“If you fight your dreams, your dreams will fight for you.”
This quote perfectly describes the 10+ long journey for the husband and wife team of Vincent Minervino and Magdalena O’Connell. For over a decade the two have put in a near unfathomable amount of blood, sweat and tears and gave up their careers to pursue their dream.
This weekend, that work is celebrated in the 10-year anniversary of the Hi-Tide Summer Holiday, an internationally renowned celebration of all things surf, lounge, tiki, and exotica. The three-day celebration will take place at the Asbury Lanes and Asbury Hotel and features a litany of incredible bands from around the world, a delectable selection of island eats and tropical cocktails, shopping, dancing, swimming and the fun in the sun you can ask for.
However, this 10-year anniversary is so much more than just a music festival. It is truly a celebration of these Vincent and Magdalena and their journey from booking gigs around the Jersey Shore to owning three records labels, working on opening a brick and mortar record shop and curating music from around the world. We spoke with them about their journey, their dream and this weekend’s show.
The Hi-Tide Summer Holiday turns 10 this summer. It has evolved from the Asbury Park Surf Music Festival into an international destination for surf music. Can you speak on the evolution of the festival and it has become such a destination for this scene?
Magdalena O’Connell: The event actually preceded the labels. When we started out in 2014, Summer Holiday was a regional event which expanded slightly every year. In 2016, we brought in Messer Chups from Russia as part of their first USA tour, and in 2017 The Surfrajettes from Canada joined us for the first time. As we built relationships with these artists and brought them onto the label, the event started to become a bit of an annual Hi-Tide showcase. This all culminated in 2023, when Hi-Tide & Nu-Tone artists made up the entire bill.
Vincent Minervino: With the launch of Nu-Tone in 2022, and our new Go-Time imprint, we have expanded the sound to include calypso, cumbia, cinematic funk, hip-hop, doo-wop garage-pop & more. We look forward to pushing the boundaries even further in the future.
What was the biggest lesson you learned running this festival for the past 10 years? Also, in the same vein – what did you discover about yourselves during this whole process? Also, did suspending the festival during the pandemic change the way you do business/view how you do the festival?
Magdalena O’Connell: I think our biggest learn is that a diverse event brings a diverse crowd, and we are proud to have expanded to a point where you see a lot of different walks of life attending Summer Holiday. Everyone is welcome, and it’s a 100% drama-free.
Vincent Minervino: We’ve also learned that infinite growth isn’t realistic. While last year’s lineup was more star-studded, this years is more of a tastemaker lineup of rising stars. And it may look a bit more like that in the future – one of our main goals with this event, and our labels is to develop the “next generation” headliners.
The evolution of the festival definitely parallels the Hi-Tide label’s evolution – something small and local to celebrate the scene that explodes into an international destination for the genre. Did you have designs to take both the festival and label to these heights or were these both very big wishes that you had, but never really thought it’d come to fruition.
Vincent Minervino: Hi-Tide started out as a hobby. A “fake” label to slap onto the first Black Flamingos 45. As we brought artists to town for Summer Holiday, we realized the need within the scene for a label that knows the business, and doesn’t mind hustling for a new artist. The surf and exotica world sorely needed a label like this, and we are having fun building the Nu-Tone brand in the funk, Latin & soul world as well. Go-Time addresses a similar need within the roots music world.
You both quit your full-time positions to run the record labels and run the festival. That is an extremely risky proposition. Take me to the moment where you decided “Yes, this is the time to do this.” Also, talk about the experience of being your own bosses who run international businesses that deal with creatives on the regular?
Magdalena O’Connell: It was definitely a scary decision. The pandemic really showed us that it was possible to go all-in. People were ordering our records a mini-escapes because they couldn’t leave the house. We connected with a whole new audience, and they have stayed in touch since.
Vincent Minervino: Being your own boss comes with its own set of stresses for sure. In some ways the ability to leave the job at the door was a nice thing, whereas it can be tough to build in disconnection points as an entrepreneur. But I can’t imagine going back to working for someone else. Thanks to everyone who has supported us in making this possible! We appreciate you all.
