Rise Against Closes Stone Pony's Summer Stage With a Punk Rock Finale
Only on the Jersey Shore does summer hang on until the first weekend of October.
This year, punk veterans Rise Against and Alkaline Trio arrived in Asbury Park, ready to give the boardwalk a proper send-off for the season. Fans packed the Stone Pony Summer Stage, the storied venue's outdoor home, one last time before winter arrives.
TEEN MORTGAGE
Washington, D.C. duo Teen Mortgage opened the evening as the sun set over the Shore and fans filtered into the venue. A few zombies somehow made it past the gates, stragglers from Asbury Park's annual Zombie Walk earlier in the day. Playing a cold opening is tough enough, and this one was literally out in the cold, with a fall breeze coming off the coast that had fans huddled together, buying hoodies at merch, and warming up with some adult beverages.
The duo has seen a lot of success this year in the opening slot, coming off a successful run earlier this year with Joyce Manor and Militarie Gun. By their last couple of songs, the sun dipped below the horizon and the stage lights started to take over, giving a bit more of a visual punch to the two talented musicians.
ALKALINE TRIO
Alkaline Trio's year has been a bit of a rough ride. It opened with a lineup change, bringing in Tosh Peterson as the band's new drummer. Then came summer. Guitarist and vocalist Matt Skiba was injured in a motorcycle crash in Los Angeles just before leaving for Europe, and by July his health had worsened to the point that the band pulled its entire UK leg, including a headline slot at 2000trees.
Amongst my friends, we seriously questioned if we would see the band play this year. And of course, a week or before the show, a storm tore the Summer Stage’s canvas roof to shreds. Thankfully, the structure survived and a makeshift cover was added for the last weekend of the outdoor series.
But tonight? Tonight was in their favor! Fans in Alkaline Trio merch lined the barricade, eager to hear the Chicago punk rockers, when just a couple months ago, the band's entire U.S. run was in question. After my time in the photo pit, I rejoined my friends and we couldn't stop talking about how tight their set was, how welcoming the fans were, and the steady stream of crowd surfers — keep scrolling to the very end and you will find our our bonus gallery!
After the year they've had, I can only imagine how it felt to play such a revered stage and finally feel some momentum building.
RISE AGAINST
Certain songs have a way of transporting you through time. Very few bands have songs that can take you back to both the good times and the bad, especially within a single setlist. Rise Against is one of those bands for me. Perhaps it's the incredibly layered, introspective lyrics. The raspy, fiercely emotional voice of frontman Tim McIlrath. The way they can be angry at the world while refusing to become one with it. And in a way only music can accomplish, it gives you the energy to keep fighting.
A beautiful moment came early in the set when McIlrath jumped down from the stage to sing over the barricade, then slung the microphone around his neck to meet the outstretched hands with his own before taking his place back on stage.
Later, he polled the crowd, asking how many fans first discovered the band through Tony Hawk, the iconic video game whose soundtrack also featured fellow punk legends Bad Religion, NOFX, and Social Distortion. It was all a clever lead-in to bringing Todd Mohney out to play guitar on “Like the Angel," the same guitarist who recorded the track heard in the game.
As the band hit the second half of its setlist, McIlrath paused to reflect on how the meanings of certain songs change over time. The mindset you're in when you write a song can become something else entirely as the years go by. With that, he moved to his acoustic guitar for “Hero of War," noting the absolute absurdity of civilian casualties in war.
Following the song, the rest of the band left the stage, leaving McIlrath solo to play “Swing Life Away." My friend and I have a running joke about never making eye contact during incredibly powerful songs, or we'll both break into full-on tears. Yes, this song makes that list. And no, we didn't lock eyes for the rest of the set!
McIlrath's observation about the meaning of songs changing over time, hit home for me during “Swing Life Away.” When I was a young father, broke and surviving on minimum wage, it held a more literal meaning for me. Now, more than twenty years later, post-divorce, with my kids grown and moving out into the world, the song describes exactly where I am. Choosing a simpler life in a complex time, and watching the seasons pass without needing much more.
Rise Against closed out the night by dedicating its encore of “Survive" and “Savior" to Lou Koller of Sick of It All, someone close to the band and a legend the entire punk community continues to mourn months after his passing. After their set, I took a long, slow breath. The encore had started with me all choked up over my own story and ended with me fired up, chest out and head up.
Highs, lows, and a whole lot of life in just a couple of hours. Somehow, this routine never gets old.
Didn’t see yourself in the galleries above? Check out our bonus gallery below for more shots from the barricade and crowd-surfing chaos! If you spot yourself, we want to hear from you! Let us know in the comments!
Rise Against SETLIST
The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, New Jersey (10/3/2026)
Satellite
Make It Stop (September's Children)
Give It All
Help Is on the Way
Under the Knife
Living Undercover
The Good Left Undone
Nod
Like the Angel (with Todd Mohney)
Audience of One
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Hero of War
Swing Life Away
Collapse (Post-Amerika)
Prayer of the Refugee
Encore:
Survive
Savior
