J-14 Editor Blog: Bamboozle 2012!

Hey J-14ers!

As an avid music fan, New Jersey's The Bamboozle Festival 2012 has been the highlight of my spring for the past three years. It's a weekend full of more bands you can get your eyes and ears on, amusement rides, good food, and people that are all bonded together by one thing -- their love for music. This year was no exception. As hyped up as the ten year anniversary had been with it's new location in Asbury Park where it originated from as Skate and Surf, the festival lived up to it's expectations. For three days thousands of people crowded the boardwalk, beach, and surrounding areas in hopes of seeing their favorite artists. By Sunday night, not a single person wasn't exhausted from the jam-packed weekend that was little more than a distant memory.

Incubus takes the stage on Friday night.

Clad in my Spirithood and best festival gear, we arrived at the festival on Friday where we spent the evening on the beach roaming from one stage to the next. We scoped out the many booths that were lined up around the festival gates including band mercy booths, clothing brands, and even foundations such as Peta 2 and To Write Love on Her Arms. To Write Love on Her Arms is one of my favorite non-profit organizations that is dedicated to helping people struggling with depression and addiction and has garnered support from celebrities and bands including Miley Cyrus, Boys Like Girls, The Rocket Summer, and so many more. The most low key of days out of the weekend, we caught glimpses of Incubus, Mac Miller, as well as the night's headliner dub-step DJ Skrillex who had the crowd going wild on the beach.

Headliner Skrillex gets the crowd dancing on the beach of Asbury Park.

Click "Read More" to check out the rest of our weekend with Action Item, Trace Cyrus, and more!

On Saturday, we arrived ready for another hot day under the sun. After finding a nice spot on the beach with clear view of the main stage, we watched performances from The Maine, Never Shout Never, and The All-American Rejects. When the sun went down, we even caught the Jersey Shore's DJ Pauly D at the Temple of Boozle stage fist pumping the night away. Though the day had been an exhausting one, we decided to check out one of Bamboozle's official after parties at Chico's House of Jazz down the street where we saw performances by Jersey's For The Foxes, pop-duo He Is We, and one of my favorite performers, The Ready Set.

Boys Like Girls get the crowd going.

Canada's Marianas Trench kicked off Sunday afternoon with an energetic set before Boys Like Girls took the stage with a mixture of new and old songs including hits like "Love Drunk" and "Thunder". We headed over back to the Temple Stage to catch the duration of Plug In Stereo's acoustic set before Trace Cyrus' new band Ashland High rocked the Convention Center. After a performance by New Jersey's Action Item -- with their a high school marching band opening their set, we caught up with Trevor Dahl of Plug In Stereo who told us all about his new album and move from his home in Oregon to Los Angeles.

Plug In Stereo's Trevor poses with J-14 Magazine backstage.

A chat with Trace Cyrus was next on our agenda who dished to us all about his new band Ashland High and his hopes of the future for his music and his clothing line Southern Made Hollywood Paid. We sat down with lead singer Brian Cag and guitarist Anthony Li of Action Item last who caught us up on their new album out later this year as well as admitting some celeb crushes. Curious as to who? Keep a look out for their Q&A's coming soon! A performance by Bon Jovi was the perfect way to end the weekend, with wall to wall people across the beach and boardwalk trying to get a sight of the New Jersey singer while singing along to his biggest hits.