By Alissa Arford, Music Enthusiast, Writer
Ellicott City, Maryland, USA
#FACTS
Over 50,000 music enthusiasts from across the globe converged on the sandy shores of Ocean City, Maryland, USA, for the inaugural Oceans Calling Music Festival, a three-day extravaganza from September 29 to October 1, 2023. With the backdrop of Ocean City’s iconic Boardwalk, this unforgettable event, organized in partnership with the Rockville, Md.,-based band O.A.R. (Of A Revolution), showcased a dazzling lineup of more than 30 performances spread across three stages, all set right on the beach and in the bustling inlet parking lot.
There are plenty of official highlights stories about the general facts of the festival, but this article will give a more personalized account. Ocean City is my home away from home and as a proud Gen X “Weezer Geezer” festival attendee, I’ve been going to #OCMD my entire life. Born in Baltimore, a double Maryland Terp, currently living in Ellicott City, my lifelong dream was to get a place at the beach – down the ocean, hun! About 20 years ago it happened and I’ve been living the salty beach life as often as I can. Check out my Oceans Calling video clips on TikTok @dapplescrapple.
Oceans Calling had been scheduled for the previous year, but was unfortunately canceled last minute due to Hurricane Ian. Along the coastline, when storms approach, the accompanying storm surge during high tide significantly influences wave height, occasionally leading to waves engulfing the entire beach, even reaching up to the Boardwalk.
WEATHER
This year, the ocean waters were rough in the aftermath of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ophelia the previous weekend. Noted by almost every concert-goer was the coincidence that The Lumineers have a song called Ophelia, which was properly celebrated at the closing act on Sunday.
The weather was overcast and drizzly for Day 1 and Day 2, but after Sheryl Crow finished her rain-filled set with Soak Up The Sun, the clouds cleared for the end of Day 2, and Day 3 was absolutely gorgeous! However, the rain on the beach was basically a non-factor aside from a few puddles in the paved portion around the Carousel stage. The temperature was perfect in the 70s throughout the weekend. If it had been warmer or sunnier, it likely would have been uncomfortably hot and humid, no doubt.
Carrying around raincoats, sunblock, and hats was an annoyance but there were lockers available for rental. We took an approved clear plastic bag with our essentials and it was easy enough to stay comfortable during the entire weekend.
LAYOUT & FLOW
Like most music festivals, multiple acts performed at the same time and the stages needed to be far enough away from each other so the sound wouldn’t overlap. The main stage was called Sea Bright and was located on the beach at the north side of the Jolly Roger amusement pier. The Rockville stage was located at the southernmost point of the island’s inlet – half of the audience was on the beach and half was in the paved parking lot. Next to the Rockville stage was the smaller and tented Carousel stage, fully in the paved parking lot.
Given the festival style, all of the stages were very accessible – you just had to prioritize your day. We picked out our favorite bands and were happy to wait for about an hour in between stage sets to get a good spot close to the front rail. In the early part of the day (noon to 3 p.m.) it was fairly easy to get up close to all of the acts, but after 3 p.m., you had to be more strategic.
The beaches were completely packed during the evening acts. Lead singer Rivers Cuomo of Weezer questioned if there were millions in attendance because there were people as far as the eye could see! Looking at the photos from the backstage perspective and the aerial drone shots, it was an impressive and awe-inspiring vision.
THE DEMO: BABIES TO 80s
The bands playing at Oceans Calling spanned many decades, and so did the ages of the attendees. The main headliners – Jack Johnson, Alanis Morisette, John Mayer, The Lumineers – have been putting out albums from the 1990s to the 2020s. Watching music icons like DMC, The Heartbreaker’s Michael Campbell, and Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora rock out was unbelievable! I’m a fan of all kinds of music, which made it almost impossible to pick which sets to attend. I watched full sets of my absolute favorites and split time for others, trying to see as many acts as possible.
Relative newcomers like Noah Kahan and The Driver Era (a duo subset of R5 with brothers Ross Lynch and Rocky Lynch with special guest Riker Lynch) attracted a large and much younger audience. I was upfront at the rail for The Driver Era and as a bonafide boy band aficionado (seeing NKOTB more than any other artist), they put on an excellent high-energy show that made the entire audience go crazy. It was especially fun to watch Chef Amanda Freitag dance and enjoy their performance from the VIP section. She had been at the same stage beforehand doing a cooking demo for a crepe that was super cool and #EasyAF.
