Ron Peremel has fond memories of growing up on the Chesapeake Bay. Born and raised in Baltimore and spending time in nearby Annapolis, MD where his mother and grandfather were born, Peremel grew up swimming and fishing on the Bay and—like millions throughout the region—enjoying the bounty of the watershed. Oysters, crabs, fish, all staples of the Maryland diet and all fresh as possible. So, after the Chesapeake Bay gave so much to him, when Peremel returned to Annapolis after 16 years in Boulder, CO, he decided to give back. That—and a love of progressive bluegrass—is how Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival was born.

Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival will return to Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, MD along the Chesapeake Bay on September 20th and 21st, 2025. The third edition of the festival will feature two sets of headliners Greensky Bluegrass plus a surprise headliner yet to be announced. The festival will also host freightcar folk-rock band Railroad Earth, galaxy grass quartet Kitchen Dwellers, bluegrass progenies The Travelin’ McCourys, instrumental organ trio LaMP (ft. Russ Lawton, Scott Metzger, and Ray Paczkowski), The Grateful Ball featuring The Travelin’ McCourys, and String Cheese Incident keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth‘s eponymous solo band. Additionally, Baygrass will bring in bluegrass mainstay Larry Keel and his Electric Larry Land project, David Grisman’s son Sam Grisman and his Sam Grisman Project, The Last Revel, Phil Lesh’s son Grahame Lesh in Midnight North, Pressing Strings, and returning Baygrass house band Geraldine.

One of the key distinctions that sets Baygrass apart from other festivals is its emphasis on collaboration. This year’s event will host artists at large Holly Bowling (keyboards), Kyle Tuttle (banjo), and Ron Holloway (saxophone) who will sit in with bands throughout the weekend, including a reunion of the beloved “6reensky” configuration of Greensky Bluegrass with Holly Bowling. This spirit of collaboration also goes hand-in-hand with the festival’s 2025 celebration of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary, featuring The Grateful Ball and several descendants of the extended Grateful Dead family.

“We take a lot of pride in how we curate our bands and music to really create something special,” Peremel recently told Live For Live Music by phone. “Once they hit the stage at Baygrass, they just collaborate between them, and that’s when we know the magical moment happens. That’s something the fans love.”

Geraldine – “In The Water” (Official Festival Theme Song) – Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival 2023

[Video: Festy GoNuts]

More than just a great lineup at the intersection of bluegrass and jam bands, Annapolis Baygrass is a music festival with a purpose. A portion of every ticket, beverage, snack, and t-shirt sold will go directly to the festival’s partner non-profit organizations (NPOs) and their hands-on restoration and protection initiatives in the Chesapeake Bay.

Last year, Baygrass donated over $32,000 from the event proceeds, some of which, for example, went to the Oyster Recovery Partnership. This Annapolis-based non-profit collects oyster shells from restaurants and festivals to redeposit the shells in the Bay for future creatures to use. In 2024, Baygrass sold over 9,000 oysters, which Oyster Recovery Partnership put spats (baby oysters) in and replanted them, allowing for the production of 200,000 new oysters—each of which, as an adult, can clean 50 gallons of water a day in the Bay. The Oyster Recovery Partnership is just one example of how the festival supports the environment around it, which in turn supports the festival.

“So when we say every jam saves the Bay, people really get that concept,” Peremel said, echoing the festival’s official motto. “They’re [doing] their little part whether they know it or not, whether they want to or not. Their being at the festival is all they got to do, and they’re actually taking part in protecting and restoring the Chesapeake Bay.”

That impact reaches far beyond the festival grounds. The Chesapeake Bay itself extends into New York, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, affecting more than 19 million people who live, work, and play within its reach. It’s the world’s third-largest estuary (a body of water where a river meets the ocean, mixing fresh water and salt water) and the largest in the United States, encompassing over 64,000 square miles.

“Not only does it affect the quality of the Bay and creating a place where we can feel free to eat out of it, to play in it, to recreate, to fish, and crab, and boat, and enjoy,” Peremel said of the Bay’s importance, “But it’s for birds. It’s the whole ecosystem. It’s 3,900 different species of wildlife that are affected by this. And so it means so much to me to preserve it for future generations.”

Peremel is a master steward, training through educational and hands-on programs to protect the Bay’s ecosystem. With Baygrass, Peremel and his partners seek to share that knowledge with attendees. Representatives from NPOs like the Oyster Recovery Partnership, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and the Watershed Stewards Academy will give “tweener” talks between artist performances and set up booths for attendees to come and learn more. Organizations will also host activities including the beloved “Shuck Like A Pro” workshop where fans will learn how to shuck their own oysters and about the vital role those used oysters play in the Bay’s ecosystem.

“These are all great organizations that do this hard work, and I’m just trying to do my part and our part to educate people about them,” Peremel said. “Then help them with some of the funding that we provide through every drink and every oyster sold.”

Now in its third year—baptized by fire after Hurricane Ian derailed the inaugural edition in 2022—Annapolis Baygrass continues to grow into a hidden gem (perhaps a pearl in an oyster) of the mid-Atlantic. For Peremel, the cause remains deeply personal.

“I wanted to protect it for my children and the many generations that will come,” he concluded. “And I know how important [the Bay] is and all the work that I have done.”

Tickets for the 2025 Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival are on sale here. Visit the festival’s website to learn more about its conservation efforts.