Date: September 26th 2025
Bands: Green Day, Lenny Kravitz, Black Crowes, O.A.R., Nelly, Live, Fountains of Wayne, Spin Doctors, Ballyhoo!, BEL, Izzy Escobar, Chef Demo

Oceans Calling Festival is back for another year of music, cooking, sand and lots of rain. What else could you ask for in a festival? Day 1 was warm and humid, and it brought out a huge crowd to see Green Day, Black Crowes, Fountains of Wayne, Nelly, Live, Spin Doctors, Ballyhoo! and more.

I arrived early at the festival, worried about long bus lines in West Ocean City. The buses were packed with people with Boardwalk Rocks wristbands, but across all three days there were enough shuttles running that things moved smoothly. That’s one thing Ocean City definitely got right: lots of buses in West Ocean City. I can’t speak for the other shuttles though; those lines looked long, especially on the last day.

The opening act of the entire festival was Izzy Escobar, who only has a handful of songs out but still brought sweet melodies and a strong voice to kick off the day. She’s definitely one to watch, and I was glad I caught her set. After a few songs, I wandered down to the chef demo, which was supposed to feature Anne Burrell (who sadly passed away in July). I’m not sure which chef took her place, but she was joined by members of O.A.R. cooking up a lobster pasta dish.

Next up was BEL (Los Angeles based indie pop singer Isabel Whelan). Her sound had an indie pop, singer songwriter vibe. Honestly, her set felt a little too sleepy for the festival, though her music comes across more interesting in the studio. It reminded me of how I feel about The Shins: good on record, but not as engaging live.

Maryland’s own Ballyhoo! were third on the Carousel Stage, bringing their reggae rock/punk rock mix that they’ve been playing for 30 years. It was great to see them again since it’s been over a decade since I last caught them in NYC. Maybe it was just the early set times, but I felt like the first few bands of the day were a bit subdued. Still, Howi and crew delivered with songs like Middle Finger, Sleepin’ on the Couch, Dark Sunglasses and the fan favorite Walk Away. They wrapped with Blaze This Weed and Social Drinker.

I finally got to see Spin Doctors, a band I never managed to catch back in the ’90s. Chris Barron brought tons of energy, kicking, twirling, pointing the mic stand at photographers. He reminded me of the late John Mann from Spirit of the West. From what I remember, they played What Time Is It, Jimmy Olsen’s Blues, Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong and of course Two Princes. A super fun set, and I’d see them again in a heartbeat.

I chose Fountains of Wayne over the 502s, mainly because I knew some of their popular songs. But again, they felt a bit subdued early on. They opened with I’ve Got a Flair, followed by Denise. Naturally, I wanted to hear Stacy’s Mom and I believe they closed with that along with Sink to the Bottom. Unfortunately, I had to leave partway through to catch Live on the other stage.

When I got there, I joked to fellow photographers asking if “Live” was live or taped. They didn’t appreciate my dad humor. Thankfully, the band raised the energy level right away. They kicked things off with Pain Lies on the Riverside and Selling the Drama, which got huge reactions from the crowd. All Over You followed and the response was just as big. This was my first time seeing them, and hopefully not my last. They were excellent… live. (Sorry, more bad puns.)

I skipped The Fray to check out Nelly, figuring The Fray might be another mellow band. Nelly brought the party to Ocean City, and it was a blast seeing the crowd dance to Ride Wit Me. I left soon after since I prefer that track to Hot in Herre, but the set made me think the festival should include more hip hop in future lineups.

I did catch The Fray later and heard their excellent Cranberries cover. I also stopped by to see O.A.R. play The Element, About Mr. Brown and Turn It Up Slow. I knew I’d see more of them throughout the weekend with their O.A.R. & Friends sets, but it was nice to catch them on Friday.

I went with The Black Crowes over Cake, especially since Cake made photographers shoot from the soundboard. The choice was easy and the right one. Chris Robinson and the band put on an excellent set. I loved hearing their cover of Otis Redding’s Hard to Handle and their closer Remedy.

I skipped Lenny Kravitz since his set was closed to photographers. I saw him back in the ’90s at Horde Fest in Saratoga Springs, NY, so I was fine missing this one. Guess he didn’t want cool photos of himself. No biggie. I stayed with the Black Crowes instead and enjoyed a killer set from close by.

Finally, it was time for Green Day. I love this band but only stayed for a few songs because I was worried about the bus situation. I saw them in 2009 at MSG, so I knew they’d crush it live, and they did. They had a drawn out intro with Bohemian Rhapsody, a guy in a bunny suit hyping the crowd, and then launched into American Idiot. I was happy to catch Holiday, one of my favorites. During Know Your Enemy, they pulled a fan on stage to sing. As I pushed through 50,000 people with my gear and phone flashlight, I heard Boulevard of Broken Dreams and One Eyed Bastard. From what I gathered, the rest of the set was packed with classics, and they even closed with fireworks.

The buses were much smoother than I feared, which made me kick myself for leaving early. Still, I needed to mentally prepare for Day 2, which was shaping up to be cold, windy and VERY wet.