Meet Ron Peremel, Founder of Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival

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This month, we interview the founder and director of the Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival, Ron Peremel. The festival will hold its second annual weekend of live music with a roots- and rock-oriented lineup boasting world-class musicians on September 21–22 at Sandy Point State Park. Visit baygrassfestival.com for full details and ticket options.

We have a lot to discuss about the genesis of the festival, how “every jam saves the Bay,” and what to look forward to, so let’s get into our questions and Peremel’s answers.  

Ron, can you talk about how you were turned on to the bluegrass genre? I first learned of this beautiful music in the late-’90s when I had moved to Boulder, Colorado, and my number one music buddy would fly to Telluride to attend the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. We’d rent a house with 30 to 40 friends to experience this amazing festival and get turned on to so many new and upcoming progressive and traditional bluegrass, jamgrass, Americana, and folk artists. I was hooked! I have been going to Telluride on and off for 25 years and this festival has been an inspiration and a guide for much of what we have created at Baygrass.

How did your recent environmental work lead to creating a music festival? I grew up in Baltimore boating, fishing, swimming, eating from, and playing in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. When I moved to Annapolis in 2012 from Boulder, I became passionate about protecting the ailing bay that I loved as a child. I got involved with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Watershed Stewards Academy (WSA), and other nonprofits. I became a Master Watershed Steward and applied this knowledge to my community by implementing conservation landscaping and environmental programs. This work drove me to search for a way to spread this awareness and education more broadly. 

While sitting in a WSA class at the beautiful Arlington Echo Outdoor Education Center, my business mind wandered and came up with the idea of connecting people to the things they love doing with their love for the Bay. I started with the idea for a beer garden that had an environmental mission to protect the bay, that would educate guests immersively as they enjoyed local brews, ate food fresh from the Chesapeake Bay, and listened to great live music.

In 2020, I pivoted the beer garden idea into a music festival concept to reach more people and have greater impact.

How did you flesh out festival logistics? Despite being an experienced marketing and financial services businessperson and producing a few music and comedy fund raisers for my kids’ schools, I did not have experience with the inner workings of the festival space, so I turned to a friend who did. My Baltimore friend John Way had been involved in the operations of Charm City Bluegrass Festival, Delfest, and the Thursday Night bluegrass concerts at the 8x10 Club in Baltimore. John loved the idea. He is also an Army veteran, entrepreneur, and a certified mental health first-aid instructor who had a similar vision for educating festival attendees about mental health and wellness resources. 

Shortly after getting the operations and marketing programing developed, John and I realized we needed another local pro who knew the bay, community, music scene, and the legal and logistical implications. I turned to my close friend, Ron Katz, Esq., who immediately loved the idea and jumped on the team as our legal partner in the organization I had incorporated as Baygrass Festival Group, LLC. 

Why did you choose Sandy Point State Park as the host site? With a mission to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay and an education strategy focused on immersive and experiential learning, the location that made the most sense was, and is, Sandy Point State Park. With its beautiful beaches and its majestic view of the Bay, it inherently teaches attendees to love and protect this important body of water. And with its rich history, special events like the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival, which just ended its 25-year run, the Plunge, Bay Paddle, and Seafood Festival, we knew this would be the right home for Baygrass.

This year’s Baygrass lineup is exceptional—was it a challenge to secure this lineup? Our management and talent buying teams spend a lot of time identifying, deliberating, and then working with agents and artists directly to come up with a lineup that is carefully curated with our focus on progressive bluegrass, jamgrass, Americana, and sprinklings of other genres. 

This year, those sprinklings include Grateful Dead, southern rock, and funk influences. We call this “fantasy festival” design. We start making our wish list a year before the next festival, which gets refined and finalized by January of each year. 

We knew we had to match last year’s lineup and try to attract a wider swath of the live music community, so we reached out to the agent for two-time Grammy-winning bassist Oteil Burbridge who played with the Allman Brothers for 15 years and is one of the founding members of Dead & Company. He and the all-star band will blow the doors off our Saturday night show. 

The lineup is stacked with local, regional, and national artists. I’m really excited for the rich blend of musical styles and the ebb and flow of the order in which they’ll perform. We have two main stages, which allow for short breaks and continuous music to keep people entertained from noon to 10 p.m. each day. We also have a workshop stage, which will include four intimate music workshops that allow our guests to get up close and personal with the artists. This is a very special gem that I discovered at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and wanted to make part of our festival. 

Another wonderful addition this year is our three artists-at-large: trumpeter and vocalist, Jennifer Hartswick, trombonist and vocalist Natalie Cressman, and tenor saxophonist Ron Holloway. This is a rare and wonderful horn section who will blend their mastery with the other artists throughout the festival performances.

What are some of the additional festival amenities this year? Baygrass is more than a music festival, offering interactive educational workshops, beach yoga, yard and beach games, children’s activities and workshops in the KidZone, local craft vendors, and an exceptional VIP experience.

Baygrass features an elevated culinary experience, including Maryland lump crab cakes, roasted and raw oysters, gourmet barbecue, wood-fired pizzas, and other delicious vegan and vegetarian delicacies. We have also put a tremendous amount of thought and time into our beverage experience with our team led by Thom Bloom. We offer delicious drink options including microbrews, craft cocktails, and wines, as well as non-alcoholic beer and mocktails.

Our beer partners—Pherm Brewing Company and Idiom Brewing Company—will each have their own Baygrass branded beers: Pherm’s Baytoberfest (a delicious, malty Marzen) and Idiom’s Troubled Waters (a citrusy, juicy extra pale ale).

For those looking to upgrade to the beachfront VIP Village, the experience includes daily chef-prepared hot meals by festival partner Chesapeake Chef Service. Other perks include access to VIP viewing areas, VIP bars with discounted drinks and free samplings from local beer and spirits partners, air-conditioned bathrooms, exclusive VIP onsite parking, discounted massages, a commemorative stainless steel pint cup, Baygrass poster, and more.

The festival motto is “Every Jam Saves the Bay.” Can you talk about the intent and action behind that statement? The Baygrass philosophy is to help people learn about conservation, sustainability, and mental health in a way that combines education and fun. We have committed to donating proceeds from ticket, food, beverage, and merchandise sales to Maryland-based nonprofit organizations including Watershed Stewards Academy, Oyster Recovery Partnership, and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. Each of these organizations will provide immersive education workshops and exhibit booths in our Bay Guardian Village with more information about bay conservation.

Our slogan indicates that people just need to show up to help the cause of protecting the Chesapeake Bay. It’s that easy. And remarkably, people get it!