(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- After a slight delay, Asbury Blues - the city's newest music venue - opened on Wednesday, January 29th and brought the blues back to the Jersey Shore. Located just a block off of Cookman at 610 Bangs Avenue (the old Asbury Park Press Building), some of the Shore's most popular musicians graced its stage within its first week.
Legendary E Street Drummer Vini Lopez along with blues legends Sonny Kenn, Chuck Lambert, and Willie Mitchell were just a few of the musicians to jam at the new club.
According to James Dalton, who works as a consultant for the club, "Vini Lopez dropped in on Sunday afternoon, which I think will be one of our more popular time slots for live music, for Sandy Mack and the Asbury Allstars and judging by the look on his face, I felt like he came to play, and play he did! They tore the roof off. We were packed, it was crazy!"
Other names from the first few weeks include Ritchie Blackwell, Pat Guadagno, Joe Harvard, Jim Farkas, Ronnie Brandt, Gary Wright, Steve Reilly, and James Dalton himself.
As its name implies, the focus of Asbury Blues is blues music, but they also have a country rock/southern rock night every Tuesday, live band Karaoke on Thursdays, a blues inspired singer/songwriter show on Sunday nights, and Monday is their service industry night with a more open forum. They also have plans for a real "speakeasy" one Monday a month. In addition to having a full bar, Asbury Blues also features a full menu of BBQ, Cajun, and Southern inspired dishes.
While the club plans on presenting the best local talent from the area, the stage will also feature top regional and national acts as well. For many of the tri-state area musicians who haven't had a blues club in the Shore area for many years, Asbury Blues is a most welcome addition.
Dublin born, Asbury adopted, Steve Reilly said that the new place "had the potential to be exactly what Asbury's musical and cultural progression needs."
For more information on Asbury Blues visit http://www.asburyblues.net/
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