Music Monday

 July 31, 2026 .  Our destination:

(Northwell is a huge medical corporation that runs multiple hospitals.  When I used my debit card for food, my bank labeled the purchase as “doctor visit”. Well, music does have medicinal qualities…)

We used to go several times every summer, but lately there haven’t been any shows we wanted to see.

Until now, of course.

They’ve done a lot of renovations since the last time we were here.  Now the first thing you see in the “lobby” is a picnic area with artificial grass, tables and chairs, and a DJ — he was playing the best of the 70’s and 80’s.

We grabbed a table and bought dinner.  Drew got a burger and fries.  I got … sushi!

The tube in the side of the container is soy sauce.  You open the top of the container and add the  sauce, then insert the tube into a hole in the bottom and use it like a push pop. The gluten free girl didn’t use any soy sauce (it’s made with wheat), but I did enjoy the spicy tuna and avocado cucumber rolls.

I also got some ice cream.  The gluten free girl was disappointed that the only Ben &Jerry’s flavor was cookies and cream.  But this …

Squeeze it like a yogurt pouch.  Vanilla soft serve, perfect.

And some swag from a local radio station.

And then it was time to go inside the amphitheater.

First let me show you the view from a concert when we saw Jimmy Buffet a few years ago. (We saw him many times at the beach.)

Now the view from July 31.

I think we did a little better this time. 14 rows from the stage, not bad.

But you’re wondering what brought us here, aren’t you?

The opening act was Richard Marx.

Let me offer you a short clip of his performance.

And now I’ll offer you a few of his songs.

Yes, the terns came to see Marx perform.  We are at the beach, after all.

Now, you may be wondering why I chose a duet Marx did with Rod Stewart.  Well, it’s because Marx opened for Sir Rod.

Rod Stewart has performed at Jones Beach 17 times, starting in 1984. You may remember that Drew and I saw Stewart at Jones Beach in 2014.  We had tickets to see him in August 2022, but I couldn’t go; Drew went with a friend.  We were going to buy tickets to see Rod Stewart and Billy Joel at Yankee Stadium last year, but Billy Joel canceled all his shows due to illness. So when  we heard Sir Rod would bring his farewell your tour to Jones Beach…

First I’ll share some photos and clips from the concert, then we’ll play a few of his tunes.

The concert began with bagpipes, then the red curtain rose …

The audience rose to their feet .And there was Sir Rod, with his band and backup singers. 

 

He apologized to the audience, he’s a bit stiff because he “tore his meniscus playing football.”  

81 years old and still playing soccer …

He encouraged us to dance and to sing along.  And we did.  Hardly anyone sat down all evening.

Yes, that’s Stevie Van Zandt on guitar.  He showed up for two songs.

Rod did get a bit political.  When he sang “Rhythm of My Heart”  he made his support for Ukraine very clear.

 I will quote him here.  “F*ck Putin.”

His encore was a cover of the O’Jays’ hit “Love Train”, featuring headlines about the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Iran.  You could tell he’s not happy with his former friend Donald Trump.

Took almost an hour to get out of the parking lot …

So now, the songs…

Overall a great night.