Doug Zambon of The Vansaders and singer-songwriter Emily Grove kicked off the first official Jersey Rock Bands on the Boardwalk last Thursday, May 28th at Pier Village. Although Mother Nature got in the way of our other two gigs, the weather was finally nice enough to draw people out of the local shops and in front of Emily and Doug for an unforgettable acoustic performance.

Asbury Park based Doug Zambon started the evening with a few songs off The Vansaders 2014 album Stuck in New York City along with some newer tunes from their upcoming EP Jumping at Shadows due August 22nd. Similar to Tennessee rockers Lucero, Doug’s loud, rambunctious punk-country sound quickly gravitated an audience from those passing by on the boardwalk.

Following Doug’s set was the dark and quirky Emily Grove from Wall, NJ. Including covers of The Cranberries and Joni Mitchell into her set, Emily performed a number of songs off her latest album The Life of a Commoner. As the winner of the Asbury Music Award’s Top Female Solo Acoustic Act for four years in a row, it was no surprise that people who never heard Emily before were blown away by her voice. Personally, my favorite part of the evening was when two teenage girls came up to me and asked where they could find Emily’s music, then immediately took out their phones to write down her information and find Emily on Facebook.

Since Jersey Rock Bands on the Boardwalk is a free show right by the beach, it was an amazing opportunity to allow anyone and everyone to come see their favorite local artist perform or discover new music. Be sure to join 95.9 The Rat and Jersey Rock next week on Wednesday, June 10th for another night of Jersey Rock Bands on the Boardwalk with Bobby Mahoney and The Seventh Son and Matty Carlock at Pier Village from 6-8pm!