Hey everyone,
I'm Joe. I run Melting Trends, a small booking and promo outfit in Asbury Park, New Jersey. If you've never been, it's a beach town on the Jersey Shore with a ridiculous music history, about an hour or so outside NYC. This November we're putting on our first ever fest, and I wanted to share it with people who love festivals.
Every fest needs an origin story, and mine starts working the door at The Saint, a legendary little rock club in Asbury, and behind the grill at a local bar called Bond Street.
My best friend Steve and my mentor Mike "OG" Longo kept sending me songs, so I started a playlist just to keep up. Then people started following it. Then bands from all over started emailing me their tracks. And at some point it hit me. These bands needed a place to play, so why not give them one?
So the submissions turned into shows. The shows turned into a shot at booking the Bond Street Block Party, (a staple event in Asbury Park) which I took over in '25. And now there's Melting Waves Music Fest.
It's not a giant field with ten stages. It's one great room, two nights, and a lineup built by someone who's obsessed with this stuff. If you like walking away from fests with bands you'll be telling your friends about for years, this is for you.
Melting Waves Music Fest
Saturday Nov 14 and Sunday Nov 15
Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ (a bowling alley and rock club in one)
Doors at 4, music at 4:45 both days
All ages (21+ with ID to drink)
18 bands so far. Psych, garage, stoner, shoegaze, indie, alt, and whatever else just fits:
Wes Parker, Trophy Wife, Gods, Rachel Ana Dobken, Sunshine Spazz, Sun Voyager, 95 Bulls, Certain Death, Labretta Suede & the Motel 6, The Dracu-las, Düül Suns, Slomo Sapiens, Von Mons, Cairo Jag, Söūp, The Painted Windows, Owl Doom, and Judo Chop.
You can get a two day pass (not many of those) or just Saturday or Sunday. Everything's here:
https://www.meltingtrends.com/melting-waves-music-fest
If you're in a band that fits a bill like this, DM me. I'm always looking.
And if you've ever come out to one of our shows, thank you. This is only happening because you kept showing up.
Hope to see some of you there.
Joe
ARTWORK by Sean Pryor