Charm City Folk & Bluegrass Festival to play Druid Hill Park

Who’s ready for some outdoor music?

The weather has hit that sweet spot, it’s time to pull up a lawn chair and grab a spot for the Charm City Folk & Bluegrass Festival.

Ampersand Stringband will play the Charm City Folk & Bluegrass Festival at Druid Hill Park on Saturday. (Courtesy of Ampersand Stringband)
Ampersand Stringband will play the Charm City Folk & Bluegrass Festival at Druid Hill Park on Saturday. (Courtesy of Ampersand Stringband)

Druid Hill Park will again host the festival’s fourth edition this Saturday.  Beginning at 10 a.m., the all-day show will feature nine bands on two stages, local vendors and lots of craft brews and food for any appetite.

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder is the headliner. Skaggs’ recognition hardware includes 14 Grammys, 11 International Bluegrass Music Association awards, eight Country Music Association awards and a host of other accolades.

The day’s lineup also features Keller Williams and the Travelin’ McCourys, Steep Canyon Rangers, Sierra Hull, Cris Jacobs, Cabinet, Colebrook Road, Man About a Horse and Ampersand Stringband.

New to the festival this year will be the Acoustic University, which begins at 11:30 am. The event will feature “micro-lessons” from several of the day’s performers, with Cris Jacobs offering on guitar, Robbie McCoury & Mark Delaney on banjo, Sierra Hull and Ronnie McCoury covering mandolin and Jason Carter on fiddle.

This year’s Vendor’s Village will be much bigger this year according to festival founders Jordan August and Phil Chorney.

“It will be a little more spread out, with a lot more things in it… it will be true horseshoe of Shakedown Street” August said, referring to the open air bazaar made famous outside of Grateful Dead concerts.  Chorney added: “(There’s) lots of great crafts from local vendors, lots of great food from local food artisans.”

What you need to know:

  • Advanced general admission tickets for the festival are $62.52 after fees and $2 of your purchase goes to the Rawlings Conservatory. If you wait until the day of the show, tickets are $72.52.
  • Tickets to the after party at the 8×10 Club are $18.50 with fees.
  • Both are available at Missiontix.com
  • On site parking is available for $10, and is about a five-minute walk from the festival grounds.
  • Outside food and drink are prohibited with the exception of two sealed water bottles.
  • Low back lawn chairs and blankets are permitted, but no canopies allowed.