​Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country | XL Live | Harrisburg, PA | 8/29/24

​The Ramble Festival 2023 | Darlington, MD | 10/7 & 10/8/23

What a wonderful little gem of a festival this place is. Tucked away among the woods and farmland of Darlington Maryland, Camp Ramblewood is where you'll find this well-put-together festival.  Only in it's second year of existence in 2023, this festival has a bright future. The bands were great, the people were super friendly and caring, and the setup was easy to traverse. I did not camp (my old bones get angry), but I imagine that camping really adds to the sense of community which is the true appeal of Ramble Fest.  Band highlights for me were Neighbor, Dogs in a Pile, Perpetual Groove and of course Yam Yam, who I've watched grow into a top tier party/funk band over the years. I really enjoyed my time there at Ramble Festival and hope to have many returns in the future. Keep an eye on this festival as it continues to grow and offer bigger and better things to the festival world in the years to come!

Magic Beans @ Charm City Bluegrass Fest | Baltimore, MD | 5/6/23

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​Spafford @ XL Live | Harrisburg, PA |  3/25/23

Lancaster Roots and Blues Festival 2021

North Mississippi Allstars - 10/17/21

Crippled But Free @ The Englewood - Hershey, PA - 7/31/21

Yam Yam @ Club XL - Harrisburg, PA - 7/23/21

​Colebrook Road @ Club XL - Harrisburg, PA - 5/7/21

​Lettuce @ Club XL - Harrisburg, PA - 1/31/20

​The Growlers @ XL Live - Harrisburg, PA - 7/24/19

​Diane Coffee @ XL Live - Harrisburg, PA - 7/24/19

Charm City Bluegrass Festival - 4/27/19

​This was the seventh year for this wonderful little gem of a festival. It was a beautiful day on Saturday, even if it was a bit windy. The musicians were superb as always. My favorites of the day were ULTRAFAUX and Steep Canyon Rangers appeared to steal the show. They were incredible as always. Deer Tick probably shocked some fans that weren't familiar with them as they played some straight up rock and roll for the folk and bluegrass crowd. They're one of my favorites and it was a pleasure seeing them at Charm City.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong @ HMAC - Harrisburg, PA -3/28/19

Colebrook Road @ Fed Taphouse - Harrisburg, PA - 3/30/19

Hot August Music Festival 2018 - Cockeysville, MD

XPoNential Music Festival 2018
Presented by Subaru

​Friday

It wouldn't be an XPoNential Music Festival without the threat of thunderstorms and the cancelling of a band. This year's victim was Lone Bellow. Before that unfortunate act of of Mother Nature there was plenty of great music to take in.  Swift Technique kicked off the festival and got the crowd moving with their funk, hip-hop, and R&B fusion.  WXPN's artist to watch for the month of July, The National Reserve, opened up the River Stage with some good old fashioned straight up rock n' roll.  My favorite band of the night was one I've been wanting to see for a few years now, but never had the chance until Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real met my expectations and then some.  

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Saturday

XPoNential was a hot one this past Saturday, musically and weather-wise.  Everyone could find something they could enjoy, as the musical genres of the bands playing spanned everything from Hip-Hop to Indie, Afrobeat to New Country.  My personal favorites of the day wound up being Mondo Cozmo and Margo Price.  Both of which had some of the biggest and most energetic crowds of the entire festival.  

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​Sunday

Sunday is always a bitter sweet day for festivals as it all winds down.  The Sunday lineup at XPoNential couldn't have been any better, in my opinion.  I was looking forward to Lo Moon all weekend because WXPN has been hyping me up on them for the last 2 years as we all waited for theirself-titled debut to come out.  Lo Moon's live show is a near perfect recreation of the songs on their album.  They are a very tight band in the best possible way.  Another album I enjoyed the hell out of, over the last year or so was Phoebe Bridger's Stranger in the Alps.  It seemed the majority of the crowd enjoyed that album too, because there was a large contingent of people singing along with the majority of her songs.  The last band I saw this year has been one of my favorites for quite a few years now.  In my opinion Hiss Golden Messenger is quickly becoming one of the best, if not the best Americana bands currently touring.  Every time I see them they get better. 

