TVD Live Shots: The Shindig at Baltimore’s Carroll Park, 9/14

Last Saturday, fans of rock music from Baltimore and its surrounding areas had a good reason to come out and enjoy the late summer weather. This year marked the inaugural Shindig Festival by 24-7 Entertainment. The festival took place in Charm City’s historic Pigtown district and gave way for rock bands of all types to play on throughout the day.

This years line up featured The Dropkick Murphys, Clutch, The Gaslight Anthem, Joan Jett, Reverend Horton Heat, Mighty Mighty Boss Tones, Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, The Hold Steady, and the Glenmont Popes. Rising stars to the scene Victums of Experience and Bad Seed Rising took the stage at the start of the day’s festivities.

Located on the grounds of Carroll Park, the festival featured two main stages. The best thing about the way this festival was organized is that there was no lag time between sets from both stages. As soon as one band finished playing at the Babe Stage, the band on the Boxer Stage was sound checked and ready to go. This is the second festival I’ve attended this summer that was set up in this fashion, and I hope that organizers keep this trend going; it really works well for everyone. The walk between the stages at Shindig was not a cross town journey by any means, either. It made seeing each band a possibility.

Walking the grounds at the festival, you were almost overwhelmed with the plentiful choices of local food and beer venders. To take a quick break from the music, one could simply walk through the south end of the grounds and still be entertained. There was a Ripley’s Believe It or Not side stage and more then a handful of specialty venders, including walk-throughs booths from Jägermeister, Jack Daniels, and the Ottobar. Also on hand were a few Baltimore staples, the Orioles Bird and the Natty Boh Man, who both walked the park greeting fans and taking photos with festival-goers throughout the day.

Aside from the killer sets from Clutch, Dropkick, and The Gaslight Anthem, my favorite thing about this festival was the overall vibe of the good people of Baltimore. The festival was packed in tight with positive, sincere people who all were there to see some great music and have fun. Everyone I interacted with was in good spirits, and everyone had great things to say about Shindig. For me, it made for one of the best, most pleasant festival experiences I’ve ever had. Hat s off to the people at 24-7 Entertainment for a job well done. I hope to see Shindig continuing the same traditions next summer.

DROPKICK MURPHYS