The Rock and Roll Jersey Shore Tour, 16 April 2025

As we had decided to go to the New York area for the Easter holiday I knew I wanted to book the Rock and Roll Tour of the Jersey shore. On the website there were two tour alternatives; the 2 hours tour and the 4 hours tour. We picked the latter one. When the details around the booking were sorted, it was decided that on April 16th we would take the New Jersey Transit train from Newark Penn Station to Long Branch where we would be picked up.

The day of the tour the weather wasn’t exactly welcoming. It was cloudy and very windy. Waiting for us at the train station was none other than Stan Goldstein, a true Springsteen authority and a bit of a legend in his own right. Stan turned out to be a walking encyclopaedia, full of stories, trivia, and personal insight. You could feel his passion in every stop we made, and he brought Bruce’s world to life in a way no guidebook ever could. The whole tour we travelled by car and stopped for photo ops and to hear Stan’s anecdotes. We visited Long Branch, Red Bank, Colts Neck, Freehold, Belmar and Asbury Park.

In 2026, the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music (currently housed at Monmouth University in West Long Branch) is set to move into a brand new facility on campus. When leaving the train station we drove past the massive construction site, which will eventually include exhibits, a 230-seat theatre, public programs, and more. A reason to come back next year? Definitely.

Long Branch is also the location of the the Born to Run house where the screen door slams and Mary’s dress waves or is it sways? Yes, the debate lives on. (I’m team sways)

In Freehold, we saw the neighbourhood where Bruce grew up; the site of his first home on Randolph Street (the house has been torn down) and the house at 39 ½ Institute Street where his family moved in 1958. Oliver helped me to replicate a classic photo of Bruce (that is on the liner notes of his “Born in the U.S.A.” album), leaning against a tree in front of the house.

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There was also time for an ice cream (and a photo op) at Jersey Freeze, where Springsteen is a regular. He didn’t show up while we were there but has been hitting the spot with his family since he was a child. While feasting on our ice cream cones I tried to visualise young Bruce biking around the town that inspired the song My Honetown. In Freehold Stan also pointed out a location used in the upcoming biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere and the store which was the inspiration for the song Local Hero. We also stopped by Springsteen’s old high school.

Another location with a bit of mystique was the house in Colts Neck where Springsteen recorded the legendary Nebraska album, just him, a guitar, and a tape recorder. It’ll also be featured in the upcoming biopic. On our tour, we only caught a glimpse of the house and the driveway as we passed by. Still, knowing that such a raw and powerful album was created there gave the place a real sense of importance.

One of the stops I appreciated the most was the famous crossroads of 10th Avenue and E Street in Belmar (Stan jokingly called it “the Springsteen fan’s walking-across-Abbey Road shot”). It was tucked into a quiet residential neighborhood. Former bandmate David Sancious lived there with his mother, and according to Stan, the E Street Band got its name not because they rehearsed there a lot, but because Dave was always late. The other band members spent a lot of time in the car outside his house waiting for him. It goes without saying that we hopped out of the car to take the obligatory photos of the street sign and a giant replica of Springsteen’s famous Fender-Esquire guitar.

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On our way through Rumson to Sea Bright, we passed a bridge Springsteen was driving over on the afternoon of 9/11. With the Manhattan skyline clearly visible from the bridge, it suddenly felt very real and easy to understand how that moment inspired the song Empty Sky. That same day, a passing driver reportedly yelled, “Bruce, we need you!”, a moment that ended up inspiring the whole album The Rising.

In Asbury Park, we saw where the Upstage Club once was situated, on Cookman Avenue. The Upstage Club was a legendary coffee shop, music venue, and afterhours club and the place where Springsteen first honed his live performance skills in 1969. We then passed all the legendary Springsteen landmarks; the Casino Carousel House, the Stone Pony, Convention Hall, Madam Marie’s, and the classic Tilly mural on the Wonder Bar (where Clarence Clemons met and played with Bruce for the first time). FYI, the Casino Carousel House is also featured in the upcoming biopic. We didn’t stop for photos this time; the shots you see below are from our visit two years ago—when, for the record, the weather was much nicer.

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I had the highest of expectations going into the Rock and Roll tour of the Jersey Shore and it absolutely lived up to them. It meant more to me than I had expected. I never got the chance to see the Broadway show, and for years I’ve felt like I missed the window to do the full Springsteen pilgrimage in New Jersey. Apart from a quick visit to the Asbury Park boardwalk once, I hadn’t really seen any of it. So to finally stand outside those houses, visit the landmarks, and hear the stories in the places where they actually happened was emotional, in the best way.

Looking back, I’m surprised at how much we managed to pack into just four hours. We were busy soaking up stories, snapping photos, and grinning every time we recognised something from an album cover or a lyric. Stan didn’t feel like just another tour guide reciting facts from a script. He felt like a fellow fan, riding along with us, sharing stories and excitement. Of course, his knowledge far surpassed ours, but the vibe was more shared passion than lecture.

I’ve been a fan of Springsteen for a long time, but seeing the actual places behind the music added something extra. For any Springsteen fan, this tour isn’t just sightseeing. It’s about connecting the dots between the stories in the songs and the real places behind them. This was one of those experiences I know I’ll remember for a long time.

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Five posts later, the travel log is officially complete. I hope you didn’t miss any of the earlier posts:

New York sightseeing

A day in Philly

Ashley Monroe in Brooklyn

The Brothers in Madison Square Garden

Thanks for tagging along. Next up: Springsteen comes back to Europe. We have nine shows booked, starting in Manchester on 17 May. See you further on up the road!

📸: pita_oli and myself