Charm City Junction (Thursday)
2024 Lineup | Past Years: 2023 Lineup | 2022 Lineup | 2019 Lineup
Baltimore-based Charm City Junction is a quartet that blends Old Time, Irish, bluegrass, and more. With fiddle, clawhammer banjo, button accordion, and upright bass, they take roots music to new heights while honoring the tradition. The band members are a who’s who of favorites, with Patrick McAvinue on fiddle (2017 IBMA Fiddle Player of the Year). You know Brad Kolodner, a clawhammer banjo wizard and a four-time Clifftop finalist, who also emcees here at the festival. Sean McComiskey plays button accordion and is a son of a legend, while Alex Lacquement is a versatile bassist and a skilled arranger. Together, the band that has been amazing audiences since 2014. With two albums to their credit, they are known to Grey Fox and the fans of many other festivals. Don’t miss their return to Grey Fox. Come for the music, and be endeared by their charm.
“Together they create an energetic amalgam that demonstrates their pure love of all these venerable musical idioms, but with a twist likely to satisfy anyone who appreciates traditional string music, expertly played…Charm City Junction is a marvelous recording from an exciting new band. Don’t let this one slip by you.”
“Baltimore-based roots group Charm City Junction puts a new spin on old-timey music, carrying the torch of fast-picking bluegrass and toe-tapping Celtic music. Featuring fiddle, clawhammer banjo, the button accordion and upright bass, this quartet isn’t afraid to take roots music to new places — but always with an eye on tradition.”
“The group has an accomplished sound that’s well beyond the players’ years. At times, the songs are pure backwoods Americana, straight-up Appalachian mountain music, or the kind of boot-scootin’ stomp heard at a country dance. At others, they’re old-timey and Irish, evoking the plucky ditties of a cozy pub or some seaside ballad from the shores of Galway Bay.”