Many families were there with young kids or teens. Witnessing the sheer delight of the young children dancing with uninhibited enthusiasm, twirling in the sand, or perched on their parents’ shoulders made for some of the festival’s most heartwarming moments. As a mom myself, it was an unforgettable memory, sharing this amazing experience with my 21-year-old son.
PRIORITIES
My crew prioritized Sheryl Crow, Weezer, O.A.R. (+ & Friends), and Third Eye Blind. For those special bands – the ones we loved and knew all the songs – we stood waiting in a tight crowd for about an hour, sometimes in the rain. It was worth being uncomfortable because we met amazing people who also loved their music. We were truly blown away by their performances, and seeing them up close was a dream come true!
They say that festivals are for watching your favorite bands up close and also discovering new bands. Earlier in the year, we made an epic playlist with the top songs for all of the bands. We learned deeper cuts for some of the so-called one-hit-wonders. We studied the lyrics of our favorite songs, realizing that we had no idea what they were saying ‘back in the day’ before smartphones with lyrics so easily available! Watching back my videos, I realized that I was singing a little too loud straight into my phone’s microphone and that maybe I got a little carried away, especially during Africa by Weezer! I was truly frightened of this thing that I’ve become.
Michael Franti knows how to put on a show! A+. Franti’s audience interaction and engagement with the crowd was unparalleled! I ended up leaving Alanis early to go and catch part of his show. I love Alanis, but it was worth missing some of her set to see him in action, walking around the crowd, singing his upbeat songs of positivity with the kids.
Devon Gilfillian was another big standout. He kicked off the festival and with the delayed opening of the gates on Day 1, his set started before people were even inside the grounds, which must have been disappointing for him at first! But fortunately, people flowed there quickly and he got a good crowd. What a talent! I’ll definitely be following him going forward. Later on, watching Devon and his band come out to rock with Third Eye Blind on Semi-Charmed Life right in front of us at the rail was also a highlight of the festival! Musicians appreciating the talents of other musicians is so fun to see.
LOGISTICS
Since we had a place to stay within walking distance of the concert, we didn’t experience any logistical issues with getting to and from the event, aside from aching legs and sore feet. Apparently, on the first day the buses were overloaded but it was resolved for the second two days.
My advice: Come early or late, and leave early or late if you really care about being inconvenienced. That’s just common sense to avoid the logistical pitfalls of any kind of huge event. If you’ve ever been to a large event – be it a concert, a craft festival, a sporting event – you have to be strategic! If you leave at 11 p.m. with thousands of other people it’s gonna take awhile to get home.
Our strategy was to stay late! We moved up closer to the final act at the end, after people started leaving. We were able to get quite close to Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and The Lumineers for their last couple songs, which was super cool. We relaxed on our blanket far back at the start, then made our way up at the end. We were in no rush to walk back to our condo.
Walking up the entire Boardwalk with thousands of other people after 11 p.m. when the festival ended each day was really impactful. The momentum of the crowd helped push us the two-mile distance. After walking the Boardwalk thousands of times in my life, the sight of so many people traveling from “Spot” to “Spot” (IYKYK) was something that still leaves me in awe!
BALANCING ACT
At a festival, you need to set realistic expectations. To have the most possible fun, it’s going to be a hassle. If you don’t want to miss a minute of a band, the bathroom and bar lines are going to be long. That’s why prioritizing and strategizing is so important. We never had to wait more than a few minutes to use the restroom, buy merch, visit sponsors, get a drink, or purchase food.
Late in the day, the phones aren’t going to work. Even with extra cell towers, this happens regularly at most large events. You need to make sure you and your group have a designated meeting place. Our spot was at the shark head at the Celsius energy drink building (which, by the way, was really good). We also wore hats that were easily spotted. A few people went all out, dressed as a crab or a lobster, or blinged out in Maryland flag attire. It is a festival after all, so dressing up is encouraged!
You physically can’t get up close to all of the bands unless you buy the VIP package, which was expensive and sold out fast. Pick your favorites, split up from your group if you have to. Don’t worry – you’ll enjoy it by yourself.
FOOD & DRINK
One of my favorite things at the Boardwalk is obviously the food! It was so fun seeing visitors excited to try out the local treats like Thrasher’s French Fries, Kohr’s frozen custard, Dumser’s ice cream, and Dolle’s candy, Candy Kitchen, and Fisher’s popcorn. The festival photo opps with the seagulls and fries were perfect! Seagulls were swooping down to grab fries and dive bomb heads… and a couple of people even showed up in seagull costumes!
