It is officially fall this week, and festival season is kicking into high gear on Delmarva. The king daddy of them all will take place Friday through Sunday, Sept. 27-29, as the Inlet in Ocean City hosts the second annual Oceans Calling music event.
Ocean City's Crawl Street tavern will get party started early
Downtown OC’s Crawl Street Tavern will get an early start on the festivities with a sneak preview from one of the performers. National singer-songwriter Stephen Kellogg will play on Thursday, Sept. 26 ($35 in advance, $40 at the door). In a social media post this week, Kellogg said the show will be an evening of acoustic sing-alongs including some cover tunes; Taylor Carson will play an opening set at 7 p.m.
Crawl Street also has tickets on sale for its concert next week featuring Rusted Root vocalist Michael Glabicki at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3 ($35, $40).
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Oceans Calling will have big names descending on Ocean City
Last year’s inaugural edition of Oceans Calling (after a planned 2022 launch was rained out) drew an estimated 55,000 music fans per day. Tickets for this year sold out quickly after they went on sale this past winter. Major league performers, with an emphasis on rock ’n’ roll, will play from noon to 11 p.m. each day. Headliners include Blink-182 on Friday; The Killers on Saturday; and the Dave Matthews Band on Sunday. Other big names appearing over the course of the weekend include Sublime, the Beach Boys, 311, Boyz II Men, The Offspring and many others.
Much of the online chatter from Oceans Calling ticket buyers has centered on Sunday. Stephen Kellogg will kick things off at 12:30 p.m. that day. The band O.A.R., which helps curate and organize the event, will again host an hour-long jam session with surprise guests starting at 5:45 p.m. Last year’s participants included a pair of Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductees — guitarist-vocalist Richie Sambora (of Bon Jovi fame) and rap icon Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (from Run-D.M.C.).
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Dave Matthews Band comes full circle with return to Delmarva beaches
When the Dave Matthews Bands headlines at 9 p.m. Sunday, it will be its first Delmarva appearance in decades — since July 29, 1994 to be precise. That was the date the then up-and-coming group played the seasonal Bottle & Cork nightclub in Dewey Beach with a mere $5 cover charge. An advertisement for that show plugged it as being the band’s “last stop before going on the H.O.R.D.E. Tour with the Allman Brothers and Big Head Todd & the Monsters.” (The latter act will play Oceans Calling at 2 p.m. Sunday).
The festival is a major economic boon to the beach economy, with music fans from around the country and the globe renting hotel rooms and Airbnbs. With this in mind, city officials granted promoters permission to leave the stage set up at the Inlet for a related event next weekend. The inaugural Country Calling festival is a two-day event taking place Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4-5. Eric Church, Jellyroll, Tyler Childers and Lainey Wilson will be among the two-dozen country favorites participating.
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Dewey's Bottle & Cork says 'thank you' with big free country show
Coastal Delaware also continues to draw weekend crowds during the busy shoulder season. In Dewey, the aforementioned Bottle & Cork should be packed to the rafters when it closes things out with a free concert by country star Chase Wright at 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. Expect to hear his hits such as “Why Should We,” “Hurt No More” and “Why Can’t It Be Over.” The free admission angle is a cool “thank you” from the club to its patrons, as tickets were $15 when Wright played there in August of 2023.
The Cork’s nearby sister business the Rusty Rudder has a free country music event of its own on tap this weekend. The Nashville Nights Band will bring its tribute to ‘90s country music to the stage at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. Looking ahead, the Rudder has tickets on sale now for a 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 14 concert featuring country singer and Tik Tok star Avery Anna ($20).
Ocean City announces big calendar change for Springfest 2025
Back in OC, the city announced last week that the dates have changed for next year’s 34th annual Springfest. While it has traditionally been held in May, the 2025 version of the food, crafts and music event will take place April 24-27. Performers are to be announced.
E-mail Roger Hillis at rogerhillis@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Ocean City will be rocking all week long with Oceans Calling and more
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