It's not nearly as famous as say Madison Square Garden, but many musicians and bands from the 1950s and onward ascended the ranks by performing at the 3600-seat arena known as Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
We're talking the likes of:
- Bill Haley & His Comets,
- Frank Sinatra,
- The Beach Boys,
- The Rolling Stones,
- Ray Charles,
- Emerson Lake & Palmer,
- The Who,
- Led Zeppelin,
- The Grateful Dead,
- Yes,
- Elton John,
- Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band,
- and MANY, MANY others ...
One interesting fact is that the iconic band Led Zeppelin turned down a prestigious gig at the Woodstock Music Festival and instead played at Convention Hall on that historic date of Saturday August 16th, 1969:
Just check out SetList.fm: Convention Hall Asbury Park Concert Setlists to see the huge listing of artists who have performed at Convention Hall.
So if these old plywood and cast-iron seats could talk - what stories they would tell!!!
PS: I'd love to see the grand tally of how much weed was smoked and how many beers were spilled in these seats in Convention Hall 🤪
Other posts is this series:
- Slippery Walk to Convention Hall in Asbury Park
- Audra Mariel & A Real Human Jazz Band
- Scenes from Asbury Park
All images 