Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival will return to Sandy Point State Park on the shore of Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, MD for two days of music featuring Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth, Keller & The Keels, Melvin Seals & JGB, and many more.
Set for September 30th–October 1st, 2023, Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival combines the best in bluegrass, jamgrass, and Americana music with a conservationist ethos and regional fare including fresh lump crab cakes, roasted and raw oysters, gourmet BBQ, and other locally curated culinary options. The festival will also offer interactive artist and conservation workshops, yoga classes, beach and yard games, a Kidzone, a craft vendor village, and other activities. Additional performers include Fruition, Cabinet, Cris Jacobs & Smooth Kentucky, Jon Stickley Trio, Arkansauce, The Dirty Grass Players, The High & Wides, Wicked Sycamore, and the Baygrass House Band—Geraldine. Lindsay Lou will serve as artist-at-large in addition to playing a set with her band.
“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 festival co-founder Ron Peremel. “We created a unique music festival where just by having fun you’re helping the Bay. As we like to say: ‘Every Jam Saves the Bay!’”
In accord with the festival’s environmental ethos, Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival has designated the conservation-themed song “In The Water” as the event’s official theme. Penned by John Bolten, Ph.D., singer/songwriter/guitarist and Chief of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Hydrological Sciences Lab, the song was recorded by Baygrass House Band Geraldine with special guest Cris Jacobs for the band’s recent album, Paw Paw.
“The Chesapeake Bay supports more than 3,600 species of plants and animals and consists of nearly 12,000 miles of coastline—more than the entire Western Coast of the U.S.,” Bolten said. “It’s in dire need of attention. So we wrote a song to emphasize how all of our actions affect this precious resource and how it is shared with friends downstream and should be protected for future generations.
“We tried to create a song that folks could connect with, just like we all are connected to water! Whether you know it or not, all of your actions, from what type of food you eat, to how we dispose of waste, and how we treat our backyards, they all affect our immediate environment and ultimately our water resources. Water availability, water use, and water quality—they are all tied together.
“We are in this together… And we really are in the water. Just as we drink the same water that the dinosaurs drank, we affect the water around us, for better, or for worse—so it is up to us to protect it.
“We’re just floating by
on a river of days of lows and highs
We’re just drops of rain
Falling together down the darkened drain
We’re in the water
There must be something in the water…”
Geraldine – “In The Water” (John Bolten, PhD)
In addition to its environmental mission, Annapolis Baygrass is dedicated to raising awareness of mental health. This year, the festival has partnered with VA Way, a nonprofit run by Baygrass co-founder John Way, an Army Veteran and a Certified Veteran MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) Instructor, as well as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Backline.
“I have attended hundreds of shows and festivals for over 20 years and have seen firsthand how music has the power to heal the mind. We have a rare opportunity with Baygrass to bring important mental health information to a large audience in an incredibly positive and supportive setting,” said Way.
Ten percent of all proceeds from ticket, food, beverage, and merchandise sales will also support Maryland-based nonprofit organizations including Watershed Stewards Academy, Oyster Recovery Partnership, and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
For lodging, Annapolis Baygrass has several local lodging partners and nearby camping options available at heavily discounted rates. These options are first come, first serve. A shuttle service will be available to transport festivalgoers from select lodging locations.
Tickets for Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival 2023 are on sale now. Click below to view the full artist lineup and visit the festival website for more information and ticketing details. Click here to enter to win two tickets and lodging via CashorTrade, the festival’s official fan-to-fan ticket exchange partner.
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