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Music

Windjammer Festival Brought Eclectic Sounds from Local Legends to Baltimore's Waterfront

Future Islands, Beach House, Dan Deacon and other locals showcased the breadth of Baltimore's music scene for a good cause.

All photos by the author

Yesterday I spent the day watching Baltimore bands that I came up seeing in grubby basements and ramshackle warehouses rock a huge sold-out pavilion on the waterfront of our city. It was truly a surreal experience: Somehow the local music scene here can sell out a 4,000+ capacity venue, something I wouldn’t have guessed a even a few years ago. Windjammer, a benefit for the Believe in Music program, a nonprofit which supports music education in city schools, showcased both the biggest names in Baltimore—Future Islands, Beach House and Dan Deacon—alongside still-evolving talents like Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, hip-hop group Bond Street District, Baltimore Club DJ James Nasty, and experimental pop band Romantic States.

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It was a perfect day for a festival, sunny with cool air blowing in from the harbor. The venue, Pier Six, is nestled in the heart of Baltimore’s tourist district, the Inner Harbor, and is known more for its adult contemporary and oldies shows—there were posters for a Doobie Brothers show up everywhere—so it was especially fun for locals to see a bill like this there. At one point, Dan Deacon asked how many people were there for the first time, and almost the entire crowd raised their hand, Dan included.

Even in a slick, pro venue, the DIY roots of the bands came through, with various band members coming out to introduce the other acts and crack wise to the audience, as well as talk about the Believe In Music project. Bands kept the turnovers quick and DJs from the local music scene spun mostly relaxing tunes as people lounged on the lawn and milled around the odd, waterside venue. More than one person I spoke to wondered if anyone was going to try and sneak in via boat, and I did see one boat posted up next to the venue just so they could watch the show.

Bond Street District

After a chill start with Romantic States, Bond Street District, a fairly new hip-hop group started by rapper DDm and producer/multi-instrumentalist Paul Hutson, turned things up a bit and got the crowd moving as much as they could in the seated pavilion. Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, one of my favorite bands, came on next. Ed just isn’t quite like anyone else; he has the best stage banter around, and it was quite fun to see him translate it to a crowd this large.

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Ed Schrader's Music Beat

Dan Deacon shows are beautiful, orchestrated chaos. I’ve never seen anyone work a crowd the way he can, but the venue’s surprisingly strict security and seating arrangements proved to be a challenge for the more athletic of his crowd participation antics. He seemed to be anticipating this, however, because mid-set he brought out a full brass band to accompany him (and Ponytail/Boredoms drummer Jeremy Hyman, who’s been playing with him lately) on some of his more epic tracks. I was a little skeptical first, but once they got going, the brass band added a palpable power and intensity to the music. Seeing them play "USA" with Dan was definitely the highlight of the whole night. He also spoke movingly about topics such as music education, homelessness and police violence, all of which hit close to home in Baltimore.

Dan Deacon

Only a day after the release of their new album Depression Cherry, anticipation was high for Beach House, who had probably the best sound mix of the night. Their set ranged from new tracks to Teen Dream-era hits and they even snuck in a few old songs for the hometown crowd. It was cool and dark by the time they came on, and their dreamy pop inspired a lot of cuddling on the grassy lawn at the back of the pavilion. Perfect end of summer vibes.

Beach House

Bringing the energy level way up after Beach House's set was Baltimore Club DJ and producer James Nasty, who spun a raft of club music classics as well as some of his own productions. By this time security seemed to have gotten the memo that people wanted to dance, so they crowded around the DJ booth and stage, shaking it and getting pumped for the final act of the night.

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DJ James Nasty

Future Islands is coming off a crazy couple years, with hundreds of gigs played in support of their breakout album Singles, and it shows. They’ve always been an excellent live band but now they are just incredibly tight, with frontman Sam Herring showing off a dazzling array of new stage moves while William, Gerrit, and Mike keep the music moving. They played a set that focused on the last two albums but worked in a few new tracks as well as classics like "Tin Man" and "Little Dreamer." They, too, took time out to address the importance of music education as well as community cooperation as Sam spoke at length about what moving to Baltimore and becoming friends with all the artists at the fesivalt meant to his and the rest of the band’s lives.

All in all, the Windjammer managed to have a familial, house show vibe even though it was held at one of the city’s largest venues, mainly because it was a group of musicians who are friends playing together in their home city in support of a good cause. At one point DDm said on stage that this was “the first annual Windjammer Festival," which was news to me, but if it’s true let’s hope next year's can be as remarkable and seemingly effortless as this one.

Future Islands

Find more of Josh Sisk's photography here.