ANNAPOLIS – For Jami Earnest, the Annapolis Songwriters Festival is not just about the headliners. When she goes, she likes to wander the blocks and connect with budding talent. After all, you never know who could be the next big thing.
Last weekend – her fourth time at the festival since its inauguration in 2022 – she got to know several emerging artists.
“I was standing on the sidewalk talking with two of the performers and then I sat with them,” said Earnest, a local resident and music lover. “We had drinks with them, and we talked with them. They hang out with you.”
That’s the whole idea, according to organizers. The Annapolis Songwriters Festival is meant to be a place where artists and fans alike can bond over the stories behind the song – and also raise money for local struggling musicians.
“It is showcasing our local musicians and giving them a platform to play, introducing their music to a lot of other people who perhaps have never gone to one of their shows,” said P.J. Thomas, president of the Annapolis Musicians Fund for Musicians, the fundraiser’s beneficiary. “A lot of the artists are approachable and you can talk to them and show your appreciation to them.”
AMFM works to provide temporary financial relief to local musicians who can not work due to sickness or other circumstances. As part of the fundraiser, the festival raffled off a guitar signed by all of the festival performers, with all proceeds donated to AMFM.
At the festival, fans can experience the next generation of Maryland songwriters like rising artist Madisun Bailey.
Bailey is a 22-year-old singer and songwriter from Baltimore. At the 2024 Annapolis Songwriters Festival, she was honored with the Rams Head on Stage “Rammie” Award for local songwriter of the year.
“It was my first ever music award and I felt very proud of myself and grateful for the people that voted me as the best local songwriter that year,” said Bailey. “I would love to see more of these amazing songwriters around Annapolis feel that love too. There’s so much talent and I’m constantly inspired.”
This year Bailey returned to the festival to play at the “Songwriters in the Round” set in the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum alongside fellow songwriter Jesse Moody. Bailey said she appreciates that original music is celebrated at the festival, a welcome change from the typical covers that dominate her performance time at other gigs.
The headlining acts had the same intimate atmosphere. On Friday night, Dirty Heads took the stage alongside Ballyhoo! and the Wheeland Brothers for a performance on the Calvert Street stage. Lead singer of Dirty Heads, Jared Watson, told screaming fans that the setup reminded him of a giant block party.
Organizers hope that the festival will encourage artist collaboration and inspire people to share their stories and bond over the music.
“It reminded me how deeply music connects us,” said Laura Price, director of music marketing for Rams Head Presents, the company that produces the festival. “Music is powerful and healing, and sharing that joy with our community is what makes this festival so special.”
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