The Saint (music venue)

The Saint

Airborne Toxic Event plays the Saint
Address 601 Main Street
Location Asbury Park, New Jersey
Owner Scott Stamper & Adam Jon Weisberg
Type Music venue
Genre(s) acoustic rock, alternative rock, blues, electronic, folk, garage, groove, hard rock, indie, punk, reggae, rock, surf
Capacity 175
Opened November 18, 1994
Website
www.thesaintnj.com
"Saint Radio" Concert Preview Website

The Saint is a music venue located in Asbury Park, New Jersey.[1] It is reminiscent of places like The Cellar Door in Washington, DC, CB's 313 Gallery (next to the now defunct CBGB), and The Living Room in New York City and features live, original music. The Saint opened on November 18, 1994.[2] It is co-owned by Scott Stamper,[3][4][5] co-founder (along with Gordon Brown) of the Wave Gathering Music Festival[6] and Adam Jon Weisberg, Esq.

Background

The Saint was an early site of the annual Asbury Music Awards ceremony founded by Stamper in collaboration with Pete Mantas. The awards ceremony, modeled after the Grammy Awards,[7][8] features the presentation of awards between performances of live, original music. The event was originally called "The Golden T-Bird Awards" and was first held in 1993 at a small club on Main Street called the T-Bird Cafe. The awards ceremony was later moved to The Saint and renamed "The Asbury Music Awards" in 1995. When the event's attendance exceeded The Saint's capacity, the ceremony was rotated among larger venues, including The Fastlane, The Tradewinds, and The Stone Pony. The Saint remains a co-sponsor of the event.[9] The Saint has been credited with helping to keep the local music scene alive when newspapers said that the heyday of live music was over, and even The Stone Pony intermittently closed.[10] It has been described as a landmark,[1] the bedrock of the Asbury Park music scene, and an important venue for introducing emerging artists. It has also been described as Asbury Park's "rock n’roll version of “Cheers,” where musicians and fans hang out together and everybody does know your name."[11][12]

Red Wanting Blue's Scott Terry performing at The Saint on February 18, 2012

The Saint showcases a variety of new and well-known, local, national, and international acts[12] that are touring through the region. The club is more of a concert venue than a bar,[12] and has been described by music critics as one of the top five rock clubs in New Jersey.[13] Like The Cellar Door, The Saint has recording capability. The sound system is high quality.[12] The nature of the acts and links to their websites are posted on the Saint's website so that potential patrons can preview them. Some of the bands will also perform on 90.5 The Night, Brookdale Public Radio before they play the Saint. The shows designated "Asbury Cafe" are acoustic, seated shows during which talking is not permitted while the acts are playing.[1] Age, attire, and nature of the audience varies with the bands, but is generally eclectic.[14]

Notable acts

Some notable acts who have performed there include Airborne Toxic Event, Nicole Atkins, Ben Folds Five, Bif Naked, Tracy Bonham, Cake, Cannibal Corpse, Ryan Cassata, Jen Chapin, Cowboy Mouth, Creed, Kimya Dawson, Deftones, The Duke Spirit, Everlast, Robert Hazard, HelenaMaria, Hoobastank, Incubus, Jewel, Freedy Johnston, Joydrop, Keith Kenny, Kings of Leon, The Lemonheads, Sean Lennon and Kemp Muhl with their band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Tony Levin, Toby Lightman, L.P., Matthew Good Band, Anne McCue, Shannon McNally, Mod Fun, Moe, Allie Moss, Mucky Pup, Leona Naess, Mieka Pauley, The Pierces, Joey Ramone, Maia Sharp, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, April Smith and the Great Picture Show, Scars on 45, String Cheese Incident, Stereophonics, Kasim Sultan, Tegan and Sara, The The, The Trashcan Sinatras, and Wussy.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Pike, H. (2002, July 14). Glory days revisited;Springsteen's Asbury Park poised to reclaim its status as a major music venue. Boston Herald (MA), p. 65.
  2. ↑ Biese, A. (2011, November 13). Asbury Music Awards given at The Stone Pony. Asbury Park Press. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  3. ↑ Woliver, R. (2000, August 13). Asbury Music Awards Return to Stone Pony. New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  4. ↑ Fried, J. (1999, June 13). Back when's club is right now, again. New York Times, NJ1.
  5. ↑ Barry, C. (1999, June 20). Article on rock scene omitted an important club. New York Times, NJ15.
  6. ↑ La Gorce, T. (2007, May 13). Still Rocking Hard in Asbury Park as the Bands Play On. New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  7. ↑ Nash, M. (2005, October 30). The Shore's Grammy Awards. New York Times, p. N12.
  8. ↑ DeMasters, K. (1999, August 15) Top of the Pops at the Shore. New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  9. ↑ Pfeiffer, J. (2010, December 1). Asbury Music Awards and Musical Heritage Kickoff. The Aquarian. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  10. ↑ Goodnough, Abby (1998,March 01). Live Music's Glory Days Pass It By; Suburbs Are Tuning Out, Even at Springsteen's Old Haunt. New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  11. ↑ Mikle, J. (2008, November 18). You say its your birthday? in The Rhythm Room. Asbury Park Press, Retrieved March 27, 2011.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Rothenberg, D. & G. Wien (2006). Beyond the Palace. Bloomington, IN: Trafford Publishing.
  13. ↑ Shabe, John (16 July 2013). "New Jersey's top 5 rock clubs ... minus Maxwell's". NJ.com. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
  14. ↑ DeMasters, K. . (2001, August 19). A Revival, Musically at Least, Sparks Asbury Park. New York Times. Retrieved December 18, 2010.

External links

Coordinates: 40°13′08″N 74°00′44″W / 40.218888°N 74.012135°W