Date: September 27th, 2024
Bands: Blink-182, Sublime, The Revivalists, Sugar Ray, 311, The Darkness, Tonic, Phillip Phillips, Winona Fighter, Stolen Gin, Vincent Lima

After skipping last year’s Ocean Calling Festival due to a mix-up with my pass—I accidentally chose a media pass instead of a photo pass, and I couldn’t imagine going without my camera—I was determined to attend this year, especially with a more enticing lineup featuring Blink-182, Sublime, Tonic, The Offspring, The Samples, The Darkness, The Hives, and more. This review will cover Day 1.

One of the first challenges of any massive festival is navigating the logistics. Hearing about last year’s traffic nightmares and long bus waits, I decided to avoid all that by using the park-and-ride option in West Ocean City. For $4, the bus dropped me right by the festival grounds, and I did this on both Friday and Saturday without any hassle. It made getting to and from the event pretty straightforward and stress-free. The main worry was getting out of the festival afterward, which is why I left early both nights.

Picking up my credentials was smooth, though I heard other photographers weren’t as lucky. Since I got there early, I had time to wander around the Ocean City boardwalk, which was surprisingly empty, giving me a peaceful hour before the shows began. I grabbed a quick bite to eat (falafel pita for a “cheap” $18), then headed to the Sea Bright Stage for the festival kickoff.

Stolen Gin opened up Oceans Calling at the Sea Bright Stage. Their sound had a cool indie vibe, perfect for easing into the day. After catching a couple of songs, I headed over to the other side of the festival, which took about 10 to 15 minutes to walk—on sand, no less. Safe to say, I definitely got my steps in over the next two days!

Next up was Vincent Lima, whose set featured a cellist, adding to the moody, atmospheric vibe, especially with the clouds and incoming rain creating a dramatic backdrop. It was starting to drizzle, just a precursor to what was to come later in the evening.

A great perk of having a VIP pass was access to free water—Liquid Death, but hey, it’s still water. They definitely didn’t want anyone dropping dead from dehydration! Bouncers were handing out water at the front near the barriers, joking, “Free water—this is definitely not a scam!” Oceans Calling was definitely looking out for people in that regard. However, I thought the food stands could have been placed in more areas besides the middle of the festival grounds. There were plenty of bar stands, but not enough food options in my opinion (though I don’t drink, so that was my gripe). The prices were as expected for a festival, so I wasn’t surprised by the expensive food.

When Winona Fighter hit the Sea Bright Stage, they really woke up the crowd. Their singer definitely knew how to hype people up. Winona Fighter brought a nice dose of punk energy so early in the day, and they were a blast to photograph. Phillip Phillips was a pleasant surprise as well—apparently, he was on American Idol back in 2011. His songs were catchy, and a lot of people came out for his set.

Over at the Carousel Stage, Emerson Hart of Tonic and actor Jason Biggs were on stage with chef Marc Murphy, having a good time. Jason introduced Tonic when they went on around 3:15 PM. It was great to finally see Emerson and Tonic play since I was originally supposed to see him perform in NYC. I had been filming an acoustic session with him about 10 years ago, but it was interrupted by the venue owner, which was embarrassing for everyone involved. Safe to say, I never went back after they sent me cease and desist letters. Tonic was fantastic and played their hits, including “If You Could Only See,” “You Wanted More,” and “Open Up Your Eyes.”

The Darkness was next, and fans were already waiting upfront for the Brits to arrive. Their glam rock, 80s heavy metal-inspired sound fits perfectly with large crowds and huge stages. Frontman Justin Hawkins was jumping, doing headstands, and rocking out like he was straight out of the 70s or 80s. It was quite the show. The rest of the band was just as entertaining. I haven’t listened to much of The Darkness before, but now I’ll definitely check them out more often. I’d always heard from photographer friends that they were a blast to shoot, and they didn’t disappoint.

By this point, the rain was becoming more consistent, making the experience a bit miserable. I had planned on bringing a better poncho, but the delivery was delayed, so I had to settle for a cheap clear poncho, which worked out okay. At one point, I was struggling to put it on, and someone took pity on me and helped me out like I was a toddler—it was funny, at least. I stuck around the Carousel Stage for the next two acts, as it was the band I wanted to see and the stage was covered. Sugar Ray was up next.

I had only seen a few songs from Sugar Ray in 2019 when they played at Epcot. Mark McGrath was energetic at Oceans Calling, bringing 90s nostalgia back to life. They opened with “Open To Me” and went straight into one of their biggest hits, “Every Morning.” Hearing “When It’s Over,” my favorite Sugar Ray song, was a highlight. The cover at the stage also gave me a brief break from the rain. I heard them finish with “Fly” as I made my way to the next stage.

After Sugar Ray, 311 was playing on the Rockville Stage, but I decided not to shoot them because their photo release was too restrictive. It seemed “fair” that they could keep the photos indefinitely, but I was only allowed to post the photos for a year on here. Negotiating with their publicity team didn’t lead to any response, so I opted to get some overpriced Chinese food and watched from the VIP lounge instead. From what I saw, 311 played hits like “All Mixed Up,” “Come Original,” “Don’t Stay Home,” and “Down.” Here’s an accurate drawing I drew up from my memory:

The next band I was excited to see was The Revivalists, especially for their song “Good Old Days,” which they played second! Other songs included “Kid,” “Zombie,” and “Wish I Knew You.” David Shaw is an amazing frontman, always engaging with the crowd. It wasn’t long before he tore his shirt off, which the audience loved. The whole band was excellent, and I stayed as long as I could before heading to the Rockville Stage for Sublime.

By this point, I was ready to go home, but I pushed through because I really wanted to see Sublime. Another photographer gave me a “camera condom” to protect my gear, as I had been using a makeshift Ziploc bag earlier. I was curious to see Bradley Nowell’s son, Jakob, sing with the band, as I’d never seen Sublime with Rome. Jakob came out shirtless, hyping up the crowd despite the cold and rain. However, it was hard to hear him at first, but the sound improved as the set went on. I managed to catch songs like “Garden Grove,” “Right Back,” “Wrong Way,” and “Date Rape” before heading off for Blink-182.

Blink-182 was my most anticipated set, but things were starting to get chaotic with the rain coming down hard. The stage crew was wiping down the stage, covering equipment with tarps, and the speakers hadn’t even been set up yet. Photographers were escorted to the soundboard, which meant shooting from far in the back.

While walking toward the front of the house, a stagehand suddenly yelled for me to back away as a speaker was about to fall. I quickly ran back, thinking, “Great, I almost died!” We waited for Blink to start, but they were 45 minutes late. The only photo I got was of Brian Diaz, Mark’s bass tech, which brought back memories from when he was in Edna’s Goldfish.

At that point, I decided to leave rather than wait in the rain and fight through 50,000 people after just three songs. I’ve seen Blink before, in 1996 and 1999 on the Vans Warped Tour, so it wasn’t worth the wait. I later heard they played 9 or 10 songs before ending due to the 11 PM curfew in Ocean City.

The drive home was brutal with torrential downpour, but I was just relieved to be out of the rain. Despite the miserable weather, I had fun seeing some great bands, but this was easily one of the toughest concert experiences I’ve had in terms of weather.