A free concert spotlighting Native American musicians from across the U.S. and Canada will headline the opening week festivities at the new Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music in West Long Branch, New Jersey.
The Native American Music Experience lands at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre on Wednesday, June 3, with a 7:30 p.m. start time. It’s one of several events the Springsteen Center has lined up to mark its official debut, and it arrives courtesy of a new partnership with Hard Rock International.
That partnership is significant for a couple of reasons. Hard Rock is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which gives the collaboration a direct tie to one of the Indigenous communities being honored on stage. Beyond the concert itself, Hard Rock is backing the Springsteen Center financially, loaning out pieces from its massive memorabilia archive (the chain has amassed more than 89,000 authentic music artifacts over the decades), and working with the center on future entertainment programming.
Robert Santelli, the Springsteen Center’s founding executive director, framed the night as essential rather than supplemental. “Indigenous music is foundational to the story of American music,” he said. He described The Native American Music Experience as both the official launch of the Hard Rock relationship and a statement of purpose for the center, which intends to dig into every corner of American musical tradition. The goal, in his words, is “to ensure that the voices and musical traditions of Indigenous artists are recognized, celebrated and better understood.”
Jim Allen, who chairs Hard Rock International, echoed that sentiment from the Seminole side. “On behalf of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Hard Rock International, we are proud to partner with the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music to increase awareness and understanding of Indigenous music,” Allen said, adding that Seminole and Native American music more broadly has shaped not just American culture but global culture as well.
The lineup for The Native American Music Experience pulls together a mix of traditional and contemporary acts. Confirmed performers include Gary Farmer and the Dish and Spoon Band, Cary Morin and Pura Fe’, the Osceola Brothers, Spencer Battiest & Doc Native, 28′ Native and Flow, Felipe Rose, Levi Platero, and Julia Keefe’s Mildred Bailey Project. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo will also take the stage for a featured musical set. Several artists with ties to the Seminole Tribe of Florida are part of the bill.
Hosting duties go to Brett Maybee of the Allegany Territory Seneca Nation, a syndicated radio personality who has served as the longtime voice of the Native American Music Awards.
For Santelli, evenings like this one are the whole point. He said the concert reflects the center’s broader push to build public programming that ties music back to history, culture, and identity. He noted that having Hard Rock in its corner gives the institution room to grow into something genuinely inclusive.
Tickets to The Native American Music Experience are free, but seats won’t last. Registration opened at noon on Thursday, May 7, at springsteencenter.org.
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