Written by: Kai Eldridge, Music Discovery Editor, OnesToWatch
Key Details From Past Sea.Hear.Now Festivals
- Sea.Hear.Now is a two-day beachfront music, arts, and surf festival held each September in Asbury Park, New Jersey, founded in 2018 by Danny Clinch, Tim Donnelly, and HM Wollman.
- Headliners have ranged from legacy rock acts like Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen to rising stars like Noah Kahan and Hozier, with 2025 drawing a record 70,000 attendees.
- The festival integrates professional surf competitions, local art, and food vendors directly alongside live music stages on the sand.
- After canceling in 2020 due to COVID-19, the event resumed in 2021 and has grown steadily in scale and genre diversity through 2025.
- Fans can discover emerging artists who may headline future editions through OnesToWatch.
Sea.Hear.Now Headliners at a Glance (2018–2025)
| Year | Saturday Headliner | Sunday Headliner | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Incubus | Jack Johnson | Inaugural edition, Bruce Springsteen guest appearance |
| 2019 | Dave Matthews Band | The Lumineers | Second edition |
| 2020 | — | — | Cancelled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 | Pearl Jam | The Smashing Pumpkins | First Pearl Jam show after Gigaton tour cancellation |
| 2022 | Stevie Nicks | Green Day | Included North Beach Rumble surf contest |
| 2023 | The Killers | Foo Fighters | Held September 16–17 |
| 2024 | Noah Kahan | Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band | Held September 14–15 |
| 2025 | Hozier | Blink-182 | Nearly 70,000 attendees |
2018 Sea.Hear.Now Festival Lineup
The inaugural Sea.Hear.Now Festival took place September 29–30, 2018, on the Asbury Park beachfront at North Beach and Bradley Park. Co-producer Danny Clinch identified Jack Johnson as the first choice to headline, citing his alignment with the festival’s music, art, and surf ethos. A surf session ran between the beachside stages throughout the weekend.
- Headliners: Incubus, Jack Johnson
- Blondie
- Social Distortion
- Ben Harper
- Brandi Carlile
- Kaleo
- Frank Turner
- The Wailers
- Preservation Hall Jazz Band
- Special guest: Bruce Springsteen
Digital pop culture magazine The Pop Break named Sea.Hear.Now the best new music festival of 2018, citing the combination of established acts, the oceanfront setting, and the integration of surf culture.
2019 Sea.Hear.Now Festival Lineup
The 2019 edition expanded the undercard with a broader genre mix spanning jam, punk, and indie folk. Surf programming continued alongside the main stages on the Asbury Park beach.
- Headliners: Dave Matthews Band, The Lumineers
- Dispatch
- Marcus King
- Joan Jett
- Bad Religion
- The B-52’s
- Blind Melon
- Cat Power
- Rainbow Kitten Surprise
- Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
2021 Sea.Hear.Now Festival Lineup
The festival returned in 2021 after the 2020 COVID-19 cancellation. Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins headlined the 2021 Sea.Hear.Now Festival, with Pearl Jam co-headlining Saturday alongside the Avett Brothers. Pearl Jam’s appearance marked the band’s first show following the pandemic-related cancellation of their Gigaton tour. That context made it one of the most anticipated sets in the festival’s history. Surf sessions resumed on the beach between the stages.
- Headliners: Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins
- Patti Smith
- Billy Idol
- Ani DiFranco
- The Avett Brothers
- Lord Huron
- Orville Peck
- Cory Henry
- Tank and the Bangas
2022 Sea.Hear.Now Festival Lineup
The 2022 festival, held September 17–18, introduced the “North Beach Rumble” team surf contest. Pro surfers Cory Lopez, Sam Hammer, Cassidy McClain, and Eric Geiselman competed between the beachside stages. Late-night programming expanded to Asbury Park venues including The Stone Pony and Wonder Bar.
- Saturday headliner: Stevie Nicks
- Sunday headliner: Green Day
- My Morning Jacket
- Cage the Elephant
- Billy Strings
- Gary Clark Jr.
- Idles
- Wet Leg
- Courtney Barnett
- Boy George & Culture Club
- Fletcher
- The Backseat Lovers
By 2022, the festival had established a clear identity across its first four editions. Looking at the programming patterns from 2018 through 2022 shows how Sea.Hear.Now built that reputation.
Early-Year Trends at Sea.Hear.Now
Across the 2018–2022 editions, Sea.Hear.Now established a consistent programming identity. Legacy rock and roots headliners anchored each day. A mid-tier undercard mixed punk, indie folk, and jam acts. A professional surf contest ran parallel to the music stages.
This dual focus on established names and rising talent helped the festival identify future headliners early. The same discovery-focused approach drives OnesToWatch, which has tracked emerging artists, from Brandi Carlile’s early career to the next generation of festival headliners, for over a decade. See which artists OnesToWatch predicts will headline festivals in 2026.
Those early programming patterns continued to evolve in the festival’s more recent editions. The 2023 lineup marked a return to rock-focused headliners while keeping the broader genre mix intact.
2023 Sea.Hear.Now Festival Lineup
The 2023 festival, held September 16–17, brought two of rock’s most consistent live acts to the top of the bill. The undercard reflected a broadening genre range, incorporating reggae, soul, and indie rock alongside the festival’s classic rock core. Surf programming continued between the beachside stages.
