Photo Credit: Austin Grinnell

On Thursday, August 21, The Gaslight Anthem continued working down the East Coast in the final leg of its summer tour with a performance at New York’s beloved Central Park Summerstage. For this landmark set, the New Jersey-bred indie rock quartet found a local compliment to its electrifying power-pop-heartland-punk, welcoming regular collaborator Karina Rykman to the stage for her second extended sit-in on the tour. Similarly to her live session with the band at Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Aug. 18, Rykman first joined the headliners for their collaborative cover of Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes,” then remained onstage through the conclusion of the set.

The Gaslight Anthem took the stage with the crowd-pleasing “American Slang,” kicking off a set fueled by an eclectic selection of entries from landmark projects like 2012’s Handwritten, 2008’s The ‘59 Sound and 2007’s Sink or Swim. After “45,” “High Lonesome” and “We Came to Dance,” the band dropped “The Weatherman,” the first entry from its recent 2023 album History Books in the setlist. That album, which reunited the group after a hiatus that began in 2015 and gave cause to this year’s tour, features 15 carefully-honed, mature and artistically focused songs that will doubtlessly be remembered among the band’s finest.

A true highlight from that project is the outfit’s treatment of Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes,” which the band worked up in its own style with support from Rykman. In Thursday’s show, the ace bassist and singer-songwriter reprised her role in the track, adding vocal and instrumental accompaniment to pull a soul-stirring story from the chart-topping pop hit. After her track, Rykman remained onstage to add to The Gaslight Anthems classics “Mae,” “Great Expectations” and “The ‘59 Sound,” then took part in the raucous, exuberant closing cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” which also featured tour opener Pinkshift. Watch a fan recorded video of the full show below.

The Gaslight Anthem will return to the stage tomorrow, Aug. 25, for a performance at Toronto, Ontario’s History; after five further dates, the band will conclude its tour with Joyce Manor and Pinkshift on Sept. 1 at The Fillmore in Detroit. For tickets and more information, visit thegaslightanthem.com/tour. On Aug. 29, Rykman will set off a fall and winter tour of her own, spanning 23 stops before Dec. 14. Read more about that tour here, and find tickets at https://www.karinarykman.com/tour.