Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption, Rock & Roll

Synopsis

Once a popular seaside resort, Asbury Park, New Jersey was also home to the Upstage, a now legendary club where musicians such Steven Van Zandt, Southside Johnny Lyon and Bruce Springsteen got their first breaks. It was there that Springsteen met players such as Vini 'Mad Dog' Lopez, David Sancious, Garry Tallent, Danny Federici and Ernest 'Boom' Carter. These musicians brought the sound of Asbury Park to the wider world. Then on Independence Day, 1970, Asbury Park experienced seven days of race riots which crippled the town for the next 45 years and destroyed the famous Westside jazz and blues scene. Closed down and boarded up, the Upstart club remains a perfect time capsule, a memorial to the legendary Jersey sound. This film features a concert given to a sold-out Paramount Theater by Van Zandt, Southside Johnny and Springsteen plus never-before-seen interviews and performances, and an Upstage reunion jam. A mindblowing theatrical event in Asbury Park where it all began.