NEW YEAR’S ON THE BANKS DELIVERS EAST COAST NYE WEEKEND MINI-FEST
The event was held at a beachfront hotel on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
New Year’s On The Banks was an outer space/intergalactic-themed two-day and night mini-festival that brought together music for everyone type line-up with The Movement, Little Stranger, and East Coast American Reggae favorite Cultivated Mind for night #1, followed by Andy Frasco & The U.N., Little Stranger, and Dale and the ZDubs ringing in the new year on night #2. (Little Stranger played both nights)
The sold-out event produced by VUSIC OBX (pronounced Viewsic Outer Banks), was held at a beachfront hotel in a very small, comfortable, intimate setting inside the hotel ballroom, with food and beverages available throughout the hotel grounds.
Highlights of the event included Josh Swain of The Movement sending a spontaneous memorial shoutout to the late Josh Ledsome and Reynolds Law, two staples in the East Coast music support scene leading into Kingdom by Johnny Cosmic, a tune The Movement collaborated on.
Andy Frasco sent Little Stranger crowd surfing for Jameson while also bringing a reveler up on stage for a birthday shoutout and gift from the band.
The collaborations ran thick throughout both evenings with Little Stranger joining The Movement and Andy Frasco, Dale and the ZDubs joining Little Stranger and Andy Frasco, and Gary Dread jumping up with Cultivated Mind.
The energy ran especially high during Andy Frasco & The U.N.’s set when Little Stranger joined in on Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit, and Dale and the ZDubs jumped up for Killing In The Name Of by Rage Against The Machine.
The event had many extracurricular activities throughout the two-day blowout including a silent disco hosted and DJ’d by Gary Dread of The Movement, a yoga session with Craig Honeycutt from The Band Everything, and Andy Frasco hosting an episode of his “World Saving Podcast” with Little Stranger and Dale Rodman from Dale and the ZDubs as featured guests.
Frasco closed out the mini-fest with a New Year’s Day “Polar Plunge” where guests were invited to submerge in the Atlantic to raise money for VUSIC HEALS, a non-profit led by VUSIC OBX supporting those with physical or emotional hardships that provides a wide range of free of charge live music experiences such as single concert tickets, backstage experiences, music lessons, or all-inclusive VIP concerts.
Be sure to catch each of these bands live in 2024 as they are quickly announcing their tour dates via Instagram.
ANDY FRASCO & THE U.N – @andyfrasco
THE MOVEMENT – @themovementvibe
LITTLE STRANGER – @littlestrangermusic
DALE AND THE ZDUBS – @daleandthezdubs
CULTIVATED MIND – @cutivatedmindmusic
Founded in 2021, VUSIC OBX is the Outer Banks’ premier live music event organizer having safely and successfully completed 20+ events in 2023 across several genres including Reggae (Rock), Country, and Pop-Punk – hosting the likes of Dirty Heads, Iration, The Expendables, Passafire, Rebelution, G. Love and Special Sauce, Matisyahu, Joe Samba, Makua Rothman, Kyle Rising, Lettuce, Steel Pulse, Bikini Trill, Travis Tritt, Jake Owen, and the Is For Lovers Tour with Hawthorne Heights and Thrice.
Follow VUSIC OBX @vusicobx for information on their 2024 concert calendar.
Story/Video: Joe Gamez
Pics: VUSIC OBX
New Year’s On The Banks Video Recap:
Andy Frasco’s Polar Plunge Benefiting VUSIC HEALS:
Review by Joe Gamez
