OCEAN CITY – While still a little over a month away, the excitement is building for the inaugural Oceans Calling three-day music festival with the announcement of the lineup this week for each day of the event.
Last August, Tourism and Business Development Director Tom Perlozzo and C3 Presents founder and promoter Tim Sweetwood pitched the idea of a significant three-day music festival in and around the Inlet with three stages bisected by the fishing pier and amusement park. The promoter promised major headline acts for the festival and has delivered. In March, C3 Presents announced nationally known and locally popular O.A.R. out of Rockville, Md., had signed on to be one of the headlining acts for the inaugural Oceans Calling festival. In May, the promoters announced the remaining acts for the festival, which will be held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.
With major acts including headliners Dave Matthews, Lumineers, Cyndi Lauper and Alanis Morissette, along with, of course, O.A.R. in the three-day line-up, the excitement for the event began to grow immediately and ticket sales were robust. The promoters announced this week the event was nearly a sellout with over a month remaining. According to a release, all that remained as of midweek were one-day general admission tickets for Sunday, one-day VIP tickets for Sunday and one-day platinum tickets for Sunday. During a discussion of a separate issue this week at a Mayor and Council meeting, it was learned the festival is expected to draw 37,000 to 40,000 people to the resort.
The festival will feature over 30 artists performing on three stages on the beach near the Inlet at the south end of the Boardwalk, promising a crescendo of sorts for the summer season. Oceans Calling will also feature a culinary component hosted by world-renowned chefs along with cooking demonstrations celebrating local Eastern Shore cuisine. In addition to announcing the major music entertainment lineup on Monday, C3 Presents also announced the headliners for the culinary component including popular chefs Andrew Zimmern, Robert Irvine and Amanda Frietag, who will perform on stage during the festival. In addition, the Jolly Roger Amusement Park on the pier will be located within the festival grounds and will be fully operational during the event, creating the opportunity for a unique experience unlike any other festival of its kind.
While the list of performers has been known for months, this week the promoters announced the schedule for each day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, on the three stages, including the Sea Bright stage, the Rockville stage – in deference to headliner O.A.R. – and the Carousel stage.
30,000 to 40,000? It’ll draw a lot more people than that, most without a ticket.
30,000 to 40,000? ….and how long has the Town known this?
Here we are… not enough bus drivers, broken buses, not enough Tram drivers or conductors. No trams to haul all the people heading to the same place. Time to shake up Public Works given that their shortcoming has existed since before COVID was invented.
By then all of the summer hires will be gone, including the over 100 seasonal police officers.
From the pictures I saw of the new transportation guy, they better order some extra hot dogs for that weekend.
I hope the h2oi crowd stays away – last year they produced nothing more than a whimper and this event will certainly fill up hotel rooms. I heard the h2oi crowd is headed to wildwood NJ to try their luck at trashing the place instead of OC.
Ocean ‘s Calling Is Gonna Be Totally Great ! ..However Bike Week Lost Out ! Disappointment There !