On a day when the Philadelphia Phillies announced Billy Joel will be performing for the fifth time at Citizens’ Bank Park this summer, musical prodigy Scott Nuss hit a home run right here in Ocean City.
Nuss, a 13-year-old student at Ocean City Intermediate School performed the songs of his musical idol Billy Joel before a packed house Thursday at the Ocean City Free Public Library’s Chris Maloney Lecture Hall.
Such favorites as “New York State of Mind,” “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” and of course “Piano Man” enthralled the crowd.
But it was a new original composition, about Ocean City, that stole everyone’s hearts.
“I wanted to write a song, and I began writing the music, and then I wanted it to be about Ocean City,” said Scott, who has been singing and playing music since he was four years old. “I wanted to show how much I love Ocean City.” The result was Scott’s original composition, “OCNJ Theme Song.”
The complete set list for the show: Piano Man, New York State of Mind, Root Beer Rag, Miami 2017, Scenes from Italian Restaurant, Honesty, Moving Out, My Life, The Stranger, Ocean City NJ Theme Song/Video.
Scott’s parents Jill and Brad recently moved the family, which also includes older brother Grant, to Ocean City fulltime from Maryland, after vacationing here for years.
“My parents always came here for vacation, and we decided to move here fulltime because the schools are so great and we just love it here so much,” Scott said.
Scott also enjoys playing Elton John songs and Beatles songs, but Billy Joel is his favorite. That love of Joel’s songs came through strongly for the audience on Thursday.
The Ocean City song and its line “Ocean City, the only place for me…where I was meant to be” struck an emotional as well as a harmonious cord with his audience. As he sang and played, a video monitor showed iconic scenes from around town: the beach, boardwalk, Ferris Wheels and other familiar sights.
Listening to Scott’s passion for music and for Ocean City, one could not help but feel pride for our town, and for a young man who translates his passion for the town into a memorable musical experience.
