Pop Break Live: Major League, Hit the Lights with Rematch and Public Works at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park on Thursday May 14, 2026
“It’s been a long fucking time,” Major League lead singer Nick Trask acknowledged during the beginning of their set at Asbury Park’s The Stone Pony on Thursday May 14. Having last played there in 2013, this statement couldn’t have been any truer for the band.
As they say, though, distance makes the heart grow fonder, an age-old adage that Major League seemed to have taken personally. Following electric opening performances by Rematch and Public Works, Major League had no problem keeping the energy high, beginning their hour-long set with “I Don’t Like You, Whatsoever.”
This vitality comes as a surprise, not because of how long it’s been since the band’s last tour, but because of their own show pregame. “We just got blasted with tattoos in the back,” guitarist Brian Joyce confessed following that first song of the night. According to Joyce, the band honored their band photographer, Laura, by all getting tattoos of peanuts before performing, which surely cannot be found on any tattoo artist’s aftercare pamphlet.
As the band segued into hit after hit with bleeding arms— “Head up, Kid!,” “Need I Remind You”—the crowd proved to be a mixed bag. Pop-punk regulars sporting dyed hair who probably grew up on the music populated the barricade, while others were most likely shocked when attendees spread their arms to form a mosh pit in the center of the venue at the encouragement of the band. Despite it not being full of the typical rock show audience, Major League performed like it was, jumping around on stage like they were 19 again and without a mortgage. Their synergy together felt palpable, with no hints of not having consistently been playing together this whole time, up until now.
“It took a really long time to get back in the right mindset to be on stage together,” Trask admitted, not leaving fans in the dark as to why a reunion felt put on the back burner. As he said that performing “still feels like a dream,” the band delivered on these words and definitely gathered some cool dad lore in the process.
The current lineup of Major League consists of Nick Trask (vocals), Brian Joyce (guitar/vocals), Matt Chila (guitar), Eric Bouda (bass), and Luke Smartnick (drums). At the Stone Pony show, Livi Dillon graced the band with her bass playing, to which Trask remarked, “We needed some girl power on stage tonight.” While seemingly a passive comment, this alone represents a major shift towards women being more accepted into typically male-dominated genres, something that adds to the decade-long time jump from Major League of the past to now.
Despite the tour being its own ongoing 10-year reunion party, the invitation clearly included plus ones as this more mature generation of fans now drag their kids along to baby’s first most pit. Major League not only grew as individuals, but with an entire subset of fans who can still find the humor in screaming along to lyrics about teenage ex-girlfriends while appreciating the here and now of adulthood.
With another tour approaching for the band this summer with Belmont, Spite House, and All in Your Head, Major League undoubtedly will continue to show off that the “old vets” still know how to hang.
