Pop Break Live: Dispatch, Jon Butler, G. Love and Donavon Frankenreiter at The Stone Pony Summer Stage on July 4, 2025 in Asbury Park, New Jersey
Words by Bill Bodkin | Photos by Matt Heasley
“What better way to celebrate the 4th of July!?” exclaimed John Butler mid-set.
The Australian-American multi-instrumentalist could not be more right. An amazing concert featuring Dispatch, Butler, G. Love & Special Sauce and Donavon Frankenreiter on a picture perfect summer’s day. The smell of Coppertone, grilled food, SALTY sea air and well … you know, wafting about the bustling boardwalk of Asbury Park. Normal Rockwell himself could not have painted a more glorious celebration of Americana.
However, that’s not what John Butler was talking about. What Butler (and then headliners Dispatch) spoke of was standing up for the rights of the innocent, taking care of the world, not letting the wealthy grind you down with their chokehold on the political system, and most importantly three simple words — peace, love, and understanding. The simple essence of what this country was founded on.
And if you were shocked by these attitudes and statements while seeing these bands, or are shocked reading this right now … do you even realize what bands we’re talking about here?
This prevailing themes of love, peace, understanding was the type of refreshing and necessary activist messaging that these bands are purveyors of, and their words, right now, are vital. Their songs, while absolutely wonderfully fun summertime anthems that get your body moving in dance loudly speak to the heart, the soul and the conscious.
Simply put … what better way to celebrate July 4th.
G. Love and Donavon Frankenreiter
“Welcome to the front porch!”
These words exclaimed by Philadelphia’s favorite funky son, G. Love, were the perfect summation of his set with Donavon Frankenreiter. Frankenreiter kicked off the split set and plucked his guitar, looking like a surf version of Sam Elliott from The Big Lebowski and that is meant in the most reverential way possible. His trademark rapsy voice unfurled past his laudable mustache providing a vibe of bluesy chill — easing the audience into this multi-hour concert. He strummed through his set with G. Love on complimentary guitar and harmonica. After the brief set, G. Love returned with Special Sauce and turned the front porch into church serenading the crowd with blistering versions of his hits “Soulbque,” “She Got Sauce,” and “Rodeo Clowns” (Frankenreiter filling in for Jack Johnson). It was an absolutely electric set filled with wailing harmonica, soaring guitars and thick basslines. Where Frankenreiter has eased us into things, G. Love got our souls ready for what lay ahead.
John Butler
John Butler swaggered onto stage and delivered a thunderous performance. His aura on stage vacillated between rockstar, activist, gypsy pirate and musical savant … all depending on the song. Butler broke out his custom 11-string Maton guitar for an epic, near impossibly gigantic guitar solos that pierced the sky — especially on “Wade into Water” off his 2023 record, HOME. He also deployed his banjo and multiple guitars throughout the set. He broke out his jittery “Used to Get High for a Living” and the very danceable “Zebra” during a set that proved Butler’s multiple talents do not lie within his instruments alone, but his vocal range as well.
Dispatch
The almighty Dispatch took the stage as the moon rose high into the sky, and a deep, near purple night sky enveloped the City that Bruce Built. The band delivered an all gas, no brakes set that encompassed everything from their seminal 1997 record Bang Bang to their 2025 release Yellow Jacket. The crowd was in the palm of their hands from the first note of “Bats in the Belfry” to the final notes of their all-star cover of Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” (featuring Butler, Frankenreiter and G. Love).
Mid-set Chadwick Stokes got the entire audience to break into a huge sing-a-long of John Denver’s “Take Home, Country Roads” — which of course every person at the Jersey Shore worth their salt knows by heart. The band’s new songs like “Yellow Jacket” and “Trinket” were extremely well received, but those hits … hit. The spirit of “Bats in the Belfry” (which got a bit of a reggae slow down) and “The General” brought some many in the audience back to a day of idyllic youth… or so this writer thought. The encore featuring “Flying Horses” and “Bang Bang” were the songs that were truly transportative. They acted like a musical TARDIS taking the audience back to the days of college quads, boom boxes, hacky sacks and unadulterated joy. It was a wild thing to behold, and the band who’ve been at this for nearly 30 years were just as fueled with energy, rebellion and hope as they were when they first graced the stages oh so many years ago.
Dispatch Setlist:
Bats in the Belfry
Skin the Rabbit
Painted Yellow Lines
Whisk Me Away
Only the Wild Ones
Fallin’ (Braddigan song)
Trinket (with John Butler)
Take Me Home, Country Roads (John Denver cover)
Past the Falls
Bound by Love
Open Up
Yellow Jacket
Letter to Lady J
The General
Encore:
Flying Horses
Bang Bang
Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan cover)
