2008 Summer Maritime Concert Series
The Annapolis Maritime Museum is again sponsoring its popular and award-winning Summertime Maritime Concert series at the museum campus in Eastport on Wednesday evenings and Thursdays at noon at Annapolis City Dock.
Sea music drifting across the waters of Back Creek has become a staple of Wednesday nights in Eastport, where families and friends gather at Cap’n Herbie Sadler Park to picnic and enjoy a program of maritime music, as boats parade past, to and from the Bay. The Wednesday concert begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is located at the foot of Second Street, adjacent to Back Creek.
“Bring a blanket or a lawn chair and get set for a spectacular evening,” museum director Jeff Holland advises. “The Museum overlooks Back Creek, which will provide a magnificent backdrop for the music.” Beer, wine, soft drinks and a selection of desserts will be available for a nominal donation.
The music starts up again on Thursdays at noon at the Annapolis City Dock, with musicians performing during the lunch hour from the deck of the Lydia D, a small skipjack owned by the Annapolis Maritime Museum. Again admission is free; the audience is welcome to bring seating.
The museum’s summer concert series has won an award for Best Heritage Event by Four Rivers, the Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town and South County, and one concert has been featured on the NBC Today Show. The series is made possible by generous support of the City of Annapolis, the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, the Maryland State Arts Council, and other supporters.
Tom McHugh
Tom & Chris Kastle
OCEAN Quartette
Caryl Weiss
Tom Wisner
Bob Zentz
Them Eastport Oyster Boys
Scurvy Crew
Calico Jack
Mack Bailey
George Kaufman
Chester River Runoff
Don Shappelle
Thursday, August 21 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Don Shappelle
This singer/songwriter sings songs inspired by
the beauty and history of the Susquehanna, the
people, boats and places of the mighty river
flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.
Noon, City Dock
Past concerts in this year's series
Wednesday, August 20 - Summer Evening Maritime Concert:
Chester River Runoff
This “hard-driving, finger-flying” country
bluegrass group from Chestertown on
Maryland’s Eastern Shore has a unique sound
that echoes in the wide open spaces of the
Chesapeake.
7 p.m., AMM Beach
Wednesday, August 13 - Summer Evening Maritime Concert:
Geoff Kaufman
One of the “golden voices” of New England’s
folk music scene sings traditional songs of the
sea as he plays finger-style guitar, concertina
and bones.
7 p.m., AMM Beach
Thursday, August 14 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Geoff Kaufman
See description for August 13, above.
Noon, City Dock
Thursday, August 7 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Mack Bailey
See description for August 6, above.
Noon, City Dock
Wednesday, August 6 - Summer Evening Maritime Concert:
Mack Bailey
A nationally acclaimed singer/songwriter with
eight solo albums to his credit, Mack also
performs with the Limeliters and members of
the original John Denver band in “A Musical
Tribute to John Denver.”
7 p.m., AMM Beach
Thursday, July 31 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Calico Jack
See description for July 30, above.
Noon, City Dock
Wednesday, July 30 - Summer Evening Maritime Concert:
Calico Jack
Calico Jack is actually the dynamic folk duo of Janie Meneely and Paul DiBlasi, whose new album “You Don’t Know Jack” was released this spring. Singer/songwriter Janie Meneely delves deep into the well of Chesapeake lore to produce songs evocative of the waterman’s way of life, featuring Bay characters, places and history. Her nautically inspired tunes have been recorded by artists throughout the country. Paul DiBlasi adds a vast repertoire of classic work songs to the group along with a flair for the guitar. “Sometimes sober, sometimes saucy, they slide easily between old and new,” says Annapolis Maritime Museum Director Jeff Holland. Janie's strong regional roots have led her to develop a hefty list of Bay-inspired songs, but her ditties are just as apt to poke fun at time-honored traditions. Paul's mastery of classic sea chanteys will have an audience singing along in no time. Their voices blend together beautifully.” Calico Jack released its first CD of Bay music, “The Oyster Wife,” in 2006.
7 p.m., AMM Beach
Thursday, July 24 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Scurvy Crew
A delightful bunch of young people from Southern Maryland, the Scurvy Crew has been singing sea songs for several years now, entertaining audiences with their lively performances and colorful costumes. Ranging from traditional work songs to hilarious “chantey nouveaux”, the group’s material can be saucy or somber, but is always spirited. See description above, for July 23.
Noon, City Dock
Wednesday, July 23 - Summer Evening Maritime Concert:
Them Eastport Oyster Boys and Scurvy Crew
For the past decade, Them Eastport Oyster Boys, the duo of Jefferson Holland and Kevin Brooks, has been delighting audiences throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed with their irrepressible brand of humorous tunes inspired by living in a community where the best things in life are a “good hat, a good dog and a good boat.” Their original songs, all inspired by the Bay, swing from island rhythms to “Country/Western Shore,” some poking fun at stinkpotters, others paying homage to the plight of the waterman. In his “day job,” Jeff works as the director of the Annapolis Maritime Museum. Kevin Brooks volunteers on the Museum’s Board of Directors. They contribute their time and talents to the Museum for this concert series. Scurvy Crew is made up of young people from Southern Maryland who might tell you they were kidnapped by pirates at a tender age and learned their singing from the folks in the fo’castle. True or not, the Scurvy Crew has been singing sea songs for several years now, entertaining audiences with their lively performances and colorful costumes. Ranging from traditional work songs to hilarious “chantey nouveaux”, the group’s material can be saucy or somber, but is always spirited.