We got brunch outside the festival each day before the gates opened at noon. The first day we walked north a bit to Happy Jack Pancake House – been going there for decades. I love the fall pumpkin spice pancakes! The next two days we ate along the Boardwalk – most restaurants were packed, but we allowed enough time to eat and be at the festival before the first acts at 12:30 p.m.
At the festival there was a lot of food. I’m not sure how to convey how much variety there was in the offerings. We didn’t even get a chance to try all of the things we wanted to eat. We loved the stuffed pretzels at the local Get Baked so much that we got them twice.
The beer selection was limited, but I don’t like beer so it wasn’t a big deal for me! I was more than satisfied with the Woodchuck Hard Cider and the Hoop Tea. It was imperative to take a refillable water bottle and there were handy free water-filling stations. I got iced coffee from the lobster roll stand a couple times, which was excellent. We got soda on the Boardwalk. Dolle’s had a refillable cup for $5, $3 refills – which we didn’t notice until the last day, but that was a good find!
My food memories are etched in my mind: Eating a waffle cone with Dumser’s peanut butter fudge ice cream while watching The Wallflowers sing One Headlight… with Jakob Dylan – guitarist and lead singer and Bob Dylan’s son. Sharing a piping hot funnel cake while sitting on our beach blanket in the back of the crowd watching The Lumineers enchant the swaying crowd. Munching on a big cup of perfectly cooked Thrasher’s fries while watching newcomer Patrick Martin open up Day 3 on the Sea Bright stage. He’s definitely going places. What a voice! What stage presence! Incredible.
There was a focus on sustainability, which was a pleasure to see. You could get a free t-shirt for collecting cans for recycling, which was a brilliant idea! We wanted to get a bag to do it, but by the time we got there late on Saturday it was ‘sold out.’ Also, there were plenty of trash bins and recycling bins all around, including recycling for the reusable hard plastic orange cups. Kudos to the planners for thinking about the environment!
COOKING COMEDY
Our family loves a good cooking show, so we checked out the cooking demos all three days, hosted by Jason Biggs and featuring Chef Robert Irvine and Chef Amanda Freitag with guest appearances by members of O.A.R.
I had no idea what to expect, but I was fully entertained! Jason Biggs was an excellent emcee, bringing a full cookbook of pie jokes… and it was a huge audience, cheering on push ups and olive oil shots.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
As a frequent visitor to OCMD, I’ve been on most of the rides at the Jolly Rogers Pier, but having them be free and included as part of the festival was so freaking cool. We wanted to spend more time riding, but we were mainly focused on seeing the bands. We went on the ferris wheel twice – once during Incubus and that was an incredible sight!
We participated in all of the sponsor games and it was a lot of fun. We got some cool giveaways and had fun in the process… Gala Music bracelets and a hot pink trimmed fanny pack. OCMD lanyards, Woodchuck Hard Cider scrunchie, lip balm. But that Rakuten claw machine – was it rigged? Never saw anyone win! It was fun, nevertheless.
MERCH
The merch was plentiful with a lot of different styles. We ended up getting one shirt each. Prices were on par with other concerts… which is a lot, but it is what it is. If the hats had been a little cheaper, we might have gotten one.
The band-specific merch was less plentiful. I looked online once I got back home and this is the end of the tour for many bands and their merch was sold out. I may try to order a Michael Franti shirt because he was a shining light of the festival for me. They also had a lot of Oceans Calling merch on the Boardwalk. Was it licensed? Who knows. I’m hoping when I go back with my dog in a few weeks that it will be discounted.
FESTIVAL COMMUNITY
The most interesting (entertaining? annoying?) aspect of the festival has been following along with the chatter in the various Facebook groups. Prior to the festival, there were a lot of repetitive questions that could have been easily answered by a quick “Google” search or visit to the festival FAQ page. But it was still fun to read it all and get hyped up for the festival.
During the concert and post-concert, that’s when it got super fun. Looking at photo and video highlights as I come down from the festival high this week. Sitting on my sofa because my body hurts so much that I can’t move. Watching clips from the bands that I didn’t get to see up close. O.A.R.’s Marc Roberge must have been cloned – he was everywhere all at once! It was so fun to see that someone got engaged during the John Mayer set… and there were those people who complained that Mayer didn’t sing any of his hit songs. Seeing a picture of Robert Irvine in front of Thrasher’s. Michael Franti living his best life in the Boardwalk crowds. People collecting photos of the various set lists. The beautiful night photos with the moon and Jupiter sparkling over the ocean waves. The OCPD riding horses and four-wheelers in the moonlight. The Boardwalk Santa riding his bike and bringing joy to the kids. So much fun. So many remarkable memories!
