Atlantic City beach concert exceeds crowd size expectations

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Page 1 of 5 Atlantic City beach concert exceeds crowd size expectations SARA TRACEY, Staff Writer Posted: Sunday, August 16, 2015 9:56 pm When this year's Atlantic City beach concerts were announced,

1 Page 1 of 5 Atlantic City beach concert exceeds crowd size expectations SARA TRACEY, Staff Writer Posted: Sunday, August 16, :56 pm When this year's Atlantic City beach concerts were announced, there was some concern because they weren't free this time around. If Sunday's crowds indicated anything, it's that people would pay for the acts Live Nation lined up. Early crowd estimates from the promoted put attendance at 50,000-plus people. Tickets started at $39.50, with the city receiving a $3 cut for each sold. Some of the thousands of people Maroon 5, Nick Jonas and Matt McAndrew drew to the beach showed up quite early -- 6 a.m. to be exact. M aroon 5 Beach Concert Singer Adam Levine performs with Maroon 5 on the Atlantic City beach, Sunday Aug. 16, Jazmin Mena, a 17-year-old from near Cherry Hill, was not one of those early risers. She arrived at the beach at about 11 a.m. with her brother and mom. They enjoyed lunch on the beach at about 1:30 p.m., waiting for her band of choice for the evening, Maroon 5. "It's a little crowded, it'll probably be backed up a little," she said, sitting in the sand with a homemade sandwich. She sat next to plastic-lined alleyways made for easier walking and transport for official vehicles. Those pathways all but disappeared once the music started playing.

2 Page 2 of 5 Maroon 5 Beach Concert in AC The Atlantic City beach concert featuring Maroon 5, Nick Jonas and Barnegat Light native Matt McAndrew, Sunday, August 16, 2015 by Press of A SEEN at the AC Maroon 5 Beach Concert Crowds descended on Atlantic City for Sunday's Maroon 5 concert as early as 5 a.m. to be first in line for best beach seats. The beach concert seemed to bring business to the Boardwalk, which was packed with concertgoers before the show. Very busy, said Kato Mon, a 26-year-old employee at Bill s Gyro Souvlaki, where there was little room to walk. It s almost like Fourth of July. Leslie Barragan, an 18-year-old worker at nearby Lo Presti s Pizza and Grill, said pizzas were selling fast at their other location near the beach. Today there s a lot of people, and I know my boss, Frank, is really happy about that.

3 Page 3 of 5 Robert Ciliberto, 46, of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, said Atlantic City should have more beach concerts. Look at all the people spending money, he said, sitting in the sand with friends. I d have one every weekend. The musical performers of the evening seemed to enjoy the crowds as much as the crowds enjoyed the music. McAndrew went on first, with about a half-hour set. The Long Beach Island native commented on his luck at playing such a venue. Not like he hadn't played to thousands -- if not millions -- of fans before, as a finalist on season 7 of NBC's "The Voice." Maroon 5, Nick Jonas rock Atlantic City It couldn't have been a better day for the beach. "I'm from Long Beach Island, and I never knew something like this would happen to me," he said. McAndrew played on what he was known for on the show, popular covers and successful original singles. Hozier's "Take Me To Church" and "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri were well received, as were his own songs, "Wasted Love" and "Counting on Love." As the acts went on, the crowd got more into the music and atmosphere. Nick Jonas melded his own songs with popular hits, such as Tupac's "California Love" or Snoop Dog's "Pop It Like It's Hot." "Y'all look like you're ready to party tonight," Jonas cried out to the responsive crowd. But the masses were there for Maroon 5, clearly. The cheers were loud, long and enthusiastic by 5:58 p.m. when the band fronted by Adam Levine started in with "Animals." They continued to play for about 25 minutes straight before going to their first break. Wilbur Fields, an Atlantic City native, had a great vantage point of his hometown. He was one of a few dozen people who meandered toward the pier off the Playground. Holding a $3 Coors aluminum bottle in his hand, Fields said he estimated a crowd of about 45,000.

4 Page 4 of 5 Maroon 5 Beach Concert in AC The Atlantic City beach concert featuring Maroon 5, Nick Jonas and Barnegat Light native Matt McAndrew, Sunday, August 16, 2015 by Press of A Not all were happy with the crowds at the beach concert. Tempers flared at some points of entry in the concert space, particularly at the points between the general admission and the preferred seating areas. Lines wound down the beach for many blocks, and only the paying few had the yellow wrist bands to get into preferred seating. A medical van had some trouble navigating through the crowds when it needed to. One person was seen passed out in a beach chair at an entryway, guarded by police. Atlantic City police said Sunday evening that there were no arrests made at the concert. It was too crowded for Renee Harris to stay on the beach, even though Maroon 5 is her favorite band of all time. Harris, of Sewell, had bought general admission tickets, along with Chris DiTullo, and both women found a spot along the water to watch the performances. Overcrowding and people imbibing too much forced Harris and DiTullo off the beach at about 4:30 p.m. when Jonas was on stage -- "It's just not fun that way," DiTullo said. But all was not lost; they grabbed some dinner at Caesar's and stood on the Boardwalk with dozens of others to listen to Maroon 5's final few songs. Harris has seen Maroon 5 three other times, once in Camden and twice in Philadelphia. This time was a bit disappointing, since she couldn't see the band from the boards (she knows all the member's names). "I think I had high expectations, because I love them so much and the other shows were so good," she said. "But this one is fine."

5 Page 5 of 5 -Reporter Christian Hetrick contributed to this story. Beach concert prep a lot of work in little time ATLANTIC CITY So what does it take to build a temporary concert venue capable of holding 60,000 people?

What would later become The Starting Line first started out as Sunday Drive in Churchville, Pennsylvania, in 1999, via an .

What would later become The Starting Line first started out as Sunday Drive in Churchville, Pennsylvania, in 1999, via an e-mail. The email, from guitarist Matt Watts to vocalist/bassist Kenny Vasoli,