Even with stormy and wet weather, Oceans Calling returned with a bang for its second full year in Ocean City, Maryland.
The 3-day festival on the Ocean City Beach, headlined by Dave Matthews Band, blink-182, and The Killers, featured acts from all genres, including rock, reggae, and folk.
Friday started with the biggest names in those three genres listed above. Headlined by blink-182, the rainy day also featured Cage the Elephant, a newly reunited Sublime, festival promoters O.A.R., 311, and more.
Though Sublime finished on time at 9:15 pm, due to weather, blink-182 took the stage late. The band got on stage at 10:20 pm and were only able to perform for 40 minutes before hitting the curfew.
On Saturday, an array of genres came together. The Killers headlined, while The Offspring brought a fan-favorite act to the Rockville Stage.
The Beach Boys also performed during the day, which included an unexpected collaboration. The Offspring’s lead singer Dexter Holland joined Mike Love and company during the Beach Boys’ set to perform “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
The Hives along with The All-American Rejects were among fan-favorite rock acts, according to online forums and social media. On the reggae side, Rebelution got the crowd ready for the O.A.R. & Friends act the next day.
Speaking of which, that’s a great way to transition into that set. It’s a fun collaborative set led by O.A.R. and one that can be compared to Bonnaroo’s Superjam.
The set consisted of yacht rock and reggae essentials, like “Cheeseburger in Paradise” by Jimmy Buffett and “Stir It Up” by Bob Marley & the Wailers.
Guests included Junior Marvin, Stephen Kellogg, Lisa Loeb, Adam Gardner, and many, many more across the one-hour set.
Dave Matthews closed down the set with a two-hour DMB-style folk show. Matthews was supposed to headline the festival in 2022 along with Tim Reynolds before being canceled due to a hurricane.
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