassist Kim Deal and Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly to let out some suppressed creative energy, but thanks to the success of their second album Last Splash and its smash hit single “Cannonball,” the band became one of the biggest — and quirkiest — acts of the early-’90s alternative rock revolution. Though the large gaps of time between their later albums made their career trajectory less than predictable, the Breeders’ appeal, not to mention influence on later bands, lasted for decades.
In late 2007, rumors that another Breeders album was on the way were confirmed, and Mountain Battles arrived in April 2008. The Fate to Fatal EP, which featured a cover of Bob Marley’s “Chances Are” and guest vocals from Mark Lanegan, appeared in 2009, the same year The Breeders curated the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in Minehead, England. The following September, they played the ATP festival in Monticello, New York. In 2013, the band celebrated the 20th anniversary of Last Splash with a deluxe reissue of the album and a tour that reunited Kim and Kelley Deal with Wiggs and MacPherson.
Following the tour’s success, the band began work on its fifth album. The Breeders recorded with longtime producer Albini at his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, as well as with Mike Montgomery at Kentucky’s Candyland Recording Studio and with Tom Rastikis at Ohio’s Fernwood Studios. In October 2017, the band delivered its first new music in eight years with “Wait in the Car,” the lead single from All Nerve. Featuring backing vocals by Courtney Barnett, the album was released in March 2018, nearly 25 years after Last Splash. – biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Sunflower Bean (Mom+Pop)
Brooklyn indie pop trio Sunflower Bean merge rock & roll energy and dream pop sweetness into a sound that’s both familiar and fresh. Drawing comparisons to bands like Blake Babies and Blondie, the group quickly earned buzz for their 2016 debut album, Human Ceremony, all the while touring and building fans with their vibrant live shows. They have continued to mature, crafting politically charged anthems on 2018’s Twentytwo in Blue and embracing a swaggering, ’90s-style alt-rock on 2022’s Headful of Sugar.
On the heels of the album’s release, the band hit the road, appearing at Glastonbury, Leeds Festival, and Bonnaroo, as well as touring at various times with Interpol, the Kills, and Wolf Alice, among others. They also showcased their ever-expanding influences, drawing upon their love of nervy, ’80s punk and new wave on 2019’s Justin Raisen-produced King of the Dudes EP. The following year, Cumming also contributed vocals to Yves Tumor’s Heaven to a Tortured Mind.
Following a period of recording largely at their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sunflower Bean returned with their third full-length, 2022’s Headful of Sugar. Once again produced with Portrait (and with Faber handling engineering duties) the album found them embracing an even more sophisticated blend of ’90s-influenced alt rock, as evidenced by the sultry gravitas of the single “Who Put You Up to This?” – biography by Matt Collar
Waiting On Mongo (Waiting On Mongo)
A power funk septet, Waiting On Mango is an immersive experience that can only be described as a soulful journey that pushes the limits in the 4th dimension of psychedelic grooves. With strutting guitar riffs, transcendent horns, and heady organ depth, the live performances take you on a cathartic journey where you shed the weight of the world with everyone in attendance. Traversing the inner workings of the human soul, everything seems to be in its right place when the Mongo party hits full throttle.
WOM has relentlessly displayed a level of musicianship that continues to impress both music critics and fans alike, winning awards in their hometown of Asbury Park for consecutive years. With a permeating aura of soulful energy, that illuminates every venue, the band is on a collision course for new locations to spread the love that is their music.
Hometown heroes, Waiting On Mongo consists of Mike [guitar, vocals], Johnny [bass], Anders [saxophone], Mongo [keyboards], Matt [drums], Harry [percussion], and Bruce [trumpet]. – provided by PR
To view each day’s scheduled lineup across both performance dates and each stage (Surf, Park, and Sand).
