The Gaslight Anthem at Central Park SummerStage [photos/review]

Photos + Article by Will Oliver

The Gaslight Anthem returned to New York on August 21st for a performance at Central Park Summerstage, marking their first proper area show in some time – following their run at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ last October.

The show was a part of their tour in support of 2023’s History Books (released via their own Rich Mahogany Recordings label via Thirty Tigers), which featured opening performances from Joyce Manor and Pinkshift.

Their sound is one that feels anthemic and made to be belted with a large group of equally adoring fans, which makes outdoor summer venues such as Summerstage the perfect host for a performance from the prideful New Jersey natives.

Brian Fallon and the rest of the band were eager to please, delivering a powerful opening punch of fan favorites “American Slang”, “45” and “High Lonesome.” This was a common theme of the night, with a majority of the performance actually coming from their 2012 album, Handwritten, and only playing three songs off the new record. It was a balanced set of their rousing tracks, along with old favorites such as “The Spirit of Jazz” and “Miles Davis and the Cool” (one of their very best songs), as well as tried and true live moments such as “Here’s Looking at You, Kid.”

The band were in high spirits throughout the night, feeding off the crowd’s energy, with culminated with a set closing cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, which was them joined by Pinkshift and sent us all home flying high. (It was the second most surprising cover of the night. The first goes to their cover of Billie Eilish’s “ocean eyes” where they were joined by Karina Rykman.

Find a full gallery of photos posted below, along with the setlist.

The Gaslight Anthem setlist:

1. American Slang
2. 45
3. High Lonesome
4. We Came to Dance
5. The Weatherman
6. Positive Charge
7. Wooderson
8. Howl
9. Miles Davis and the Cool
10. Michigan, 1975
11. Handwritten
12. The Spirit of Jazz
13. Mulholland Drive
14. Keepsake
15. Here’s Looking at You, Kid
16. ocean eyes (Billie Eilish cover) (feat. Karina Rykman)
17. Mae
18. Great Expectations
19. The ’59 Sound
20. Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana cover) (feat. Pinkshift)