Circling back to the festival, what has been the proudest moment you’ve experienced in the past decade? Have you had the time to sit back and actually smell the roses or are you both hyper focused on improving for the next year?
Magdalena O’Connell: I would say that last year’s lineup was a big win for us. We had many artists returning from prior years, who had joined the label in the meantime, such as The 5.6.7.8’s. And having The Ventures as our headliner, with a new album release was really a major highlight for us.
Vincent Minervino: Now that we have had some consistency with the venue and the team, we are able to relax and enjoy the event much more than the early years. HUGE shout to the Lanes and Hotel teams for all of their support.
Are you surprised that you’ve been able to create a successful annual music festival and record label that supports you financially – all based on very niche and specific genres of music.
Magdalena O’Connell: Honestly the niche element is WHY we have been able to do this. We have connected with people around the world through our labels and Summer Holiday becomes a bit of a reunion ever year. It’s a collision of worlds for sure as people from around the world get to experience Asbury Park.
Vincent, this question is more geared to you. You’re a musician and that’s how you first ran into Pop Break. Does the business side of things ever get in the way of your creative impulses as a musician? Or do you find you still have the time and passion for original, creative music?
Vincent Minervino: Some of my favorite parts of being a musician are writing, recording, art directing, and sharing. I get to to be a part of these things for many of our artists, so in a sense I get to be more active creatively by running the label. Black Flamingos puts out a good amount of new music, and we have a new album in the works that might surprise people. I also have GOONS! which is performing on the Little Steven’s Underground Garage Cruise. So I’m keeping busy for sure!
The Summer Holiday is upon us – what is an event you have at the festival you think people are going to be surprised by, and what’s a “sleeper” band on the line-up this year.
Magdalena O’Connell: Of course we love every artist performing, but we think The Courettes and The McCharmlys are really going to make an impact. Also we are super excited to see how Monster Rally transitions the sets. We are huge fans!
There were plans to take the Holiday on the road (I know there was a Winter Holiday in Pittsburgh) – are plans still in the works for this?
Magdalena O’Connell: Yes! When we rebranded from Asbury Park Surf Music Festival, we wanted to leave the door open to produce the event in more places. Some dream locations for us are Mexico City, Tokyo, Las Vegas and the Bay Area.
When we spoke last year, you were working on opening a brick-and-mortar store in Freehold. Can you update us on the progress of the store?
Vincent Minervino: It’s been challenging to find space in Freehold Borough. But we have been working on connecting with the community and we have created a lot of advocates. We hope to have a small retail space open this October. We will be vending at Freehold Borough Octoberfest on October 6 – come say hello! You can follow @boro_records on Instagram for updates.
What some releases from Hi-Tide and Nu-Tone that’ll be out post-Summer Holiday that you’re extremely excited about?
Magdalena O’Connell: This fall we have two Halloween “Double Feature” 45s releasing from The Surfrajettes & Black Flamingos, along with a Halloween party at Wonder Bar on October 26! Save the date for that, more info coming next week. We also have a brand new LP from The Surfrajettes coming in October which has done very well in pre-order. On the Nu-Tone side we have a new McCharmlys 45 coming, and new music in queue from The Charities, The Jazztronauts, Life of Grime and Johnny Burgos.
Vincent Minervino: We have a new single from The Sound Minds out today from Go-Time! They will perform this weekend at Summer Holiday. The first vinyl release on the new imprint is by Ichi-Bons this September, just ahead of their tour with the Reverend Horton Heat. That tour hits The Stone Pony on September 26, so that will be a bit of a local release party! Hope to see you there.
Quick Hit Questions (For Both of You To Answer):
1. Best Non-New Jersey U.S. Based Tiki Bar: Tough one…but we have to go with the Mai Kai. Unmatched and the last of it’s kind.
2. Best International Tiki Bar: Trader Vic’s Tokyo
3. Your Go-To Tiki Drink: Jungle Bird
4. The #1 Band You Want on The Summer Holiday: Tito Ramírez
5. The Nu-Tone Band You Think More People Need to Be Listening To: The Tailspins
6. Essential Surf Halloween Song: Satan’s Pilgrims “Creature Feature”
7. Essential Surf Christmas Song: Black Flamingos “Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animal”
