Now that the Ocean City leg of the 2013 Dew Tour – an extreme sports mega-tournament spanning three cities across America – has begun, we can officially say the summer season is in full swing! Called the Dew Tour Beach Championships, this is the first of a three-part competition that moves to San Francisco, Calif., in October and concludes in Breckenridge, Colo., in December. Competitions are held for premier skateboarding and BMX athletes, with an additional surfing competition that’s exclusive to our town. This is the third year in a row Ocean City has hosted the Dew Tour and this year’s competition looks as good as ever. BMX legend Jamie Bestwick will join past Dew Tour champions Steve McCann, Ryan Decenzo and Greg Lutzka, while skateboard veterans Bob Burnquist, Bucky Lasek and Pierre-Luc Gagnon will compete against a host of young talent. The big competitions are underway and will end with the major final events on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased for premium seats but otherwise the event is free. No matter which you choose, the amount of world-class talent you will be seeing in person over the weekend will be well worth your visit. If you’re a regular reader, you may be asking yourself, “This is all really intriguing, thanks for the information, Nate…but what does this have to do with music?” Ah, you know me too well! While this is mostly a celebration of extreme sports, there are also a couple of dance, hip hop and pop concerts that will be held on the beach near the pier tonight and Saturday night, starting at 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., respectively. These aren’t your regular Ocean City cover bands, but big name, chart-topping, up and coming and nevertheless greatly talented musical acts. And best of all is that both concerts are completely free! So there’s really no reason for you not to go! So let’s get acquainted to these four acts that will be playing so I can convince you to attend one of the biggest concerts in Ocean City this summer!

 

Playing: Friday night opener

Alright, we’re getting out of the pure electronic music realm for a second to talk about New Politics, a pop rock band with an influence of dance music who hails all the way from Copenhagen, Denmark. Singer Davoid Boyd; guitarist, singer and keyboardist Søren Hansen and drummer Louis Vecchio have one album, the self-titled New Politics, under their belt, with a new album, A Bad Girl in Harlem, that was just released last month. Gone are the heavy beats from the band we just read about, but replaced are catchy riffs and lyrics that create upbeat songs that are easy and fun to listen to. New Politics has opened for bands such as 30 Seconds to Mars and Fall Out Boy.  

 

Playing: Friday night closer

This trio from Chicago, Ill., plays energetic house music that will feel right at home with the dance music that’s regularly played at our favorite clubs around town.  Consisting of sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf and producer/mixer Kris Trindl, better known as Rain Man, the band officially formed in 2007 but has made quite a surge in 2012. With heavy bass beats, loud synthesizers and a pretty, albeit auto-tuned, voice, Krewella had a breakthrough last year with two EP releases, Break Hard and Break Harder. The band also made appearances at several electronic dance festivals around the world last year, including headlining at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Fla., and Electric Daisy Carnival in New Jersey. Their work last year earned the group a great honor by being named the best breakthrough group at the 2013 Annual International Dance Music Awards. The band is in the process of recording their first full-length studio album, which is planned to release in September this year. This will be a unique event to see an up and coming group before they make it big! They are also making an appearance at this year’s Firefly Music Festival Satuday night on The Porch at 8pm in Dover, Del.

 

Playing: Saturday night opener, 9 pm

DJ Stimulus is a solo artist as well as a member of New York-based group The Real Live Show with his childhood friend hip hop artist Malik Work. The band, which has a seven-piece jazz ensemble, has said their music is a mix of funk and hip hop that sounds like The Roots combined with Parliament-Funkadelic and Outkast. The fun begins at this show when music and extreme sports will collaborate more than symbolically. During DJ Stimulus’ set, the Skateboard Battle at the Beach Street Session will take place, bringing skateboarders Tyan Decenzo, Greg Lutzka and Manny Santiago together for a friendly competition against each other. A big screen in front of the stage will show a live feed of the competition that will be taking place on the Dew Tour premise while DJ Stimulus’ mixes will keep the town going throughout the night.

 

Playing: Saturday night closer

Talib Kweli is easily the biggest name in this concert series. From Brooklyn, N.Y., Talib Kweli gained prominence in the late 90s by joining rapper Mos Def to form the hip hop duo Black Star. Since then, he has released eight more albums and has collaborated with several other big musical acts such as Kanye West, Common, The Roots and John Legend. Last month, Talib Kweli released Prisoner of Conscious, which earned mostly favorable reviews by critics. A lot of his songs are dramatic, but in a good way in that it helps connect with the message being portrayed. A lot of his music is driven to inspire people through thought-provoking lyrics about spirituality, love and positivity.

For more information about this year’s Dew Tour, visit www.allisports.com/dew-tour/.