The Charm City Bluegrass Festival was founded in 2013 as the Charm City Folk & Bluegrass Festival when Jordan August and Phil Chorney, partners in the Baltimore Music Agency, wished to "put on bluegrass for everyone to see, whether it was on the porch, at a show, or a bigger party," as a way to highlight Baltimore's rich history of bluegrass music. Its name was shortened to the Charm City Bluegrass Festival in 2017. The inaugural festival was a sold-out event held on the grounds of the Union Craft Brewery and featured a line-up headlined by Tony Trischka and Tim O'Brien. For the second installment August and Chorney, moved to the much larger grounds of Druid Hill Park. The line-up featured Jerry Douglas, Noam Pikelny & Friends, Sierra Hull, Chris Eldridge & Julian Lage, and Cris Jacobs and saw the attendance almost double from the first year. In 2015 for the event's third year, the festival again returned to Druid Hill Park and expanded its line-up by adding a second stage. The 2015 line-up included The Travelin' McCourys, The Wood Brothers, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Cris Jacobs, the Seldom Scene, and many others. In 2016 the Charm City Bluegrass returned to Druid Hill Park for a third straight year with a line-up that featured Ricky Skaggs, Keller Williams and the Traveling McCourys, Steep Canyon Rangers, Cris Jacobs, Sierra Hull, Cabinet, Colebrook Road, Man About A Horse and Ampersand Stringband. The 2016 installment also featured the addition of the Bluegrass Academy to the festival, where performers gave lessons and discussed their music with fans for free in a dedicated tent. The festival took place April 30, 2016. Following the 2016 edition, the Charm City Bluegrass Festival was awarded an International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum Award for Event of the Year. The fifth installment of the Charm City Bluegrass Festival again returned to Druid Hill Park with the festival set to take place April 29, 2017. The line-up featured Lone Bellow, the super-group of Adam Aijala and Ben Kaufmann from Yonder Mountain String Band and Drew Emmitt and Andy Thorn from Leftover Salmon, Cabinet, Seldom Scene, Cris Jacobs, Dust Bowl Revival, Lonesome River Band, and many more. In 2018 a documentary, "Charm City Bluesgrass: A Renewed Baltimore Tradition," directed by Marc Shapiro and filmed by Caplan & Green Productions, was released highlighting the festival's continuing role in keeping alive the long tradition of bluegrass music in Baltimore. The documentary's release was celebrated with a screening and concert at Baltimore radio station WTMD. The festival is set to return for its sixth year in 2018. For the first time it was now expanded to two days. The lineup was headlined by The Travelin' McCourys, The Devil Makes Three, The SteelDrivers, and included the Jeff Austin Band, Billy Strings, Caleb Stine, The Larry Keel Experience, and Trout Steak Revival, among many others.
Recognition
2014 - Baltimore Magazine: "Best Festival"
2015 - Baltimore Magazine: "Best Music Festival Readers Choice"
2016 - International Bluegrass Music Association: "Momentum Award for Event of the Year"
Lineups by year
2013
Location: Union Craft Brewery Dates: April 27, 2013 Tony Trischka, Tim O'Brien, Cris Jacobs, Caleb Stine, Letita VanSant, the Honey Dewdrops, Pretty Gritty, Chester River Runoff, Feinwood, Trace Friends Mucho, DJ Bohfunk,
2014
Location: Druid Hill Park Dates: April 30, 20 Jerry Douglas, Noam Pikelny & Friends, Chris Eldridge & Julian Lage, Sierra Hull, Cris Jacobs, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Trace Friends Mucho, Mad Sweet Pangs, Ken & Brad Kolodner.
2015
Location: Druid Hill Park Dates: April 25, 2015 The Travelin' McCourys, The Wood Brothers, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, The Seldom Scene, Grand Ole’ Ditch, The Bumper Jacksons, Letitia VanSant, Cris Jacobs, Chester River Runoff, Charm City Junction, Herd of Main Street, Manly Deeds
2016
Location: Druid Hill Park Dates: April 30, 2016 Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Keller Williams & The Travelin' McCourys, Steep Canyon Rangers, Sierra Hull, Cris Jacobs, Cabinet, Colebrook Road, Man About A Horse
2017
Location: Druid Hill Park Dates: April 29, 2017 The Lone Bellow, Aijala-Kaufmann-Emmitt-Thorn, Cabinet, Seldom Scene, Cris Jacobs, Dustbowl Revival, Lonesome River Band, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike, Danny Paisely & The Southern Grass, Kitchen Dwellers, Country Current, Frankie Short & The Northern Connection, Dirty Grass Players
2018
Location: Druid Hill Park Dates: April 27-28, 2018 The Devil Makes Three, The Travelin' McCourys, The SteelDrivers, Jeff Austin Band, Billy Strings, Larry Keel Experience, Caleb Stine, Trout Steak Revival, Special Consensus, Front Country, Lonely Heartstring Band, Circa Blue, The Honey Dewdrops, Country Current, Bluestone, Mile Twelve, Mountain Ride, Haint Blue, Colebrook Road, The High and Wides, Man About a Horse.
