Plenty of room for indie music, cover bands at the Jersey Shore

Tune In, Turn On
By Doug Deutsch

Summer at the Jersey Shore. There’s nothing like it, right? The beach, ocean, casinos, great food… and a slew of quality music choices, both original bands and those that are tribute/cover acts, to spend your time and hard-earned money seeing (unless they’re free, which many shows are). Without further ado, here’s a few.

“Coastal Chaos” (Anchor Rock Club):

Local promoter Norstep launches its newest brand with a four-band bill Saturday, June 22 at the coolest indie live music venue in AC, Anchor Rock Club.

“With Gecko County, Innlet, Pusch, and Apollo taking the stage, you’ll get to see first-hand the next generation of rock is in capable hands,” said Norstep’s Noranne Thompson via email (she and partner Stephen Weiss run Norstep). “Gecko County and Innlet are local to the Atlantic City area, while Apollo and Pusch are from New York and promise to bring the heat with them to the beach. Get ready to mosh as this event is going to be high energy!”

Advance tickets are $10 purchasable on Eventbrite (then search for Norstep). Add $5 and get a hot dog plus a bag of chips. ARC is at 247 S. New York Ave.

P.S. run, don’t walk (better yet, Uber if you’re going to drink) to the triple bill of returning AC punk rock champions Gutter Drunk, guitar hero Reckless Randy, and The Washups, at Anchor this Friday, June 7. Hard, loud and fast, with moshing, goes this one. www.anchorrockclub.com.

TABH Rocks All Summer: Not far from the Anchor in AC’s Orange Loop sits Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall, where there’s some nice music choices this summer to enjoy while sitting outside under the stars on a warm Jersey Shore night.

Shore Dogs (June 21, 8 p.m.) is a classic rock band formed by Aram Mardigian, whose ‘day job’ is executive chef at Borgata’s American Grill. They play “an eclectic mix of blues, covering artists from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Willie Dixon, and sprinkling in classic rock tunes from Hendrix to Led Zeppelin,” states their press release.

July 5 finds a solo performance here by Eliot Lewis, erstwhile known as touring guitarist and keyboardist for Hall and Oates.

In August, two of our favorite rockin’ cover groups are at TABH: Aug. 10, it’s 13-year-old-and-growing-quickly Kobi Reese, whose still-young still-changing voice does justice to songs by Guns N’ Roses, Metallica and other classics. We like that he plays with both older musicians and teens his own age, or only slightly older than himself. He’s the new ‘Kid Rock.’

Aug. 17 it’s Pure Petty (pictured above), who cooly cover the classic and numerous Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers hits, with the interesting twist of having a female vocalist who handles the Stevie Nicks parts from Petty’s songs. Shore Local columnist Chuck Darrow holds down the bass in this popular tribute.

All TABH shows are 8-11 p.m. and free. 133 S. Tennessee Ave. www.tennesseeavenuebeerhall.com.

Moo If You Support C.R.O.P.S.: One of this column’s favorite local rock ensembles, Red Meat Conspiracy, will hit the stage with a sure-to-be-fun The Barn Show, for a great cause – NJ-based non-profit organization C.R.O.P. S., whose mission is to alleviate food and security by empowering communities with fresh produce, education, and advocacy for sustainable food systems.

About those Red Meat fellows, yea, their fans “moo” and some dress in absurdly funny cow-camouflage onesies. Their cool band swag gets a plus (still have my RMC moo-bell from the 2023 St. Patrick’s Day Parade they played and we marched in together). Check them out June 21, 4-7 p.m. at Fisherman’s Park in Atlantic City. $15. Suggested donation. A North 2 Shore-sponsored event. Info: www.northtoshore.com.

Doug is the owner/operator of Doug Deutsch Publicity Services, which since 1995 has been servicing nationally touring acts, and working record release campaigns for clients. Doug also hàs experience writing for the one time shore-based weekly publication, Whoot! He also was a team member with Chip Braymes Advertising. Doug loves bicycling and aspires to bring the Blues to  Atlantic City. He can be reached at ShoreLocalDoug@gmail.com and www.facebook.com/dougdeutschpublicity.