After its unfortunate cancellation last year, the highly anticipated Oceans Calling festival in Ocean City, Maryland was the perfect place to end the summer with an incredible lineup of artists spanning from alternative to pop. Headlining the festival were none other than internationally acclaimed artists, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and The Lumineers, pulling in an incredibly diverse crowd over the three day weekend that truly knew how to have a great time.
The festival was perfectly situated at the end of the popular Ocean City boardwalk and included everything you could dream of from local food vendors to shops to carnival rides. I managed to make it onto the ferris wheel twice throughout the weekend and it provided a spectacular view of the entire festival grounds. With such a convenient and beautiful location right outside my hotel room, there truly was no better way to discover Ocean City.
I started out the weekend with a walk down the boardwalk straight onto the beach where I caught indie artist Michigander at the Rockville stage. After his amazing set, I made my way over to the long line of food vendors to try all of my favorite fair foods. The rest of the day, like many others, I found myself walking back and forth down the half mile stretch of beach catching all of my favorite acts. Highlights from day one included Peach Pit, Declan McKenna, and Jack Johnson.
Friday, September 29th
Michigander
Peach Pit
Declan McKenna
Third Eye Blind
Jack Johnson
Day Two was just as great. One of the best parts of the weekend was discovering a bunch of new acts that will definitely be making their way onto my fall playlist. A favorite of mine was White Reaper. Though they played on the smallest stage on the grounds, they managed to hype up the crowd like no other band of the weekend. With ripping guitar solos and a classic rock sound, they truly stick out in my memory and I will be keeping tabs on them from now on.
Throughout the day I chatted with several fans and discovered that, just like me, everyone was excited to see one person, Noah Kahan. When the time came for his evening set, the barricade was lined with dedicated fans screaming his lyrics right back at him. It’s safe to say that the fast-growing artist has garnered himself one of the most passionate fan bases in the business.
Saturday, September 30th
White Reaper
Dispatch
Noah Kahan
John Mayer
Sunday, October 1st
The last day was once again packed with some of my favorite artists. I began my day with indie artist Joe P, before making my way over to the Carousel stage to catch The Driver Era. Both acts were incredible and made for the perfect way to start Day Three. Once again, I made the trek back and forth between the two main stages to catch the loaded lineup, stopping to grab some great food almost every time. Before I knew it, it was the end of the day and I found myself teary eyed finishing out the weekend with one of my favorite bands of all time, The Lumineers.
Oceans Calling provided an incredibly diverse array of artists and made for the perfect getaway weekend for any live music fan. I definitely won’t miss its return next year. I’ll see you all on the beach in 2024!
Joe P
The Driver Era
Fitz and The Tantrums
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Weezer
The Lumineers