And that wraps up this year's festival coverage.  WXPN is always churning out the best mix of music on the radio and in festival form.  We're lucky to have a local station that provides a constant stream of great music that is there anytime for us to tap into.  I'm already looking forward to what they put together for the 2019 version of XPoNential.  

Charm City Bluegrass Festival 2018

Charm City Bluegrass Festival is always host to some of the best bluegrass to be found in the area.  Everyone is so friendly and laid back as fans and musicians alike look to get down in Baltimore.  This year was no different.  The food, drink, atmosphere, and of course the music, make this little festival a gem.  Make sure you keep this fun little festival on your radar.   It's not to be missed.

Lancaster Roots and Blues Festival 2018

​Man About A Horse @ Abbey Bar in Harrisburg, PA - 12/22/17

Matt Pond PA @ Tellus360 - Lancaster, PA - 9/21/17

LOCKN' Festival 2017

2017 marked my fourth straight year covering the LOCKN' Festival, and it was also wound up being the hardest for me personally.  The weather was perfect.  The music was spectacular and on-point as always.  The new layout was much more compact and was easier on the legs, as it didn't require nearly as much walking from the campsite to the various stages.  It was extremely dusty this year which led to me getting sick on Sunday morning and having to bolt the festival early.  Not ideal, but after deciding to go by myself this year, I had no one to lean on, so I had to make that tough choice.  All in all though Friday and Saturday were amazing as usual.  I found that the daytime shows were a lot easier to get up front for and the nighttime shows seemed extremely dense and hard to navigate with the new smaller setup.  I'm sure that LOCKN' will adjust and continue it's tradition of putting on a top quality festival for many years to come.  I really like how LOCKN' continues to expand on the "jam" genre and has been dabbling in adding folk artists to the lineup.  Growing more eclectic will only broaden the appeal of LOCKN' and I look forward to seeing what they come up with for next year!

Charm City Bluegrass Festival 2017

2017 is the fifth year for this unique little festival nestled within the confines of beautiful Druid Hill Park in Baltimore.  Lot's of good food, drink, people and music could be found yet again.  It was unexpectedly hot this year which created some challenges for those parents bringing their young kids, along with this here photographer who found himself trying to fight for shade in between shooting sets.  But all in all, as they like to say at the fest, "I have no complaints."  Always a good time to be had at Charm City every year regardless of who's playing!

Aijala & Emmitt (Leftover Salmon) Kaufmann & Thorn (Yonder Mountain String Band)

​Cabinet

​Seldom Scene

​​The Dustbowl Revival 

​Lonesome River Band

​Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

Lancaster Roots and Blues Festival 2017 

LOCKN' Festival 2016

One of the best festivals around got even better this year with the additions of jam stalwarts Phish and the much beloved My Morning Jacket, made this year one that won't be forgotten anytime soon.  Still glowing from the amazing weekend that was at LOCKN' Festival 2016

My Morning Jacket @ LOCKN' Festival 2016

My Morning Jacket​ has long been one of my favorite bands. LOCKN' Fest has recently become one of my favorite festivals. So naturally the marriage of the two was something that I could not miss this year. My Morning Jacket blew most everyone away and stole the show. Amazing set from an amazing band at an amazing festival. Doesn't get much better than this.

Phish @ LOCKN' Festival 2016

Gary Clark Jr @ LOCKN' Festival 2016

XPoNential Music Festival 2016

Sponsored by Subaru

One more XPoNential Festival in the books and it's safe to say that there will not be another year quite like 2016.  Which is fitting considering the crazy things that are going on in the world at home and abroad.  But it's not my job to get into political and social rantings here on my website.  That's apparently something for Father John Misty to get into when "playing" his set.  I'll get into that in a moment.  It was a weekend of extremes.  Extreme heat.  An extreme thunderstorm.  There was an extremely short and profanity filled Father John Misty set and some extremely amazing music by performers that poured their hearts and souls out on stage to the delight of festival-goers.  

