Thousands Expected At Charm City Bluegrass Festival

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Thousands of bluegrass music fans will gather in Baltimore on Saturday. They'll get to listen to some of the best in the business at a festival that continues to grow.

Ron Matz reports Druid Hill Park is ready to come alive with the sound of music.

The organizers of the Charm City Folk and Bluegrass Festival are ready for Saturday.

"In four years, we've done a lot more than we thought we were going to do. We started at Union Craft Brewing and now we're expecting well over 4,000. We're really excited about it, but a little nervous at the same time," said August.

They say it all started on a porch in Hampden.

"We were picking on my porch in Hampden. People started showing up. It was kind of an organic thing. One night there were about 30 people outside the house. We were just hanging out and we said let's have a party," said Phil Chorney, co-founder of the Charm City Folk and Bluegrass Festival.

Now the party draws 4,000 people who listen to some of the best bluegrass music around.

"Bluegrass is storytelling. It's a lot of honesty. There's a lot of sadness in some of these old traditional songs. People can really relate to it. It's the storytelling that really connects people to the music," said Jordan August, festival vice president.

Ricky Skaggs is this year's headliner.

"We have Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Keller Williams and the Traveling McCoureys, local boy Chris Jacobs comes back for his fourth festival. He brings an awesome band of all-stars from the area," said Chorney.

It all happens in Druid Hill Park.

"The first year we were at Union Craft Brewing. But you can't have bluegrass without grass," said Chorney. "So working with Councilman Mosby and Rec and Parks Druid Hill Park became our home

It's all about Baltimore bluegrass fans--young and younger

"It's a real Baltimore event. We've incorporated local everything--from them making us beer, The Charmery is making us ice cream--we have food vendors from Hampden and all over the city. Cardinal Tavern in Canton is taking care of all of our artists this year. We've always prided ourselves on staying local," said August.

This is the festival's fourth year.

"It's a beautiful space. We're right next to the conservatory. It's a natural amphitheater, easy access from I-83

Two dollars from each ticket will be donated to the Rawlings Conservatory.

"Two dollars from every ticket goes to the conservatory to help them do what they do and have this beautiful space for people to see. The younger generation doesn't know a lot about the conservatory, so it's good for us to have it here. They're able to see this beautiful building and all these plants from all around the world," said August.

For ticket information, CLICK HERE.