First and foremost, as we mentioned earlier on our Twitter and Facebook pages, Alive At Five featuring Wesley Spanger is canceled tonight because of the bad weather. Or, the supposed bad weather. Or, well, you get it. Still, there ain’t no darn Hurricne (yes, we spelled that incorrectly on purpose) that can get in the way of America celebrating its gosh-darn freedom, gosh-darn-it! How so? Well, just consider Cole Swindell (above) and Almost Journey, who are headlining the two stages tomorrow night in Baker Park as part of the city’s Fourth of July celebration (we’ll let you guess which one of them is a Journey cover band). Naturally, you won’t want to miss that. Though once the fireworks are fizzled out for good, it would probably be a great idea to head over to Cafe Nola for Kabob-O-Taj, who will be hitting the stage at 9:30. As for Saturday, Baltimore’s Idol(s) will be at Beans In The Belfry, while The Funk Junkies will be funkin’ things up at The Cellar Door. Yet even with all of that said – and because we all know we get to sleep a little longer tomorrow because of the holiday – don’t forget that you can still get Freedom (with a capital F) started right tonight with some good, old-fashioned Americana at the newly rejuvenated Church Street Pub. Rarely do we receive a free three-day weekend on account of the colors red, white and blue, so before you open those light beers and start setting off firecrackers in the middle of some side street, be sure to think about checking out some local, live and luscious (sorry – needed another L-word) music all around town over the next three days. And if for some reason you were rooting for Belgium on Tuesday and you aren’t impressed with the United States of America as an entity … well, then at least we have First Saturday this weekend, and that’s got to count for something, right? Right. Now, go tell your boss you feel sick, grab an umbrella and start this Fourth of July weekend off with a bang (or some music)!
THURSDAY
Who: Matt Gary
Where: Champion Billiards
When: 5:30 p.m.
Who: ClearSpring
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Jazz Jam
Where: Jekyll & Hyde Restaurant & Tavern
When: 7:30 p.m.
Who: Night Of Americana Music featuring Adrienne Smith, Scott Blecman, Phil Wheeles and more
Where: Church Street Pub
When: 8:45 p.m.
Who: The Get Rights
Where: The Opera House, Shepherdstown, West Virginia
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Freddie Long
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 8 p.m.
Who: The Dan McGuire Band
Where: Jo Jo’s Tap House
When: 8:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
Who: Kabob-O-Taj
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: F.A.M.E. Fourth of July Americana
Where: Elk Run Vineyards
When: Noon
Who: Eric Partyka, Rick Sloane
Where: The Bentz Street Raw Bar
When: Partyka – 3 p.m.; Sloane – 7 p.m.
Who: Reid Schoenfelder
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: Freddie Long Band
Where: Bushwallers
When: 10 p.m.
Who: WFRE Party In The Park, featuring Joe Bachman, Leah Turner and Cole Swindell
Where: 1:30 p.m.
When: Baker Park, southwest side of the swimming pool
Who: Alter Ego, The Original Booze Brothers, Almost Journey
Where: 2 p.m.
When: Baker Park Band shell
Who: The Nightcrawlers
Where: Brewer’s Alley
When: 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
Who: Letitia Vansant & The Bonafides
Where: Cafe Nola
When: 9:30 p.m.
Who: Sisters Cecelia Grace and Tessa
Where: Beans In The Belfry
When: 7 p.m.
Who: The Funk Junkies
Where: The Cellar Door
When: 10 p.m.
Who: Chris Smaha Trio
Where: Jo Jo’s Tap House
When: 9 p.m.
Who: Bushmaster Featuring Gary Brown
Where: Brewer’s Alley
When: 8 p.m.