Friday

Father John Misty

I've seen FJM a few times now and he will usually take a moment to go on some sort of rant against whatever is happening in the world, but he usually doesn't start his show like that. During his set at XPoNential he did just that and went on quite the tirade against political entertainment and the value of entertainment in general. It was interesting at first but filled with much profanity, which many would argue that the family friendly atmosphere of XPoNential might not be the place to air his social and political grievances. After completing his rant he then played a 10 min long "new" song which was basically a stream of consciousness ramble against our current political climate. Then he covered Leonard Cohen and left the stage a half hour early.  Some people thought what he did was art and using his platform to make people aware and break them out of the lethargic uncaring apathy, which is fair, but XPoNential is a weird place to attempt something like that.   There are others that found his antics to be pretentious and self-aggrandizing.   For better or worse this show will be talked about for quite some time.  

After FJM it was on to the ever crowd friendly and entertaining The Suffers.  There are 2 things you need to remember about them.... The are called The Suffers and they are from Houston, TX.  This is something that their ever talented lead singer, Kam Franklin, always leads with when starting a set.  A pleasant surprise for the Philly sports faithful in the festival crowd, was that Eagles defensive end Connor Barwin introduced The Suffers before their set.  There is a Houston, TX connection apparently since Mr. Barwin was drafted by the Texans at the beginning of his career.  The Suffers always put on a stellar set and after the FJM let down, people were ready to cut loose a little bit and The Suffers provided the music to do such a thing.  

The Suffers

Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle

Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle were a pleasant surprise.  It was a good mix of their own individual songs and their own originals.  And with that my Friday at XPoNential 2016 was in the books. 

Saturday

I was really looking forward to pretty much everything taking place on Saturday at the fest.  Mother Nature, like she so often does, had other plans.  Started out with The Felice Brothers.  I've seen these guys before and they are always a really great time.  Unfortunately there were some sound problems that cut their sound out all together.  They made the most of it by taking their instruments down into the crowd and playing the rest of their set surrounded by festival patrons.  It was a unique musical moment, but also a harbinger for what was to come.

The Felice Brothers

The Record Company put on a great set, although I was unable to grab any photos from them.  The Marina Stage has always been a challenge to get photos at due to the many people that camp out there all day long.  This along with the oppressive heat, made jumping back and forth between stage more than I could handle.  I was psyched for Preservation Hall and they put on yet another impressive New Orleans Jazz and Funk extravaganza until a severe thunderstorm rolled through and cut their set short and killed any chances of Josh Ritter or David Wax Museum playing over in Wiggins Park.   

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

The photo below was taken after the rain let up, but as you can see, it rained pretty heavily.  I was, at one point, taking shelter inside a portopotty because every tent in Wiggins Park was packed with people taking shelter.  It was a disappointing end to a day that was full of potential.  But there's always Sunday to look forward to.  

​Sunday

Sunday wound up being my favorite day of the weekend.  It seems to happen a lot for me at festivals.  Friday is fun, Saturday is draining, and Sunday I rally and make the most out of the last day.  The Districts kicked off the music for me.  I love these guys.  Part of it is that they hail from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which is also my home.  Another part of it is how much these guys just straight up rock.  They're so much fun to shoot, although quite challenging.  They always bring the energy and this show was no different.  It was definitely one of my favorite sets of the weekend.  

The Districts

Every year XPoNential attendees are blessed with shows from various living legends.  But this year, we got possibly the biggest name yet in that musical category.  It was my first time seeing Mavis Staples and she smiled and belted out her classic tunes better than singers half her age.  She's an amazing performer and I feel blessed to have finally seen her so up close and personal.  

Mavis Staples

Yonder Mountain String Band @ Penn's Peak - 6/26/16

Keller Williams @ Charm City Folk and Bluegrass Festival - 4/30/16

Steep Canyon Rangers @ Charm City Bluegrass Festival - 4/30/16

Colebrook Road @ Charm City Folk and Bluegrass Festival - 4/30/16

The Wood Brothers @ Lancaster Roots and Blues 2016

The Stray Birds @ Lancaster Roots and Blues 2016

LOCKN' Festival 2015

Another amazing Lockn' Fest in the books.  It was a rough start to the weekend but the spirit of the festival goers and organizers to pull off the unique atmosphere and extraordinary musical lineup again this year was a feat in and of itself.  Attendees have grown to expect a level of freedom and spontaneity from this fest and once again Lockn' did not disappoint.  

Courtney Barnett @ XPoNential Fest 2015 - Camden, NJ

My Morning Jacket w/ Roger Waters @ Newport Folk Fest - 7/24/15

©Dan Worcester/danbirdchirps/danbirdphoto 2023