7 p.m., AMM Beach
Thursday, July 17 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Bob Zentz
See description for July 16, above.
Noon, City Dock
Wednesday, July 16 - Summer Evening Maritime Concert:
Bob Zentz
Bob Zentz, a singer, songwriter, and storyteller from Norfolk, Virginia, has five recordings of traditional and original songs. His Chesapeake Bay songs like “This Old Bay” and “The Last Skipjack” have become true classics that have been included in a number of anthologies. He was featured in the 2004 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and performs concerts and educational programs throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Bob takes time to tell the stories behind the songs, and he accompanies his rich baritone voice with dozens of ‘unplugged’ folk instruments. One minute he’ll be singing an original ditty about his experiences on the Bay, the next he’ll throw in a traditional Celtic tune, a ballad or a sea chantey, and then he’ll recite poetry set to his own special brand of music.
7 p.m., AMM Beach
Thursday, July 10 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Tom Wisner
See description for July 9, above.
Noon, City Dock
Wednesday, July 9 - Summer Evening Maritime Concert:
Tom Wisner
Tom Wisner, the “guru” of Chesapeake Bay folk music, is a singer, songwriter, and educator from the Patuxent River watershed. Since the 1960s, Wisner has pioneered the use of original songs and stories to heighten awareness of the national treasure known as the Chesapeake Bay. His masterpiece, “Chesapeake Born,” inspired a National Geographic Special documentary. His first three albums are part of the National Smithsonian Folkways collection. He was a featured entertainer at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in 2004 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
7 p.m., AMM Beach
Thursday, July 3 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Caryl Weiss
Lifelong musician and veteran of the international “folk scene,” Caryl Weiss burst on the Annapolis stage six years ago, brimming with enthusiasm about the Chesapeake Bay, its traditions and its people. Adding to a repertoire already teeming with ballads meticulously collected from both sides of the Atlantic, she began penning songs about the Annapolis waterfront and the Bay beyond (her songs about the Schooner Woodwind and the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race play on the Woodwind website: www.schoonerwoodwind.com). An avid chantey ma’am, as she calls herself, she has shared her Sea Shanties 101 program at maritime museums throughout the Chesapeake watershed. Her deep and abiding love for the water and maritime traditions shines as clear as her voice; she backs herself up with banjo, guitar and concertina (but not all at once).
Noon, City Dock
Wednesday, July 2 - Summer Evening Maritime Concert:
OCEAN Quartette
With their soaring Celtic vocals and high-energy instrumentals (button accordion, fiddle, guitar and keyboard), the four-woman OCEAN Quartette offers their audience “the softer side of sea music.” Jennifer Cutting, Grace Griffith, Lisa Moscatiello, and Cheryl Hurwitz are internationally known, collectively and solo, for their goosebump-raising performances and surprise-filled repertoire. For her most recent album (OCEAN: Songs for the Night Sea Journey, released in 2005) composer and ethnomusicologist Jennifer Cutting culled through the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress to find a body of nautically inspired ballads and tunes, and transformed them into an ethereal banquet unlike anything in the “tradtitional” sea music canon. Think sirens. Think mermaids. Think maidens awaiting their sea-borne sailors. Woven into the mix is some of Cutting’s original material, which celebrates the rich symbolism, mythology, and mystery of the sea. The Washington Post called OCEAN “Nothing short of spellbinding…” Come and be mesmerized by their magic!
7 p.m., AMM Beach
Thursday, June 26 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Tom & Chris Kastle
See description for June 25, above.
Noon, City Dock
Wednesday, June 25 - Summer Evening Maritime Concert:
Tom & Chris Kastle
Musicians and storytellers, Tom and Chris Kastle have spent a lifetime touring the U.S., Canada, the British Isles and Europe, offering songs and stories of the Great Lakes region they call home. No strangers to water or the seafaring life, they have worked as a team aboard the Hudson River sloop Clearwater, while Tom has captained various tall ships on the Great Lakes (including the schooners Windy and Inland Seas and the square topsail sloop Friends Good Will for the Michigan Maritime Museum). They have released a dozen albums chronicling the Great Lakes and the world around them. Their performances offer a glimpse into a world not so far from our own--a world at once ravaged by stormy seas and confounded by the vagaries of development--all underscored by strong vocals and instrumentation (watch Chris turn a guitar into a hammered dulcimer).
7 p.m., AMM Beach
Thursday, June 19 - Summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert:
Tom McHugh
“Banjo Man” Tom McHugh offers up a mix of songs and stories about the vanishing traditions of the Bay, crafted from a lifetime love affair with the Chester River and the expanse of the Bay itself. McHugh, founder of The Mainstay, in Rock Hall, Md., has been on the local music scene for about 15 years now, when he returned to Chestertown after a stint of professoring at Vassar College. Rooted in folk tradition, his songs come straight from the heart and describe people and places that are passing away, especially those local to the Rock Hall waterfront.
Noon, City Dock
Annapolis Maritime Museum |
PO Box 3088 |
Annapolis, MD 21403
410 295-0104
office@amaritime.org
