Every year, in the lead-up to April, Charm City Bluegrass hosts a battle of the bands featuring local-ish acts, most of which have gotten little to no real exposure. At the least, the winners have benefited from the Baltimore audience seeing them at Druid Hill Park in Baltimore, but often, more than one band from the competition gets plenty of attention and opportunity for growth (e.g., The Plate Scrapers, Geraldine, etc.). Last year’s winners, the harmony-laden and gifted Wicked Sycamore, parlayed the experience at Charm City into an invite to DelFest (I think – though I’m not totally certain – strongly influenced by Adam Kirr and Phil Chorney, the organizers of Charm City Bluegrass).
This year, Adam and Phil have sweetened the pot even further for winners. Whoever comes out on top will earn sets at the Charm City Bluegrass Festival, DelFest, and the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, as well as $1000 and a tune-up from Appalachian Bluegrass Shoppe (Catonsville stalwarts). It would not surprise me if they added even more. After all, the two of them have become well-established as champions of the music scene.
On this Friday night – the first of two early-round battles – the forecasted sleet and freezing rain held off, though a chilly wind whistled over Baltimore. The crowd at Union Brewing Company (best beer in Baltimore?) warmed to brewery classics like Rye Baby, Anthem, Michele’s Granola Porter, Bush Doctor, and others. But more importantly, rough draughts and specials featured, like the ESB, the barrel-aged Snow Pants, and the delicious Winter Warmer, among so many others. And as always, Well-Crafted Kitchen provided its delicious pizzas, pretzels, and more, while The Charmery offers ice cream for any palate or sensitivity.
Of course, though the setting matters, most of the crowd found its way to Union for the music, or at the very least, the specially priced Charm City Bluegrass Festival tickets (seriously, go to the next Battle of the Bands at least to buy your festival tickets). Per the usual, four bands played, and everyone votes with a single ticket received at the door.
Bilgewater
First formed in 2018 by Travis Guthrie and Russell Jacobsen, Bilgewater represented the truest bluegrass of the night, featuring mandolin, guitar, fiddle, banjo, and upright bass. They brought a blend of traditional bluegrass and old-timey music, as well as a few songs I think were originals, carrying the audience to its first toe-tapping moments.
Jack Dunlap Band
The Jack Dunlap Band, constants in the greater DMV scene, followed Bilgewater, led by bandleader Jack Dunlap and his fiery mandolin. Jack has played alongside a host of incredible bluegrass musicians – including Ricky Skaggs, Frank Solivan, and Michael Cleveland – and wears his influences well, including from his apprenticeship with Danny Knicely. Onstage, the band takes a freewheeling approach, bridging bluegrass and jazz, especially with the fusion of Justin Eller’s sax-playing and Jack’s mando.
Darlingtyn
Next came Darlingtyn, a Philly band that billed itself as cosmic folk and felt a good deal funkier than anything I might call folk. With six people onstage, they filled Union Brewing as well as anyone ever has, Emily MacDonald’s voice a massive thing, and firmly established themselves quickly as a band that would gain and maintain the audience’s attention. They dropped in two choice covers that could just as well serve as representative mission statements: John Prine’s “Sam Stone” and The Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street” (with a Coltrane tease, to boot), otherwise playing all originals. “Shoo Fly Pie” first buoyed the audience to open the set, but everyone with functioning feet found themselves dancing easily to the jaunty sway of “Creatures” or settling into the jams that dominated the space between verses (as on “Old Crow”).
Tornado Rose
The night closed with Tornado Rose, a DC band who hewed closer to bluegrass than their immediate predecessors, featuring Brooke Bell on vocals and an autoharp and a band of excellent players around her. The crowd settled into the songs of Tornado Rose, allowed the time to wind down beautifully, getting lost in Brooke’s singing and the subtle playing around her.
After their last song, the audience closed tabs, filtering out and dropping tickets into a hat. With all of the tickets counted, DARLINGTYN and BILGEWATER came out on top. As such, they’ll meet the winners of the next Battle of the Bands – on Friday, February 7, also at Union Brewing Company – at the 8×10 on February 28th, when the top vote-getter will receive an unparalleled reward.
See y’all in a few weeks! Make sure to buy your tickets as soon as you can – link here – and get ready to vote!
All photos courtesy and copyright of Matthew Ruppert – Charm City Battle of the Bands, Round 1 – Union Craft Brewing Company on January 17, 2020.
