Stoked for the Summer 2025: The Day My Town Went Punk
The Bouncing Souls’ annual Stoked for the Summer returned to the legendary Stone Pony Summer Stage for an epic night of punk rock at the Jersey Shore. This was my sixth Stoked since I moved to Asbury Park, and it was arguably the best one yet. The bands were on point, the crowd was full of energy, and the weather was perfect. And as a special bonus, I got to finally see one of the first SoCal punk bands I was introduced to waaaaaaaaaaay back in college.
New Jersey’s own Crazy & The Brains kicked off the event and were followed by Spraynard, H2O, Dillinger Four, and Lagwagon. All five bands played great sets and had the crowd buzzing. As always, The Souls closed the night with a loud and energetic performance that whipped their loyal fans into a frenzy. This year they kicked things off the with “Manthem” and ran through a helluva set of new and old favorites. The crowd surfing and circle pit were non-stop, and a guest guitarist even launched himself towards the crowd at one point (he almost made it). The true believers and hopeless romantics really added to this show’s aura, and I’m already looking forward to next year.
If you haven’t had a chance to get to a Stoked for the Summer yet, what the hell are you waiting for? You need to add it to your Summer 2026 to-do list ASAP! Until then, go check out all six of these awesome bands wherever you stream your music.
The Bouncing Souls
Lagwagon
Dillinger Four
H2O
Spraynard
Crazy and the Brains
Coverage from August 16, 2025 at Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, NJ.
All photos are © Michael Campanile Photography and cannot be used without permission.
