The second annual Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival will take place Sept. 21-22 on the eastern beach at Sandy Point State Park. The festival highlights the best in regional and national bluegrass, jamgrass, funkgrass, and Americana music.
It’s a conservation and community-focused musical event, listed as a “Don’t-Miss Bay Music Festival” by Chesapeake Bay Magazine. Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival draws visitors from all over the country and region and is a family-friendly event.
Over the course of two days, Annapolis Baygrass will showcase 14 bands across two alternating stages in addition to an interactive workshop pavilion. The lineup includes Oteil & Friends (Oteil Burbridge w/ Melvin Seals, Steve Kimock, Jason Crosby, Johnny Kimock, Tom Guarna, Lamar Williams Jr.), The Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, Sam Bush, Kitchen Dwellers, Sierra Hull, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Cris Jacobs & Friends, Trouble No More, The Lil Smokies, The Dirty Grass Players, Big Richard, Brown Eyed Women, and Geraldine (Baygrass House Band), as well as Artists-at-Large: Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, and Ron Holloway.
Don’t sleep on the culinary experience, either. Baygrass will feature Maryland crab cakes, roasted and raw oysters, gourmet BBQ, wood-fired pizzas, delicious vegan and vegetarian delicacies, and other locally curated culinary options. Attendees will enjoy tasty microbrews by our partners Pherm Brewing Company and Idiom Brewing Co. at the Baytoberfest Beer Garden. Festivalgoers will also be able to enjoy fresh craft cocktails from Gray Wolf Spirits and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, wines, and hard-craft seltzers. Delicious non-alcoholic beer and mocktails from Sobar at the waterfront Blue Crab Beach Bar will also be available.
Pherm Brewing Company has partnered with Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival to co-brand a local beer for folks to enjoy during the festival weekend as well as all year long. Festival organizers and partners will hold an unveiling of the newly canned and freshly brewed Baytoberfest beer on July 13 at the Pherm Brewing Company Taproom, located at 1041 MD-3 in Gambrills, Maryland.
“The Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival was born out of our team’s love of progressive bluegrass music, the desire to generate a fun community-oriented vibe, and a passion for protecting the Chesapeake Bay,” said Ron Peremel, co-founder and CEO of the festival, in a statement. “The Baygrass philosophy is to help people learn about conservation, sustainability, and mental health—in a way that combines education with fun. ’Every Jam Helps a Mind’ and ‘Every Jam Saves the Bay,’ as we like to say!”
Baytoberfest beer aims to raise awareness and funding for Chesapeake Bay conservation. For every six-pack of Baytoberfest Beer sold, $1 from Pherm Brewing and its distributor Otherside Beverage Project and 5% of revenues generated at the Baygrass festival will be donated to three non-profit organizations that work tirelessly to protect and restore the Bay.
The new beer is a German Marzen made with Pilsen, munich, and Vienna malt. “Malty and crisp with a touch of earthy Hersbrucker hops, this beer has a beautiful amber hue and balances sweetness and crispness,” reads the press release.
The Baytoberfest beer can artwork was created by Baygrass illustrator Liz Burr, who aimed to capture the essence of the festival’s mission: Chesapeake Bay preservation, sustainability, and mental health awareness. “The artwork features an underwater scene where the string instruments played at the festival blend seamlessly with the Chesapeake Bay’s wildlife and grasses, reads the press release. “This vivid illustration brings to life the natural treasures we strive to protect, highlighting the harmony between music and conservation.”
The Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival offers a VIP Experience that includes daily chef-prepared hot meals, fresh-shucked oysters, lump crab cakes, and other delicacies. Other perks include VIP viewing areas, VIP bars with discounted drinks and free samples from beer and spirits partners. The VIP Experience also includes air-conditioned bathrooms, exclusive VIP onsite parking, discounted massages, a commemorative stainless steel pint cup, and more.
To support the festival’s mission to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay, a portion of all proceeds from ticket sales, food, beverage, and merchandise sales will go to Maryland-based non-profit organizations, including Watershed Stewards Academy, Oyster Recovery Partnership, and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Annapolis Baygrass Festival lives its environmental ethos by adopting a sustainability model, making it one of the only green festivals in Maryland.
Spreading awareness of the importance of mental health, the festival presents music as a means of healing and support, building an environment that enhances well-being. Baygrass has partnered with The VA Way, under the direction of festival co-founder John Way, an Army veteran, mental health advocate, Narcan trainer, and certified mental health first aid instructor.
There are a variety of local lodging partners and camping options available to Annapolis Baygrass Festival guests. There are heavily discounted options, but they are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The festival offers shuttle service between partner lodgings and the festival, with passes going on sale soon. For more information on lodging and shuttle passes, please click this link.
To learn more about the Annapolis Baygrass Mission, green practices, VIP Options, lodging and shuttles, see the festival map, and sign up to be a volunteer, click this link. The site at Sandy Point State Park is ADA-accessible.
