The Triumphant Return of Charm City Bluegrass Festival

The Charm City Bluegrass Festival is back! After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival which started in 2013 was back at Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park and you couldn’t have picked a better weekend. The winter chill was gone (at least for now – I’m lookin’ at you Baltimore weather) and sun was shining. With festivals having been virtually eliminated for the past two years, fans were itching to get back out there to the park, and, golly, were they treated to something special!

Friday started off with two side-by-side stages full of music from Justin Trawick and The Common Good; the Hamden Bluegrass Allstars; the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys; the Larry Keel Experience; and a fantastic closing set by Yonder Mountain String Band.

And there was so much to do! From vintage clothes shopping on an old school bus to perusing fiddles and guitars, there was plenty to keep you moving. And if that wasn’t enough, there was wood fired pizza, cupcakes, falafel, and popsicles to feed those moving feet!

Then there came Saturday with a full schedule from the late morning through to the wee hours of the evening with both stages packed with fast-picking; three-part harmonies; and more earth-shaking bass from Darlingtyn; Wicked Sycamore; Charm City Junction; Jake Blount; the Fireside Collective; AJ Lee and Blue Summit; the Hackensaw Boys; Armchair Boogie; The Lil Smokies; and a set from Hiss Golden Messenger that had many in tears.

But in addition, there was a tent stage that offered more from Dori Freeman; the Henhouse Prowlers; Bill and the Belles; Country Current; Barbaro; and repeat performances from Wicked Sycamore and Justin Trawick.