Photographs courtesy John Bolten and Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival
The band Geraldine performs for the fifth year in a row at the Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival.
John Bolten of the roots band Geraldine discusses the Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival experience
This September 19th and 20th, the Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival returns to Sandy Point State Park for its fifth incarnation, a testament to the regional community’s love for live bluegrass and roots music, Chesapeake Bay conservation, and the festival experience. The two-day event will be a summer swan song for attendees, with top tier performances by Little Feat, Yonder Mountain String Band, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, and many more. Among them is the local roots-based string band Geraldine, led by singer/songwriter, guitarist, and banjo player John Bolten. The band has gained a following in recent years among Appalachian and American-folk music aficionados. So much so, that Geraldine was tapped to play the inaugural Baygrass Festival in 2022. In fact, the band is the only performer to have been invited back and perform at each of the five festivals.
To learn more about Geraldine and the Baygrass Festival connection, we talked with Bolten.
Photographs courtesy John Bolten and Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival
John Bolten of Geraldine.
John, could you tell us a bit about your history with the Baygrass Festival and how you first connected with Ron Peremel (founder of Baygrass)? Sure! I was in Annapolis watching some friends play a show and I ran into Ron. He was telling me about his plans for Baygrass and its mission to ‘Save the Bay’. He also mentioned that he would love to have a festival song highlighting the importance of protecting the bay. I mentioned that I am a hydrologist and serve as Chief of NASA’s hydrological sciences lab, and enjoy writing songs. He asked me if I would work on a song for the festival, and I went home that night and started working on it. Actually, I started working on a melody while driving home from the show!
I sent him a recording of Geraldine playing ‘In The Water’ a couple weeks later and asked him to come watch us perform. The timing of the song was perfect because Geraldine was in the studio recording our Paw Paw album. We were able to get Cris Jacobs in with us to play on the song. The rest is history!
What was that first Baygrass Fest experience like as a performer, both on stage and off stage? The first Baygrass at Sandy Point State Park was such a wonderful experience. Geraldine played two sets and sang ‘In The Water’ during a special ‘tweener’ set before the headliner, and the crowd loved it.
What sticks out about this festival is the amount of care that goes into making the experience fun and meaningful for both the artists and the audience. I was very impressed with the thoughtfulness that went into having a diverse set of bands, and the very visible focus on educating people about conservation and preserving our water resources.
Geraldine has been invited back every year to perform; why do you think that is and what makes that fact special to you? We are extremely grateful to be a part of the Annapolis Baygrass family. Geraldine plays the festival song each year, of course, which always helps bring the focus back to healing the bay. And the ‘In The Water’ theme is evident on the posters and even the water stations around the festival.
Over the past eight years Geraldine has steadily built an audience from our original take on old time and bluegrass music. We focus on creating something different, and writing new songs that resonate with people, plus, we just enjoy having fun and putting on an entertaining show for folks.
Our friends Jan and Kim from Step Jam dance with us during our sets, which is always a crowd pleaser and brings another unique element to our shows. I’m passionate about protecting the Chesapeake Bay and watershed and have been working with several nonprofits and organizations that share that mission. This theme is woven throughout our songs and helps amplify the message. It really is a festival with a purpose!
Photographs courtesy John Bolten and Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival
Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival returns to Sandy Point State Park on September 19 and 20.
When you and the band are in ‘Baygrass mode,’ what’s the anticipation like—are you dreaming up setlists, meet-ups with other artists, sit-ins, etc.? Yes! Baygrass is our favorite festival to play in the region because we get to play a few sets, show off new songs, and talk with other artists and the nonprofits about the Baygrass mission. We enjoy having the artists-at-large sit in with Geraldine and it is always a blast. Each year we try to polish our set and think of new ways to make the most exciting show we can. It’s our homecoming every year!
Looking at this year’s lineup, what or who is getting you excited for the weekend? Oh my, so many cool bands this year. We will be playing a short set before Little Feat, so that will certainly be a feather in our cap! I’m a big Béla Fleck fan…Sister Sadie is a must see, the Melody Trucks and the Fitzkee Brothers will certainly be a highlight, and I’m on a mission to see Sam Bush play as many times as I can!
How would you describe the Geraldine approach to live music and community? Geraldine is ‘Good Time Old Time’. We really just want to make the best music we can and put on an entertaining show for folks. I like to say that we are on a ‘slow burn’ by just taking our time and slowly growing an audience. Geraldine is not in a hurry to be anywhere. By that I mean that we are focused on crafting fun original songs and sharing them wherever we can. And it’s worked! We’ve had eight songs from our first two albums selected by national song contests (and two more for our upcoming album).
But it’s not just about crafting songs—we play square dances, concert halls, house concerts, and festivals, and I also enjoy playing solo shows. We try to stay involved in the community as much as we can through supporting other bands and regional festivals. I also run songwriting classes at a few regional festivals, which I greatly enjoy.
What do you and the band enjoy most about the Baygrass Festival experience at Sandy Point State Park overall? In short, it is the good vibes, clean and carefully planned festival, and the incredible cast of musicians that we get to share the stage with. For Geraldine to play the festival each year, it feels like a ‘local boy makes good’ homecoming. All our friends are there cheering us on and we are cheering the festival on!
Visit baygrassfestival.com for the Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival lineup, times, tickets, and more information.
