Oceans Calling Festival Reboots for 2023!

Oceans Calling ‘23, Ocean City, Maryland’s new music festival, gets a shot at redemption after foul weather halted the inaugural event in 2022.

First year festivals hold a special place in the hearts of music fans.

They’re a cornucopia of untapped potential, a chance to make first impressions and make them magical.

So, it goes without saying that after hurricane Ian pummeled the east coast in 2022 and quite literally pulled much of the Oceans Calling production and infrastructure out to sea, fans are pulling for them as they make another run at it this Sept 29 – Oct 1 in the bustling resort town of Ocean City, MD.

Atwood will be on location live for the first-time event, and there is so much to look forward to!

Ocean City, Maryland: The site of Oceans Calling Festival!

A LINEUP FOR EVERYONE

In its current state, the Oceans Calling 2023 lineup definitely offers don’t-miss acts from bell to bell on each of the three days.

It’s hard not to get excited about a festival lineup that quietly has artists like Incubus and Weezer as second line acts and that’s by no means a knock on headliners like blues guitar aficionado John Mayer or Alanis Morissette who combined account for 14 Grammy awards.

Other supporting acts like Fitz and The Tantrums, White Reaper and The New Respects all bring with them high energy live sets, so it feels like Jack Johnson crooning “Better Together” as the sun sets on day one should be a welcoming, mellow juxtaposition with the seaside backdrop.

Noah Kahan should also be a heavily anticipated set on day two, amid a grueling world tour in support of his third album, Stick Season.

Oceans Calling Festival 2023 lineup — Oceans Calling Festival 2023 poster

POSITIVITY IS PARAMOUNT

With Ocean City being among the larger resort towns in the mid-Atlantic region, it can present several potential challenges toward executing a multi-day festival.

As a bigger shore point, the town doesn’t have as much of a true off season as some smaller destinations might have, since it hosts some sizable events year round and populations don’t drop off as much after Labor Day as with the smaller shore points.

Some of the concerns could be things like traffic bottlenecks by the bridges, traffic safety and parking, hotel availability and the like. All these things considered, director Tim Sweetwood praised city officials for their energetic support in prepping for the event.

“Every market/city that we operate in is different, so it’s important that we put a lot of time, energy and respect into cultivating that relationship. Everyone has been great to work with, and everyone understands the goal of working together to put on a fantastic event.” Sweetwood remarked.

John Mayer is set to headline the second night of Oceans Calling

Asked about the anticipation of rebounding from the weather cancellation of 2022, Sweetwood expressed that confidence is high going into September.

“We had such a wonderful reaction in 2022 for the event, so we were determined to come back with an equal or bigger lineup. We have been thrilled with the reaction and dedication by fans for buying tickets to this year’s event.” said the festival director who has also produced other premier festivals like Shaky Knees in Atlanta.

With first year festivals, you can rely on historical data to anticipate how things will play out, to an extent, but there is always the fear of the unknown, which Sweetwood also eluded to.

“There are challenges predicting how the crowd will move and how much they will consume within the festival. We are working hard to make sure we have plenty of resources inside the festival grounds to try and satisfy our festival goers as best we can!”

At just about two months out, it looks like organizers have things well in hand for the inaugural Oceans Calling festival and it should be a good one. See you on the beach!

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