Will vehicles continue to stay out of Asbury on day two of Bamboozle?
Public heeded call not to drive into city, twice as many expected today with attendance of 40,000 predicted
The second day of the Bamboozle music festival is set to open at 2:00 p.m. today, with estimates for attendance double last night’s crowd.
According to Asbury Park city manager Terry Reidy, approximately 23,000 were on hand Friday. That exceeded the projections of Bamboozle promoter LiveNation which predicted 20,000.
LiveNation predicts 40,000 today in Asbury Park. Aside from the longer hours on day two — Bamboozle opened later yesterday at 5:00 p.m. — the Saturday bill also includes bigger name acts with headliner Foo Fighters slated for 7:30 on the main stage.
Yesterday saw surprisingly light traffic on the streets of Asbury Park, as the public heeded calls not to drive into the city this weekend. Many festival-goers said they arrived by train or taxi. Hotels and bed and breakfasts in Asbury and Ocean Grove were full, and many rented rooms in private homes and apartments, further reducing vehicular traffic of those attending the event. LiveNation has also set up parking at Monmouth Park in Oceanport with shuttles to the concert site.
Asbury police will again close streets east to west as parking fills up. Local residents will still be able to pass the barricades. A couple hours after Bamboozle opened on Friday many streets had been closed east of Grand Avenue, but police had no trouble controlling the light traffic that needed to go past the barricades.
With the public avoiding the city, Asbury Park’s downtown business district was unusually quiet for a Friday night, with its restaurants largely empty at dinnertime. Plenty of empty parking spaces could be found on the streets, particularly those off Cookman Avenue. The Bamboozle crowd on the first night appeared to be primarily teens and those in their early twenties. Once they are admitted, attendees cannot leave and reenter the festival area located on the waterfront from Convention Hall north.
Bamboozle concludes tomorrow with Bon Jovi headlining as the closing act on the main stage. Sunday’s festival will also open at 2:00 p.m. The music stops at 11:00 p.m. tonight and tomorrow.
From yesterday’s Asbury Park Sun:
Click here for the Sun story on downtown Asbury restaurants hurt on the first night of Bamboozle. Includes a link to photos of the empty downtown business district on the Sun’s Facebook page.
Click here for the Sun story on the crowd estimates of 23,000 on the first night of Bamboozle, with no traffic or parking snags. Includes a link to photos of the first day of Bamboozle on the Sun’s Facebook page.
