The Jersey Shore’s musical history includes artists and performances that became known far beyond the region, from Bill Haley, Conway Twitty and Mitch Ryder to Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson and John Cafferty’s cult-classic “Eddie and the Cruisers” soundtrack.
That legacy will take center stage during the final two Tony Mart Presents Concerts on the Beach in Somers Point. Musicians from across the region will come together Sept. 4 and 11 to honor the performers who helped shape the local music scene.
The Labor Day weekend concert Friday, Sept. 4, will feature a tribute to Bob Campanell, a Somers Point music fixture and founder of The Shakes. Members of the Campanell family will join the celebration honoring their father.
The Tony Mart Allstars were originally formed around Campanell’s performances. Dr. Bobby Fingers and Danny Eyer will return to the beach to perform with the Allstars and mark the holiday weekend with the Tony Mart community.
E Street Shuffle will add another chapter of Jersey rock ’n’ roll with a tribute to Bruce Springsteen.
The series will conclude Friday, Sept. 11, as Somers Point prepares for its annual Good Old Days Festival. Hawkins Cove will perform with Tony Mart Allstars “Old School” Jimmy Glenn, Rich “Megahertz” Kurtz, Brian “Coconutz” Varhelyi and “The Voice” Brian Conover. Conover helped handle lead vocals following Campanell’s death.
The Plaid Salmon Band will also perform during the Good Old Days Festival weekend, which brings together Somers Point history, nostalgia and live music.
The Sept. 11 concert will continue with “The Girls Can’t Help It,” a 90-minute salute to women in rock ’n’ roll led by Patty Balbo. The band will feature Bugzy, Kurtz, Andy Schlee and Bob Kimmel.
The show will draw from music by Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Jett, Patti Smith, Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge, Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders, Pat Benatar, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and others.
The two concerts will close out a summer in which Tony Mart Presents brought 30 free performances to South Jersey.
For more information, visit tonymart.com. Follow Tony Mart Presents on Facebook and Instagram @tonymartpresents.
