Date: September 28, 2025
Bands: Fall Out Boy, Train, Weezer, DEVO, O.A.R. & Friends, Burning Spear, Blind Melon, Ziggy Marley, Eric Hutchinson, Marcy Playground

Day 3 of Oceans Calling Festival had the best weather we’ve had in two years. Low 70s, partly sunny, breezy, and capped off with an awesome sunset during Weezer’s set. Perfect festival conditions.

I came in refreshed from leaving early the night before, ready to tackle the last day with the goal of shooting more crowd shots and catching as many bands as possible. First up was singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson, who I just saw at the Listening Booth in Lewes back in May. He started on guitar, moved over to keys, and had fun joking with the crowd, especially calling out VIP folks with their arms crossed and the poor “plus ones” dragged there by friends. He played “Forget About Joni,” “Food Chain,” “Rock & Roll,” and closed with “Watching You Watching Him.” Pretty wild to see him go from a 100-person venue to a massive festival stage in a few months.

Next was Marcy Playground at the Sea Bright stage. Besides “Sex and Candy,” I didn’t know much of their catalog, but they sounded solid. The highlight over there was honestly the crowd. People showed up in anime outfits, Waldo, Animal from The Muppets, and even hot dog costumes. If you show up in costume, I’m taking your picture, guaranteed.

I caught a bit of Chef Robert Irvine before heading to Burning Spear, who I’d never seen live. He’s older now, came out of retirement a few years ago, and has been touring with Ziggy this summer. Even though I couldn’t name every track, hearing authentic reggae on the beach was incredible. I was literally dancing in the photo pit.

After that came the tough choice: endure that one annoying 4 Non Blondes song or check out Blind Melon. I went with Blind Melon. New singer Travis Warren is a strong frontman, and honestly, they’d fit right in on Boardwalk Rock as well. And yes, they saved “No Rain” for the end. At one point they had to stop their set because someone got injured in the crowd. As luck (or poor luck) would have it, I could hear 4 Non Blondes playing that awful song.

Ziggy Marley followed, my third time seeing him. The first was back in ’96 with the Melody Makers on the Smokin’ Grooves tour with The Fugees, Cypress Hill, Tribe, and Busta Rhymes. At Oceans Calling, Ziggy mixed in some of his dad’s classics like “Three Little Birds,” “One Love,” and “Get Up Stand Up,” plus his own standouts like “Tomorrow People,” “Beach in Hawaii,” “Love Is My Religion,” and “Look Who’s Dancing.” Hearing “Tomorrow People” instantly brought me back to MTV in the late ’80s.

Then came one of my biggest highlights: DEVO. Never saw them before, but I’ve been on a huge new wave kick lately and they did not disappoint. Easily one of my favorites of the whole weekend. The live synths hit different from anything else played that day. They kicked off with “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man),” then ripped through crowd-pleasers like “Peek-a-Boo,” “That’s Good” (a personal favorite), “Girl U Want,” and “Whip It.” I was surprised “Whip It” came so early, but I wasn’t leaving. The outfits, the energy, the weirdness… fantastic. Oceans Calling needs more ’80s acts like this.

O.A.R. & Friends lived up to the name with a revolving door of guests. Eric Hutchinson came back out for “Maybe I’m Amazed,” Blind Melon joined for Ozzy’s “Mama I’m Coming Home,” and later, Dan Finnerty dropped in for “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” I missed that part live but saw the video. I would have loved to have seen that! Goo Goo Dolls’ John Rzeznik closed things out with two songs. Total variety show energy, and it worked.

I’d somehow never seen Weezer before. Judging by the crowd size, everyone else was there for them too. They opened with “My Name is Jonas” and “Dope Nose” as the sun was setting, which was a gorgeous backdrop. I waded through the crowd during “Hash Pipe,” but caught “Undone” and my favorite, “Island in the Sun,” before heading toward the other stage. Over there, Vance Joy was playing. I didn’t know much about him, but the set was lively and they threw in a surprisingly great cover of KISS’s “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.”

I’d heard Train were boring live, but nope, they were a blast. Before they started, a group of photographers had the crowd sing Happy Birthday to fellow shooter Cody, which was hilarious and sweet. Train came out to House of Pain’s “Jump Around,” got even the security guards dancing, and launched into “Brokenhearted” and “Calling All Angels.” During “If It’s Love,” Pat Monahan filmed himself with the crowd. I waved, but who knows if I made the cut.

Finally, Fall Out Boy closed out the fest. I’ve never been a fan, but this site has history with them. We once interviewed them back in the day in a small venue in LI, then wrote a trolling article claiming they were better than The Beatles. People still send us hate mail about that one. Their set was huge with pyro, lights, and thousands of screaming fans. They opened with “Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy,” then “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” and “Dance, Dance.” I bailed after a bit, said bye to my photo friends, and headed out through the crowd to catch the shuttle.

Looking back, this might have been my favorite Oceans Calling yet. The lineup had a ton of acts I loved, Sunday’s perfect weather made up for the rain earlier in the weekend, and production was smoother overall. C3 adding padded walkways on the sand was a big improvement, though it’d be nice if they stretched to both stages. Twenty thousand steps between them is brutal. Shuttles worked better this year, though the crowds still felt massive. A coffee stand inside the fest would be amazing, along with more food options in VIP. And yes, I’ll say it again, more ’80s bands please.

But overall, I love this festival and I’m glad it’s here to stay.