- Saturday headliner: The Killers
- Sunday headliner: Foo Fighters
- Greta Van Fleet
- Weezer
- Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
- Sheryl Crow
- Tash Sultana
- Mt. Joy
- The Beach Boys
- Tegan & Sara
- Stephen Sanchez
- Royal Blood
2024 Sea.Hear.Now Festival Lineup
The 2024 festival, held September 14–15, marked a notable shift with Noah Kahan, a younger folk-pop artist, earning a Saturday headline slot alongside legacy act Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. The surf competition featured Balaram Stack, Cam Richards, Sam Hammer, Cassidy McClain, and Rob Kelly, among others.
- Saturday headliner: Noah Kahan
- Sunday headliner: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
- The Black Crowes
- The Gaslight Anthem
- Trey Anastasio Band
- Norah Jones
- 311
- The Revivalists
- Sierra Ferrell
- Joy Oladokun
- Larkin Poe
- Action Bronson
2025 Sea.Hear.Now Festival Lineup
The 2025 edition attracted nearly 70,000 attendees, the largest reported crowd in the festival’s history. Organizers extended the event footprint on the south end of the boardwalk between 4th and 5th avenues and within the Grand Arcade to accommodate additional local vendors. Surf programming continued on the beach between the main stages.
- Saturday headliner: Hozier
- Sunday headliner: Blink-182
- LCD Soundsystem
- Alabama Shakes
- Lenny Kravitz
- ZZ Top
- Sublime
- Public Enemy
- Remi Wolf
- Royel Otis
- Spoon
- Phantogram
- TV on the Radio
- Gigi Perez
How Fans Compare Sea.Hear.Now Lineups
Repeat Sea.Hear.Now attendees frequently compare editions by headliner prestige, undercard depth, and the quality of the surf competition. The next sections highlight how those factors play out across standout years, using publicly available data from the festival’s eight-year run.
Best Sea.Hear.Now Lineups Ranked
Three editions stand out by fan and critical consensus based on reported milestones and editorial recognition.
- 2021: Pearl Jam’s first post-pandemic performance gave this edition a historic quality no other year has matched. The Smashing Pumpkins co-headline added a second legacy draw. The return of live programming after the 2020 cancellation amplified audience enthusiasm.
- 2018: The Pop Break’s designation as best new music festival of the year reflects the strength of the inaugural bill. The combination of Jack Johnson, Incubus, Blondie, Brandi Carlile, and a surprise Bruce Springsteen appearance set a high benchmark for subsequent editions.
- 2025: This edition reached the widest audience in the festival’s history. The Hozier and Blink-182 pairing bridged folk-rock and pop-punk demographics in a way no prior lineup had attempted.
Is Sea.Hear.Now Worth It?
Sea.Hear.Now places stages directly on the Asbury Park beach, so attendees can move between live performances, surf competitions, local art exhibits, and food vendors while viewing the Atlantic Ocean. That integrated layout distinguishes it from arena or fairground festivals where programming elements sit far apart.
C3’s boutique festival model draws crowds in the 30,000 to 50,000-per-day range, which keeps Sea.Hear.Now smaller than major multi-stage events while still delivering headline-level talent. The festival is presented in partnership with the Surfrider Foundation Jersey Shore chapter, whose volunteers help run the event as a “clean and green” festival, an appeal for environmentally conscious attendees. Asbury Park residents receive priority access to tickets through an in-person presale, which reflects the festival’s community-first orientation.
The late-night programming adds value beyond the main stages. Events such as the Ocean Ave Stomp at The Stone Pony and “There Goes the Neighborhood” at Wonder Bar are described as some of the most sought-after tickets in Asbury Park. These shows traditionally feature local acts, superstar jam sessions, and special sets by bands on the main bill, the kind of intimate performances that tomorrow’s festival headliners are playing today.
Sea.Hear.Now Festival Past Lineups FAQ
How many people attend Sea.Hear.Now each year?
Publicly reported attendance figures are limited, but the 2025 edition attracted nearly 70,000 people across the two-day event, the largest crowd on record for the festival. C3 Presents’ boutique festival model generally targets per-day crowds in the 30,000 to 50,000 range, which keeps the event at a scale that preserves the beachfront atmosphere.
What is the surf competition at Sea.Hear.Now?
The festival hosts a professional team surf contest held between the jetties adjacent to the main beachside stages. The format is a “wave of the day” team competition featuring East Coast surf legends and rising professionals. Past competitors have included Balaram Stack, Sam Hammer, Cassidy McClain, Cam Richards, and Rob Kelly. The contest runs across both festival days and is included with general admission.
Has Sea.Hear.Now ever been cancelled?
Yes. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival has run every other year since its 2018 debut, including 2021, when it returned with Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins headlining.
How do the 2023 and 2024 lineups compare?
The 2023 lineup leaned heavily into established rock acts, with The Killers and Foo Fighters headlining alongside Weezer, Sheryl Crow, and The Beach Boys. The 2024 edition introduced more genre diversity at the top of the bill, pairing the younger folk-pop artist Noah Kahan with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band and filling the undercard with acts spanning Americana, jam, and hip-hop. The 2024 booking pattern suggests the festival is deliberately broadening its demographic reach.
Where can I find emerging artists who might headline Sea.Hear.Now in future years?
OnesToWatch publishes an annual selection of the top emerging artists across genres, focusing on acts with strong live performance potential, the same quality that Sea.Hear.Now’s bookers have consistently prioritized. Artists featured on OnesToWatch have gone on to headline major festivals worldwide. The platform’s editorial team covers approximately 300 artists per year through features and curated playlists, making it a reliable early-signal source for the next generation of festival headliners. Browse the 2026 list to discover who might headline Sea.Hear.Now in future years.