On Facebook, there were numerous hilarious jokes about the Karens of the concert trying to get people to stop stepping on their blankets. I personally experienced this during the Alanis set, and found it very relatable. I was standing fairly close to the stage (by myself with no phone service to find my peeps) and two groups of people behind me kept their blankets fully open once she started singing. Which in festival etiquette is a no-no if you’re very close to the stage, in my opinion. Want to sit on your blanket before the set? No problem. After the singing starts? Use your common sense and stand up or move back… you’re in the mosh pit / standing-room-only area and you may get trampled.
In the excitement of the start of the set, I was pushed backwards in the crowd and ended up standing on the corner of a blanket, unknowingly. I could barely even see where my feet were in the crowd. During Hand in My Pocket everyone was going wild and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw a lady screaming, while standing in the middle of her blanket, people jammed all around it. “Could you please stop standing on my blanket!” I stepped three inches forward to fix her perceived issue. IMHO, once the set starts, you need to fold back your blanket or move further back to use it. It’s as much a safety issue as a common courtesy. You live, you learn, Karen.
I’m happy to say that was the one and only weird and uncomfortable confrontation I had during the entire festival. I was surprised that everyone else was so friendly! Concert-goers, security, staff, musicians… Everyone was so very nice!
FAVORITES
People keep asking me what my favorite acts were and it is nearly impossible to say. Maybe it was the sign language interpreters? They were a pure joy to watch!
For the bands, it depends on the criteria. If I had to pick overall favorites, I’d say Sheryl Crow, Weezer, and O.A.R. & Friends. Because the kinds of friends that O.A.R. brings out are pretty epic! Along with other performers at the festival, they featured DMC and Richie Sambora. This set was by far the most amazing sing-a-long on record!
Others in my festival crew had these favorites to add to the “Best Of” list: Michael Franti, G. Love, Robert Randolph, and Third Eye Blind. Every single performance was truly entertaining. We thoroughly enjoyed them all! If we could have seen Grace Potter, Matt and Kim, and Fitz and the Tantrums I’m sure they would be on our list of favorites.
My most enthusiastic performer award goes to O.A.R.’s Jon Lampley! He was so talented and energetic and had a huge smile on his face during the entire festival. When I came home on Monday night and saw him playing the trumpet in the band on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, my mind was blown. I’ve attended a live recording of The Late Show in NYC , so I’ve seen him perform in the past. So cool to learn that!
Sending out a huge THANK YOU to O.A.R., C3 Presents, various sponsors, security, staff, volunteers, and the town of Ocean City for putting on an amazing inaugural music festival. Bravo!
As of the publication of this article, the tentative dates for Oceans Calling 2024: Sept. 27-29, 2024.
Please add your feedback in the comments section below!
https://www.oceanscallingfestival.com/
O.A.R.
List of Performers at
Oceans Calling 2023
ALANIS MORISSETTE
ALO
BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS
CALDER ALLEN
DECLAN MCKENNA
DEVON GILFILLIAN
DIRTY HEADS
DISPATCH
FITZ & THE TANTRUMS
G. LOVE & THE SPECIAL SAUCE
GIN BLOSSOMS
GRACE POTTER
INCUBUS
JACK JOHNSON
JIMMY EAT WORLD
JOE P
JOHN MAYER
MATT AND KIM
MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD
MICHIGANDER
NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS
NOAH KAHAN
O.A.R.
PAOLO NUTINI
PEACH PIT
ROBERT RANDOLPH BAND
SHERYL CROW
SLIGHTLY STOOPID
THE DRIVER ERA
THE LUMINEERS
THE WALLFLOWERS
THIRD EYE BLIND
TOAD THE WET SPROCKET
WEEZER
WHITE REAPER
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alissa Arford lives in Ellicott City, Maryland, with her family, dog, and cats. She’s a marketing communications consultant and enjoys attending and writing about cultural events. Check out her recent blog post, 2022: My Year of Concerts.
Alissa’s first book, which is set in Ocean City during the summer of 2023, is coming out in 2024! Oceans Calling will be featured!
Join her email list for publication updates.
Twitter/X @AArford
YouTube @adventuresofalissakip
TikTok @dapplescrapple.
Related Stories
https://www.ocshoremagazine.com/post/oceans-calling-a-harmonious-inaugural-music-festival-in-ocmd
https://www.ocmdhotels.com/blog/oceans-calling-2023
https://www.musicscenemedia.com/oceans-calling-music-festival-makes-huge-waves/
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