Skate And Surf Festival is just a few days away now, and we hope you’re all as excited as we are for an incredible weekend at Six Flags in Jackson, NJ. We thought it’d be a great idea to put together a list of POZ’s Must See Bands And Acts for the first day of the lineup today, with a day two feature coming tomorrow. Check out ticket/lineup information for the festival here, our list below, and reblog to let us know who we need to see while we’re at Skate this weekend!
Streetlight Manifesto, by Erik van Rheenen
Ska fans can wipe that tear from their eyes and pull on their skanking shoes: the beginning of the end may be here, but not before Streetlight plays a homecoming show in Jersey under the bright lights at Skate And Surf. With label woes plaguing the release of The Hands That Thieve, the band will probably blow off some steam at their set and show off some of the new material, which is, in fact, killer. From old fan-favorites to new sing-along anthems, fans will make Streetlight Manifesto feel right back at home. Mostly because they will be.
Balance & Composure, by Adrienne Fisher
Balance & Composure has been fairly quiet ever since wrapping up a pretty hefty winter headliner earlier this year with The Jealous Sound and Daylight, only to reveal just a week or so ago that that time’s been leveraged into finishing up their second full-length record, slated for release sometime this fall. I know I’m not the only one busting out party hats to celebrate that fact, and being that their set at Skate and Surf is the only one publicly on the books for the foreseeable future, we the people should probably resolve to make sure we’re there for it. While we can always cross our fingers for a preview of a new song, the truth is that we’re definitely not over 2011’s Separation and will still eagerly lend ourselves to become soul-crushed by that opening rhythm section in “Burden.” If you’re a Balance fan, make it a point to catch this set – you never know, those songs from Only Boundaries might drop out of rotation once the new record comes out and you wouldn’t want to be that guy whining about how you missed out on hearing the old stuff, right?
Transit, by Jesse Richman
It’s hard to remember the last time anyone in the scene released an album as divisive as Transit’sYoung New England— whether they loved it or hated it, everyone seemed to have a strong opinion. As they bring that album to the biggest stage yet, will the crowd be with them or against them? Has the criticism beaten Transit down or made them stronger? And has Joe Boynton’s voicereally changed? We’re looking forward to finding out the answers.
Andrew WK, by Erik van Rheenen
When it’s time to party we will party hard.
I mean, seriously. What will be more fun than catching a set from the King of Positive Partying himself at an amusement park? Since the eruption of his smash hit “Party Hard” in 2001, Andrew WK’s become a jack-of-all-trades: motivational speaker, TV show host, producer, and of course, sticking to his singing/songwriting guns. Dust off your copy of I Get Wet, reacquaint yourself with some of WK’s early 2000s party rock anthems, and let’s get a party going on Saturday afternoon.
LIGHTS, by Sydney Gore
The 24-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter has a way of enchanting anyone who listens to her synth-pop tunes. With a traveling background as a missionary child, Lights takes the crowd on an adventure of their own to a digital dimension where music is the only savior. Her most recent album, Siberia was nominated for “Pop Album of the Year” at the Juno Awards last year. Don’t let Lights’ “manic pixie dream girl” physique fool you—she goes hard at live shows, especially when the heavy electronic beat start pulsing. Lights is always a delight to watch, so definitely don’t miss out on her set—it’s bound to be electrifying.
Mixtapes, by Erik van Rheenen
Ordinary Silence doesn’t hit shelves until the end of June, but fingers crossed these Ohioans share a few new tunes with us come this weekend. The uber-productive pop-punkers (this marks their second full-length in as many years) keep the bouncy tunes coming, and the dual vocal attack of Maura Weaver and Ryan Rockwell (and their kinda-sorta ridiculous stage banter) is always a blast to sing along with. There aren’t many bands to usher in summer with, and Mixtapes sets are pretty much always guaranteed to be a good time.
