Photo: Wenn
Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff is launching a New Jersey music festival to celebrate the state he grew up in. The first annual Shadow Of The City festival will be held on September 19 at the Stone Pony SummerStage in Asbury Park.
Scheduled to perform at the event are Bleachers, Charli XCX, Vic Mensa, The Front Bottoms, MisterWives, Cults, How to Dress Well and Robert Delong.
Discussing the upcoming event with Rolling Stone, Antonoff said: “I've always wanted to do this. Even more than that, I grew up in New Jersey and lived there for 28 years. New Jersey is part of who I am. I've always thought that it's the perfect place for a festival.”
Antonoff also explained the meaning behind the festival’s name, Shadow Of The City, stating that the title is really special to him. “I grew up in New Jersey, and it's one of those places where you spend your life trying to get out,” he said. “It's funny because it's one of the most incredible places in the world. The term ‘shadow of the city’, specifically, means what it sounds like.”
“New Jersey is such a unique place because it is literally in the shadow of the greatest city in the entire world,” he continued. “So that creates an unmistakable feeling, good and bad. You're the constant younger brother. You're constantly looking through the window at the party. You're always less.”
"You can hear it in the music," he went on to say. "Thinking about when I was growing up, New York City music — the Strokes, the Velvet Underground — is the kind of "we don't give a shit," shoegaze type thing. But in New Jersey music — from when my parents played me Springsteen to growing up in the New Jersey punk and hardcore scene — it was all larger than life. There was so much hope and excitement there. That comes from this underdog feeling of living in the shadow of the city. I always thought that when I did a festival, I'd want to bring that feeling to life. That's how I grew up. So many people spend their time trying to get out of New Jersey, then as soon as they do, they realize that it's actually the greatest place on Earth. There is no better way to exist in art, in music, in general than to always feel like you're telling the truth and to always feel like you're slightly less than. "
The festival will have one stage, so there will be no competing set times. The event will also feature local food trucks and carnival games and there will be records for sale in a flea market/vendor area. Additionally, there will be a presence from the Ally Coalition, which is a gay, lesbian and trans organization that Antonoff works with. “It's going to be just like a whole village of incredibly cool things all centered around New Jersey. It's going to be wild,” he shared.
Tickets to Shadow Of The City go on sale this Friday (June 12) at 10AM.
