2026 Sea Hear Now Festival – Day 2 – Asbury Park, NJ

Words by Audra Lacey | Photos by Rod Snyder

Day 2 of the 2026 Sea Hear Now Festival started with a drizzling rain, but that didn’t stop attendees from showing up early to enjoy a full day of music, art, and even a few surprises. Whether you caught one of those ‘secret sets’ at Danny Clinch’s Transparent Gallery pop-up, or took selfies with Shepard Fairey’s iconic new street art along the brick walls of Convention Hall, there was much to experience outside the official festival line-up.

Sunday’s schedule featured performances by The Strokes, Moby, The Goo Goo Dolls, Fontaines DC, Die Spitz, Ziggy Marley, Makua, and more. Check out the highlights from Day 2 below…

Makua

Hawaiian surfer/songwriter Makua Rothman hit the Sand Stage on Sunday to ‘bring you some aloha’, and maybe even help shake off that lingering hangover from Day 1. The three-piece band woke up a weary audience from the start, performing hard-rocking originals like the new single, ‘The Haunted’. It seemed only fitting that Makua performed just steps away from Sea Hear Now’s annual surfing heat – he even dedicated his song ‘Catch a Wave’ to all the surfers who came before him.

Blaise

Asbury Park LOVES Blaise. And even if some fans missed the local singer/songwriter’s 12:30 resy at the Sand Stage, they got a second chance to witness this rising star during a surprise set at the Transparent Clinch Gallery. With just three acoustic songs, Blaise commanded the room, showcasing strong, multi-dimensional vocals on ‘Stay’, ‘Take A Walk’, and ‘Not For Sale’. Full of cool confidence and an alluring stage presence, this diva quickly proved why he is known as ‘the people’s pop star’.

Die Spitz

Gray skies towered over the Sand Stage, and Austin’s Die Spitz were up next to deliver some doom-filled riffs to match. Don’t let their angelic faces fool you – these ladies came to thrash, scream, and head-bang their way into your dark little hearts. The four-piece punk/metal fusion band plugged tunes from their debut studio album, Something to Consume, which was was released on Third Man Records in 2025. In turn, the enthusiastic crowd responded with their own form of chaotic catharsis – spawning the biggest, baddest mosh pit of the whole damn weekend.

Ziggy Marley

You can’t have an end-of-summer festival without a little reggae music, and in 2026 you can’t get more authentic than hosting a performance by Bob Marley’s son. Under vibrant red, gold, and green lighting, Ziggy and his band created their own chilled-out vibe at the Park Stage, giving fans a chance to slow things down (and in some cases, light things up). During a joyful version of the timeless classic ‘One Love’, the lyrics ‘let’s get together, and feel alright’ perfectly summed up the spirit of a day spent at this magical place called Sea Hear Now.

The Goo Goo Dolls

Possibly the greatest underdog story of the year, 90’s rockers The Goo Goo Dolls are enjoying quite a comeback due to the viral TikTok trend featuring their 1998 hit, ‘Iris’. Now a new generation of listeners have embraced ‘The Goo’, and they all lined up at the Surf Stage for a seaside serenade. ‘Thank you for keeping this band alive”, frontman John Rzeznik said after ‘Slide’, ‘Black Balloon’, and ‘Name’ filled the set. Later, when ‘Iris’ was unveiled, time stood still, and the true impact of the song reverberated all over Ocean Ave. Thousands sang together on the beach. Guys lip-synced in the porta-potty lines. A young couple slow danced in the street. It was an unforgettable moment that united us all.

Moby

Sunday’s 8:00 set time spurred a serious dilemma for ticket-holders: do you pick EDM pioneer Moby, or alt-rock legends Pixies? There is no right answer to this, but if you were looking for an epic dance party, then the Park Stage was definitely the place to be. Because, man, does Moby know how to get people moving. ‘Bodyrock’ lit the fuse, and from there the energy in the crowd continued to soar. “The first time I ever played this was at a rave a few blocks away, in 1991”, Moby shared before tearing into ‘Go’, which he dedicated to the late great David Lynch. ‘Southside’, ‘Porcelain’, and ‘Natural Blues’ were also set highlights, giving attendees yet another taste of 90’s culture. And they ate it all right up.

The Strokes

Garage rock heroes The Strokes haven’t consistently toured in years, but after releasing the new album Reality Awaits this summer, the NYC icons planned their most extensive series of shows since 2006. Sunday’s headlining set at Sea Hear Now found a ton of first timers in the crowd, and oh, were they thirsty.

Shadowy mood lighting was in full effect as the band stepped out on the Surf Stage and opened with the recent single, ‘Lonely In The Future’. Forever wearing sunglasses at night, lovable frontman Julian Casablancas captained the ship, and he sounds just as snarky now as he did on 2001’s debut album, Is This It.

Lead guitarist Nick Valensi is absent for this tour, so Longwave frontman Steve Schiltz has stepped in, and he hit all the right notes on the bangers that followed, including ‘Hard to Explain’, ‘Juicebox’, ‘Bad Decisions’, and ‘Take It Or Leave It’. No one can quite ‘replace’ Valensi, but Schiltz did a solid job staying true to the signature riffs that we all know and adore.

There was an interesting mix of opinions on the Asbury Park beach tonight – Gen Z wanted to hear the new songs, while elder millennials wanted to hear the early 2000’s classics. And obviously, everyone wanted to hear the ‘Reptilia’. With an eighteen-song setlist that spanned the whole catalog, The Strokes made everyone’s dreams come true.

And yes, it did start pouring during the encore…

…but, as it turns out, we all still look pretty cute in a poncho.

Thank you Sea Hear Now!

Check out coverage from Day 1 here!

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