OCEAN CITY — It would be
safe to assume that there will be hundreds of little girls screaming at the top
of their lungs on Sunday on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
Ocean City’s much publicized
partnership with Radio Disney will hold its swan song of events for the summer
as a band being touted as the ‘Next Big Thing’ and even the ‘next Jonas
Brothers’ will play a free show Sunday afternoon as part of the Sizzlin’ Summer
of Stars free events on the Boardwalk.
In 2009, the four young
members of the San Diego-based band All Star Weekend drove to Los Angeles and
passed out flyers for their band to fans coming out of a Jonas Brothers
concert. One of those flyers got into
the hands of a Radio Disney executive, and just a year later, their first
single has sold over a 100,000 copies and has topped Radio Disney’s Top 30
Countdown.
“Super-surreal is
probably the best way to describe this,” said bassist Cameron Quiseng. “A song
we wrote in our bedrooms when we were 16 is now number one on Radio Disney.”
The band, whose brand of
peppy pop-punk is being compared with the likes of Blink 182, will play a free
show near Division Street on the Boardwalk this Sunday, and it’s scheduled to
take the stage at 6 p.m., but Ocean City Public Relations Director Donna Abbott
said there will be activities for families and spectators starting at 3 p.m.
“The Radio Disney crew
will be there from 3-6 p.m. and All Star Weekend will be taking the stage at 6
p.m.,” said Abbott. “We expect a huge crowd down there, and it should be a
great time.”
Town officials estimated
that there were almost 1,000 people on the beach last weekend to meet and greet
with actor Jason Earles, who plays Miley Cyrus’ brother on the hit Disney show
“Hannah Montana.”
All Star Weekend is
signed to Hollywood Records, which also has such acts as Miley Cyrus, Demi
Lovato, the Jonas Brothers and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals on its roster.
Still, the band
remembers a time not so long ago when they were playing pool parties in
California or to rooms that were all but empty.
“I can’t tell you how
many times we played shows for just a sound man,” said drummer Michael
Martinez, “but we do all the things that normal teenagers do and that’s what we
write our songs about.”
The band is excited to
get to Ocean City and play for the new fans.
“We’ve worked our butts
off to make the best record we could, and we’ve worked our butts off to put
together a great live show, so we can’t wait to get out there and play our new
songs for the people in Ocean City,” said singer Zach Porter.